Saturday, July 03, 2010

Another Blast From The Past

This weekend is a time to reflect on the day when the Declaration of Independence was signed by men of vision, hope, and optimism. It was the day when men freely declared their separation from a monarchy that was growing more and more oppressive, as days wore on. It came about because that oppressive agent was content to punish its subject for wanting to taste liberty, and embrace it.

Those guys had to pay dearly over the next few years, because of it. They were terrorized and abused by forces loyal to that undeserving entity. They had to endure.

Through all of the ups and downs, we have been through a lot of rough spots and you know, we have weathered them all. Right now, we are going through another and the nation is looking for a leader who can lead, solve problems not create them, and a person who can make the right decisions that are based in reality and good sense.

In 1980, we felt the same way. We felt the malaise, the low self-esteem, and the shame of being a nation led by cowards. We saw firsthand what it was like to witness the near collapse of our system under an out of control government that didn't care to listen. We had double-digit inflation, double-digit interest rates, and low morale in the military, how could we feel the slightest bit hopeful? But when Ronald Reagan came along, we felt there was a chance that we really could do better. We learned that we could reach higher and expect better results. We believed we could conquer our fears and our demons.

This song was but one by-product of that time, right after we watched the people rise up and be counted:



Have a happy and safe Independence Day.

And as a an encore here's the man who sang it like he really meant it:







Enjoy.


11 comments:

Chuck said...

Ray Charles signing America the Beautiful and clips of the US. How could it get better?

What an absolutely beautiful and proud country we have.

The warning at the beginning of the clip was sad though.

Anonymous said...

My best to you and yours on this, our 234 Independence Day weekend.

Semper Fidelis

LASunsett said...

Chuck,

To us it's home, but beyond that.... it is home.

1SG said...

Same to you Mustang. Have a good one yourself, sir.

~Leslie said...

Sunsett, happy Independence day to you and yours! Thank you for your exceptional insight to my literacy post. I hope you have recovered from whatever meds you ingested that day.

:)

Z said...

You made me feel better thinking of how bad the 1980 situation was..and how we came out of it. I just hope and pray we have it in ourselves to do it again.
Have a wonderful weekend, LA...thanks for the music.

LASunsett said...

Thanks Leslie. Hope you and yours have a great day and weekend, as well.

As for the literacy post, you may want to thank Mustang. You see...it wasn't me. But I do think Mustang did go to the VFW for a few beers that day, so he very well could have been in a state when he got home.

LASunsett said...

Z,

We do have it within ourselves to pull out of this, but we must make our stand and have the courage to take chances along the way.

Happy 4th to you out on the left coast. You are a beacon of light and hope from the land of Reagan.

Anonymous said...

I cannot even believe my eyes on this Independence Day morning. MY first sergeant, accusing ME of such behavior.

Sigh.

And then, of course, he wonders why he's never been promoted to sergeant major. Amazing.

Anonymous said...

Caught red-handed again, Colonel?

The Commandant

A.C. McCloud said...

Happy 4th to the Yen-Yang gang..