When I was a kid, July 4th meant several things. Perhaps a new outfit, going to see family or have family coming over, lots of BBQ that I probably wasn't going to see again until Memorial or Labor Day (depending on which one came after...I don't know and don't feel like looking it up to make this accurate) and shooting fireworks. Not those crappy kind that you get in some states due to law restrictions, but those good ones back in Alabama. The ones that could launch forever and a day skyward and then suddenly explode and leave paper residue all over the neighborhood and nobody cared because all of their kids were doing the same thing. And besides, the parents knew they were going to have their kids out their cleaning up the yard the next day anyway. You never really thought about the flag, or the country you lived in, it was all just a party of the July 4th experience. You were young, eating as much sticky / gooey / saucy meat you could get your hands on, and trying to blow up your siblings with as many skyrockets as you could tie together.
As you grow older, things start to change a bit. You may get a new outfit, but it's more for showing out and keeping up with the Jones's (for some). You're still eating for the same reasons, but now you're trying to get to as many BBQ's as possible because you want to sample and be seen (again...for some. Most of us are just trying to get as much free food as possible without having to cook ourselves). If you're shooting fireworks, it's because the last place you ended up in at night had kids over and they drug you outside with sparklers. Else you watched it from the comfort of your TV or attended some major fireworks production in your current location.
On July 4th, 2009, I experienced something a little different. I got a chance to witness the very thing that got our nation going, an event that tends to bring tears to the eyes of those that witness and definitely those that partake. I drove my brother-in-law and his wife to her naturalization ceremony. For those of you who don't know, this is were a foreigner swears their allegiance to the United States and (after a long and drawn-out paperwork process) becomes a U.S. citizen. She was one of 100+ people that had come to this country and realized how great it is to be an American, and all the advantages that are here and available to all of us. The ceremony was short (compared to the overall time it took to do everything), but meaningful to all who attended. There was a welcome from President Obama, videos of things that make America Beautiful, and videos on the history of what makes this nation the place that it is. They played "America the Beautiful" to a video they were showing, and the emotion in the room was something to behold. Granted, those that were just sworn in had a few tears, but many of their family and friends, those who were already citizens, were in tears, standing up with their hands over their hearts and even saluting. Even more surprising were the emotions by those who had held and/or sponsored the event on some many previous occassions. Many of them were overcome with emotion and doing their best to hide it. It made me feel good to know that even though we're not in the best of times, people still feel strongly in their nation, in what it stands for, and that America is definitely a place to come and try to make something of yourself.
This was all the more confirmed when, at the end of the ceremony, my brother-in-law's wife came out with the biggest smile on her face and her naturalization certificate. She proudly waved the little American flag they gave her and both she and her husband proudly stood under another flag and took pictures...grinning harder than I've ever seen them grin before.
I can't help but wonder what our nation would be like if more people considered stuff like this and viewed their country in this same manner. Perhaps we wouldn't be where we are today afterall. In either case, God Bless America!
