The 4th of July, now more than ever
Every year on this day I remind my daughters to say Thank You to their ancestors who fought the good fight and gave us the freedom we have today. Freedom that some would slowly but surely take from us if we aren't vigilant. So before entering into my rant for today:
Hats off to my childrens' forefathers:
Lemuel Sturtevant. Lieutenant, Massachusetts Line
Daniel Baldwin. Private, Connecticut Line
Elijah Baldwin. Private, Connecticut Line
John Dean. Corporal New Hampshire Militia, Battle of Bennington
Ambrose Barnett. Private, 14th Virginia Regiment
William Johns. Private, 5th Pennsylvania Regiment, at Valley Forge
Valentine Coosard. Private, New Jersey Militia, POW at Sugar House
Levi Davis. Private, Maryland Line
Gilbert Ritchey. Private Pennsylvania Line
Real Patriots. Real People. Who Deserve Real Respect. Read a little about what one such ancestor endured.
Valentine Coosard was taken prisoner at the Battle of Fort Washington, and jailed at the infamous sugar house.
Years later, in a deposition claiming a pension, he would state that he couldn't prove his discharge as he knew of no one alive that could prove his service...as those who served with him froze to death in the Sugar House. Valentine not only survived, he lived to be 104. He truly witnessed and participated in the birth of a nation, and the birth of an entire society. He eventually settled in the now famous Western Reserve of Ohio, where his daughter married a Miller and thus our family legacy was born.
And now, here we are on this 4th of July in Arizona. Where the "Cochise County Militia" has put out the call for volunteers to watch our border. They expected them to come in droves, bearing arms, ready to do their patriotic duty. Thankfully most Americans still understand what their patriotic duty is. It's to defend our liberty. Our freedom. Our right to walk down the street undisturbed or harassed regardless of the color of our skin or the accent in our voice. Then there was the busload of Texans come to do their Patriotic Duty and SHOP Arizona. Buycott not Boycott they said. Support LB1070. You really had to see the video which seems to have disappeared from the net.
Targeting a single group of immigrants is not new to our country. We've done it from the beginning. The Scotch-Irish. The Irish. The Polish. The Japanese. The Chinese. Mid-Easterners. The Cubans. The Russians. The Germans. And now it's the Mexicans. The difference is, they live next door. We have, as a nation, always been afraid. Afraid that someone different will come and change things. So we fear different. Maybe, just maybe, we should fear ourselves. Because the real threat is the Drug Cartel and the Smugglers. Which wouldn't exist if there weren't a demand for their product here across the border. If we want to stop them from coming and bringing their violence we need to start at the source. And it's not south of the border. It's right here at home. If companies here didn't hire undocumented workers (instead we provided faster routes to documentation) and if Americans weren't always chasing that next illegal high from Cocaine, or heroine, or dare I say it, pot....they wouldn't have a market to smuggle drugs...or people...across the border. So for those who think comprehensive immigration reform is not going to help... think again. It is one half of the solution. Comprehensive drug law reform is another.
Hats off to my childrens' forefathers:
Lemuel Sturtevant. Lieutenant, Massachusetts Line
Daniel Baldwin. Private, Connecticut Line
Elijah Baldwin. Private, Connecticut Line
John Dean. Corporal New Hampshire Militia, Battle of Bennington
Ambrose Barnett. Private, 14th Virginia Regiment
William Johns. Private, 5th Pennsylvania Regiment, at Valley Forge
Valentine Coosard. Private, New Jersey Militia, POW at Sugar House
Levi Davis. Private, Maryland LineGilbert Ritchey. Private Pennsylvania Line
Real Patriots. Real People. Who Deserve Real Respect. Read a little about what one such ancestor endured. Valentine Coosard was taken prisoner at the Battle of Fort Washington, and jailed at the infamous sugar house.
Years later, in a deposition claiming a pension, he would state that he couldn't prove his discharge as he knew of no one alive that could prove his service...as those who served with him froze to death in the Sugar House. Valentine not only survived, he lived to be 104. He truly witnessed and participated in the birth of a nation, and the birth of an entire society. He eventually settled in the now famous Western Reserve of Ohio, where his daughter married a Miller and thus our family legacy was born.
And now, here we are on this 4th of July in Arizona. Where the "Cochise County Militia" has put out the call for volunteers to watch our border. They expected them to come in droves, bearing arms, ready to do their patriotic duty. Thankfully most Americans still understand what their patriotic duty is. It's to defend our liberty. Our freedom. Our right to walk down the street undisturbed or harassed regardless of the color of our skin or the accent in our voice. Then there was the busload of Texans come to do their Patriotic Duty and SHOP Arizona. Buycott not Boycott they said. Support LB1070. You really had to see the video which seems to have disappeared from the net.
Targeting a single group of immigrants is not new to our country. We've done it from the beginning. The Scotch-Irish. The Irish. The Polish. The Japanese. The Chinese. Mid-Easterners. The Cubans. The Russians. The Germans. And now it's the Mexicans. The difference is, they live next door. We have, as a nation, always been afraid. Afraid that someone different will come and change things. So we fear different. Maybe, just maybe, we should fear ourselves. Because the real threat is the Drug Cartel and the Smugglers. Which wouldn't exist if there weren't a demand for their product here across the border. If we want to stop them from coming and bringing their violence we need to start at the source. And it's not south of the border. It's right here at home. If companies here didn't hire undocumented workers (instead we provided faster routes to documentation) and if Americans weren't always chasing that next illegal high from Cocaine, or heroine, or dare I say it, pot....they wouldn't have a market to smuggle drugs...or people...across the border. So for those who think comprehensive immigration reform is not going to help... think again. It is one half of the solution. Comprehensive drug law reform is another.
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