Not the Headlines--America's Celebration

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The Listening Tube presents not the headlines.

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I'm Bob Woodley from the Listening Tube. Flag Day in America is a day to think about the Pledge of Allegiance, fly the American flag with pride, and recall the history of the flag. Some of it folklore, much of it factual. My wife and I went to Fort McHenry a few years ago. Fort McHenry is the fort from which the Star-Spangled Banner flew that inspired America's national anthem. It's a very moving tribute to the occasion and literally gave me goosebumps and brought me to tears with pride. I highly recommend it to anyone who has any doubts about the United States of America and for what it stands. Flag Day and Independence Day are especially poignant this year because of the nation's 250th anniversary. I was a young boy when America celebrated its 200th birthday in 1976. It's hard to believe it's been fifty years since then, and when you put it into perspective, 250 years isn't really that long ago. Hell, 250 years is probably the lifespan of Nancy Pelosi's face. But back in 1976, the country was recovering from the Watergate scandal, the resignation of Richard Nixon, the appointment of Gerald Ford as president when he never even took part in a presidential or vice presidential election, and a man named Jimmy Carter, who would be campaigning to become the next president. The whole country was going through changes. My high school band played for a Jimmy Carter rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the future president of the United States bought each band member a hoagie in a soda. Regardless, we were proud to be there, even though we weren't actually interested in politics. Well, I wasn't. I think I was a freshman that year. I was just trying to keep up with the life that was going on around me. The direction of our country wasn't something to which I gave a lot of thought, as I assumed whoever the president was, they would try their best to do what we needed to be done. Plus, I was trying to learn how to play the tuba. But I had a red, white, and blue hat with a 76 logo on it, and a lot of other people did too. The country celebrated together in 1976. Sure, there were some holdouts as there are today, but the vast majority of the population, the corporations, the local and state governments, advertisers, just about everybody jumped on the bicentennial bandwagon, because it was the American thing to do. As I said earlier, maybe two hundred and fifty years just isn't long enough to impress some people. There are buildings in Berlin that are older than the United States of America. Five hundred years older. So maybe two hundred fifty isn't such a big deal. There's China over there yawning as it says yeah, call us when you hit a thousand. But it is a big deal to us because we're a part of it. Speaking as an American. Yeah, the Republicans were upset that Jimmy Carter won the election, and it wasn't the best chapter in America's history, but we celebrated our anniversary as Americans. By the way, it was during the Carter administration that Iran attacked the American embassy there and took hostages and kept them for four hundred forty four days. That's when Iran began its campaign of terror aimed at the United States. It's what we're still dealing with today. Some were happy to let Iran slide by. President Trump isn't. I think it's a wise choice. Because of the war in Iran, there are a group of liberal talking heads and politicians who don't feel it's right to celebrate the anniversary of our founding. Maybe two hundred fifty is the equivalent of a five year old in dynasty years, but we should still get our cake. Democrats are acting like their little sister got to invite some of her friends to your birthday party. And that's just not fair because that's not how you wanted it. So now you're not gonna go to your own birthday party. Instead of celebrating the nation's birthday, the liberals are having second thoughts about how guilty they might feel if they celebrate the accomplishments of American history. I can't imagine why Democrats don't want to celebrate all the contributions they've made to make America what it is today. Keeping in mind that two hundred and fifty years isn't all that long ago. Recent history includes Democrats fighting a civil war in order to maintain the slavery of Africans who were shipped to the West Indies by slave traders, most of whom were themselves dark-skinned and then sold to American plantations. Democrats also fought to maintain segregation between white people and black people with separate but equal rules that were eventually prohibited by the U.S. Supreme Court. Jim Crow laws, the same laws the Democrats are now using to describe voter ID laws, were championed by the Democrats and led to the longest filibuster in the U.S. Senate when the Republicans tried to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1957. What else have Democrats contributed to the history of our country? Oh yeah, the welfare system. A good idea at the time if you were down on your luck. But now it's turned into a lifestyle for many. And when I say many, I mean many generations of families, trapping them in a vicious cycle of government dependency, contributing to urban decay and a lack of innovation and contribution to society. With a track record like that, it's understandable why Democrats and progressives don't want to celebrate America's anniversary. Their history is a reminder of all the bad ideas they brought to the table. Now they want to promote socialism and even further left progressive issues that are counterproductive to the American way of life. Democrats are partnering with socialists and communists. A guy in Maine with a Nazi tattoo on his chest, a guy in New Jersey whose pals with a convicted terrorist an inspiration for the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In order to celebrate America's birthday, Democrats would have to cheer all of the things they hate. Patriotism, capitalism, religion, self-reliance, and the current form of government. Today's Democrats want to rid the country of all of those things. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes wasn't kidding when she recently said she wants to fundamentally change the country. Kamala Harris recently promoted the idea of ending the filibuster, adding another four justices to the Supreme Court, and ending the Electoral College. Whatever kind of democracy they're trying to save isn't what you think it is. It's not the American form of government, as they try to lead us to believe. We're encouraged to strive for a more perfect union, not change it to a communist society.

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The big concert to celebrate the 250th recently had some setbacks. Many of the performers who were scheduled to attend have withdrawn, leaving the whole thing in doubt. Morris Day, Young MC, the Commodores, and Martina McBride all bailed after initially agreeing to perform. I have to wonder what kind of pressure was brought to bear by the power brokers on the left to get these people to give up a choice gig on America's biggest stage. After all, the lineup was announced, and as soon as the names were released, they suddenly changed their minds. It seems like the misery of the progressive left once company and used influence to make sure those performers didn't take part in any celebrations organized by the current administration. What a shame. I feel sorry for them. In any case, I hope you celebrate America on this, its 250th anniversary. A special one indeed. Imagine how different it might be.