by Tod Christensen
Once upon a time there was a country the whole world waited to see if it would fail
How it began was so different from other countries but this was no fairytale
Brave families traveled into the great unknown just wanting to be free
From such humble beginnings this country would become the envy of all who could see
Truly the great melting pot as different colors and cultures all merged into one
One people, one vision, bringing only their dreams to this country they would run
I said early on that this was no fairytale and that part is certainly true,
But people put aside their differences to come together under the red white and blue
Far from perfect some horrible things did happen but from those mistakes the people would grow
The people tried their best to be better and through this their true hearts began to show
Today some people only want to talk about all the bad and twist the things that occurred
They distort the entire picture for whatever reason until to many it’s becomes blurred
They forget that the founders of this country held certain truths to be self-evident,
So blatantly obvious that they aren’t open to debate that they were that definite
That the government has to recognize every citizen has certain God-given rights,
And in order to protect these beliefs you may have to be willing to fight
Sometimes you have to fight an outside enemy, but sometimes the saddest fight was from within
And many of the worst were fought over nothing more than the color of someone’s skin
But those fights, as hard as they were, always ended with the Just side having won
Because in a free country freedom means nothing if it’s not free for everyone
And other nations have tried many times to bring this people to their knees,
But the people always put differences aside and to the All Mighty they would plead
They would do it in many different forms and many individual ways
All recognizing they were part of something bigger in those darkest of days
Some people would have you believe it simply didn’t happen this way if it happened at all
But open the history books and you will read many stories of a people who have yet to fall
And if you don’t believe those, then use your own eyes at any veteran’s cemetery
Where you will see markers from boys from the mountains, cities, and even Little Homes on the Prairie
They believed this to the point they were willing to risk and give up their very own lives
And not just boys and husbands sacrificed but the girls as well as the wives
Because they saw something special here and they wanted their children to see it too
Not exactly the same to everyone, but they all saw something in the red, white, and blue
This thing they saw was greater than any political party or any kind of group
Nobody cared about political beliefs when the bullets began flying through the troops
They were smart enough to know that if they truly tried to do the right thing
No power could stop that people, no dictator and certainly no king
So many ghosts from the past have to be watching us right now
As we bicker and argue while they shake their heads and simply wonder how
Wondering how we could fight for the trivial after all the places we’ve already been
And watching us and wondering if we have what it takes to be America again
