I took my kids to the circus this weekend. We had a grand time, but I did see something there that disturbed me.

Many of you have probably seen the same thing, or have been guilty of it yourself. When they played our National Anthem, only about half the people stood. And most of those were the older people. It seems that most of my generation has gone beyond the lax stage as far as patriotism goes, and has stumbled all the way into apathetic.

Those of us standing were singing the words, but it came across as a mere murmur in that big arena. Some of the kids were looking at us like we were crazy. I knew they had no idea what the words were. I guess if it doesn't have a beat you can dance to, they're not interested.

I wonder if these same kids would have any idea what the Pledge of Allegiance is, let alone the words to it? (I'll leave finding that as an exercise for my readers, but here's a hint: look for stuff by Red Skelton). To take the thought even further I wonder if they comprehend the meaning, and the depth, of these words?

We are the strongest nation on earth. We get this strength from our diversity; we've been forged by adversity. Yet a lot of my generation seems to have forgotten this. They seem to think that they have only rights, and no responsibilities to protect those rights.

 Two centuries ago our founding fathers put together the Declaration of Independence. This was more than a simple piece of parchment; they had to back up their words. With the advantage of 200 years of hindsight one phrase sticks out to me: "And for the support of this Declaration with a firm reliance on the protection of divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor".

This was not an empty phrase. Out of the 56 signers 5 were captured and imprisoned. All were victims of manhunts at one time or another. Twelve had their homes completely burned; seventeen lost everything they owned. One of them lost his 13 children. Two wives were captured and brutally treated. This is shown in far more detail in a wonderful essay you can read here, and I strongly urge you to do so.

To make this country what it is we've had people give their fortunes, their happiness, their families, their very lives. Is it so much to ask that we occasionally stand to honor them?

Let me know what you think.

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