A July 4th Celebration
by Curtis Schofield
What were our ancestors to do? Where could they turn?
With hunger and illness, exploitation and persecution on all sides.
There was fear and frustration in the land, especially in Europe.
The stories about American land and new life made them yearn,
Giving our grandparents a new hope, a "yes we can."
And a vision of a future place to make a new stand.
They were hearing America calling, with freedom to worship,
To learn, to assemble, and to speak one's own word.
They especially wanted the freedom to have their own land,
For a home, for a place to work, and for their voice to be heard.
They wanted freedom to move, when necessary to avoid strife,
In their efforts to seek and make a better life.
Thomas Jefferson later expressed their desires for bliss;
"To have God given rights, of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness."
To the immigrates the American natural bounty,
From border to border and sea to sea, was incomparably varied.
To them it was an inexhaustible paradise and more.
For the most part, the new comers enthusiastically worked together.
With imagination, vitality, and persistence they were able to score,
With triumphs of inventiveness in technology and industry galore.
Also in communications and transportation they were esteemed.
It was beyond anything the world has ever seen or dreamed.
Unprecedented in the history of the world was the explosion,
Of social, political, religious, and technical phenomena. Wow!
This all occurred in America, especially from the 1850's till now.
In that brief span humankind accelerated the rate of travel,
To twice the speed of sound and we saw many barriers unravel.
Communication progressed from the pony express to instantaneous.
Comfort and convenience advanced from candlelight and open flame,
To control of every nuance of light, heat, and humidity the same.
While it is true that other countries helped provide the pioneer,
The most dramatic breakthroughs in progress happened here.
Right here! With the America dream in the land of the free.
While the harsh restrictive aspects of the Calvinist doctrine,
Espoused by the founding pilgrims, current Americans tend to veto.
The founders dedication to the practical virtue of hard work,
And the importance of faith in God are still valued in our credo.
Anyone not valuing freedom of worship and hard work,
Is considered not a leader, and only tolerated as a jerk.
Freedom of worship went hand in hand with a widespread belief,
That our primary goals should always be righteous,
And designed not only to see American's glory unfurled,
But to be a blessing to all the peoples of the world.
The founders believed devoutly in this country,
And believed that Americans were beneficiaries of a will,
Not for pleasures like the Roman followers of Aphrodite.
Our founders believed that theirs was a "City on a Hill,"
Being guided for greatness by the hand of the Almighty.
Puritan historian Edward Johnson wrote in the 1650's,
That the Lord has "sifted a whole Nation to plant his choice grain."
To him we were destined for great service, not just for personal gain.
Two centuries later this theme was still being played,
When Novelist Herman Meville said, "Americans are the peculiar,
Chosen people, the Israel of our time;
We bear the ark of liberties of the world."
From the very beginning the engine that would subdue,
A wild continent was fueled by a dream and a faith view.
People from all over the world were attracted to the freedom dream.
To worship, to freely speak, and to work on your own land,
Was and is the settlers' primary theme.
With the success there was an ebb and flow of cooperation,
Overcoming divisions over conflicts that arose among the settlers.
They came from every land, bringing their religion, language, music, and cuisine.
Some came as slaves, without their consent, and without a dream.
But the freedom vision was too much even for slavery's strong hold.
By 1864 President Lincoln set all slaves free, we are told.
With the 20th century leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. came full civil rights.
The sun began to shine in hidden places. It was a beautiful sight.
The American Indian also has played a significant role in the freedom dream.
By the 1880's the whole nation was asking,
What have we done to the red man and the buffalo on the virgin land?
Without them the western plains seemed as empty as a broken glass.
The evening sun cast long shadows on the lonely endless grass.
Yet the Indians' dream would not so easily fade from the scene,
Even when the hopes of the slain red ones lay lonely on the plains.
The shadows tried in vain to hide the American Indians' pain.
But the faithful witnesses of history tell us a different story.
In the victories over the red man there was little glory.
Most died a starvation death, from destruction of the buffalo meat, and
From illegal immigrants destroying wild game that was the red man's claim.
"Total warfare" was a phrase the red man at first did not understand.
By the time he understood, the US command had already spoken.
It was then the red man's dominance of the west was broken.
He could not win, while believing one battle can decide all claims.
In his war history, a great victory in battle could achieve all aims.
He was not ready for the army's continuos campaign of war games.
But the US Army kept a coming, seeking total victory.
The Indian, not able to win an army campaign, still had a plan.
When he had to slip away, he never gave up his battle array.
Like a Roman senator in his toga, he continues to impress today.
Many rivers, roads, and places wear Indian names, they say.
These signatures verify the Indian was never fully defeated.
Think about how the US Military names its equipment,
The AH-64 Apache (helicopter), the BGM-109 Tomahawk (missile),
And the UH-72A Lakota (helicopter) to name a few.
When the academics teach about great military leaders,
The west's best warriors as listed in "who's who,"
They tell how the US army lost to Crazy Horse and the Sioux.
For General Custer and his 700 veterans, the event was a "Waterloo."
When Custer's battle against the world's finest cavalry was over,
There were no US army attackers left for the Sioux to pursue.
Therefore, we ask, where have all the red men gone?
They are undefeated. They are living among us, everyone.
We find more Americans every day with the red man's DNA.
They are butchers and bakers and "candlestick makers."
They are bankers and teachers and child caretakers.
They are city officers and drivers of buses and vans.
Many are soldiers who help protect this free land.
In World War II the U.S. sought a fool-proof encryption code,
So as to protect the nation and the services of the G I Joe.
The answer was found in the ancient language of the Navajo.
It all began with a vision of freedom unfurled.
This vision was shared by the immigrants with friends in the old world.
They responded to the vision in great numbers.
It must have been a sight to stand watching the caravan of immigrants.
They had been rejected by the land owners of their place of birth.
They made the hard decision to leave most of their wares and cares.
Because nearly all their past dreams had become nightmares.
All that is except the dream of a place to begin anew.
That was it! The dream inspired them with a new point of view.
No one can describe early American better than western writer, Louis Lamour.
"They were haggard, worn, hungry for rest and cool drink.
The inner urges of the flesh were crying out to stop and think.
But the deep desires of the heart moved them further, one step at a time.
How was it possible for them to go on? One step at a time in a death march rhyme.
But they kept moving, because the vision was upon them, with all it thrills.
They could not forget the golden promise of the distant hills,
Offering a land of milk and honey, the fair and flowering land,.
In their dream they could see it, in spite of their struggle in the desert sand.
The dream is sought by all wandering peoples of whatever time and place.
No hardship is too great. No road is too steep or rough.
No mountain is impassable when the vision is upon a people."
The vision sustains us no matter how tough.
The sacrifice can be endured as long as we can see the steeple.
- Louis Lamour (paraphrased) THE TALL STRANGER. p.6.
This freedom poem was inspired by reading "The Story of America" by The Reader's Digest Association, Inc, 1975, especially pages 8-15 and by reading novels y Louis LaMour(see "The Tall Stranger". p.6.)
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