*By Julie Barrett, Founder, Conservative Ladies of Washington
I’ve always felt privileged to be an American. My parents taught me from a very young age about our nation’s history and how we came to be. I’m fortunate to be old enough that when I was in school my teachers weren’t infusing their own agendas and beliefs into the curriculum. My mom was a teacher and it was her passion to provide us with family field trips (almost always in the summer…kids love that) to learn about American history, state history, our ancestors, Native Americans…you name it! My favorite of these field trips was the spring break week during high school we spent trekking around Washington DC and Williamsburg. America became very real to me and I felt deeply connected to our history and everything the United States stands for during this week.
It was about 10 years later that 9/11 happened and I remember that feeling we all had after that – we were all united as Americans. We were truly “ONE NATION”. Strangers were friendly to one another and passersby in the store or on the street would say hello and smile. It felt like the wake up call our country needed. I was proud that we were standing in solidarity. During the time our police officers were national heroes. We watched as they sacrificed their lives, as they worked round the clock to rescue and recover fellow Americans.
As I reflect on the last 20 years since 9/11 on this Independence Day weekend, there is a heaviness and sadness that I feel. The American flag has become a symbol of the left to help them identify “right wing extremists.” Those of us who are patriotic and support traditional American values are often labeled things like: idiots, white privileged, deplorable, violent, racist, misogynist, bigot…the list goes on. Anyone who supports America is likely a supporter of President Trump, which automatically makes you a rotten human being. Just because. Orange man bad.
They don’t have an actual argument and almost never have proof for why patriotic Americans are so terrible, they just know that we are. It’s like pretty much everything else these days – they talk in circles, they never make a point and it’s all about creating confusion. It’s easy for me to shrug it off, however, these people have infiltrated every part of our culture – our corporations, our government education system, our government, they are even in the churches and that is the most disappointing of all to see how many Christian leaders have fallen into woketopia. It gets tiresome.
I remember a year ago today when President Trump had a huge celebration at Mount Rushmore. It was so cool. He gave a great speech about America and his dedication to protect her. He reminded us how blessed we are to live in such a great nation where we have the freedom to be and do what we want. As the fighter jets flew over, it made me think about all of those men and women who have fought so hard for this country so that we can live the blessed lives we live here. There is no other country on earth like America – it’s why so many people want to come here.
Yes, my heart is heavy but at the same time it is filled with so much hope. Never before have I seen so many Americans – young and old, men and women – who are done sitting on the sidelines and ready to get in and fight to preserve our way of life. From moms and dads speaking out at school board meetings, to people stepping up to run for public office. I see people who aren’t willing to sit back and watch this country become a socialist nation. The majority is not willing to let the party of confusion and lies take over and attempt to take our God-given rights away. It’s pretty awesome to see the lion awakening and I believe that God is going to bring healing and restoration to this nation. And we get to watch it…better yet, we get to be part of the movement, we get to rise up and take action to save America!
We remember that governments exist to protect the safety and happiness of their own people. A nation must care for its own citizens first. We must take care of America first. It’s time.
We believe in equal opportunity, equal justice, and equal treatment for citizens of every race, background, religion, and creed. Every child, of every color — born and unborn — is made in the holy image of God.
We want free and open debate, not speech codes and cancel culture.
We embrace tolerance, not prejudice.
We support the courageous men and women of law enforcement. We will never abolish our police or our great Second Amendment, which gives us the right to keep and bear arms.
We believe that our children should be taught to love their country, honor our history, and respect our great American flag.
We stand tall, we stand proud, and we only kneel to Almighty God.
This is who we are. This is what we believe. And these are the values that will guide us as we strive to build an even better and greater future.
President Donald J. Trump, July 3, 2020
Full Text of President Trump’s July 3 Mount Rushmore Speech | Newsmax.com