This
coming Fourth of July will of course, be the first one we’ve had
in this country since the infamous September 11th
tragedy of last year. I predict we will see more flags, more
bunting, greater participation and larger parades than in the
years gone by. This is a wonderful country, which we live in, and
truth to tell is the envy of many others in the world. Among those
are the persons responsible for the attacks of September last
year. Rather than accomplishing their goal of separating our
peoples, they achieved the opposite effect of bringing our
countryman and women closer together. They failed to realize the
depth of the American people and their love for this country.
You want to see and feel the spirit of America? I’d like to
suggest you make a trek out to one of the smaller towns and cities
that make up the majority of our country. I once did some
marketing research for a project I was working on and found that
there are only about (at that time) 400 cities in the entire
country with a population over 100,000. Obviously the majority of
the entire country lives in smaller communities spread over the
entire nation. Once again this past weekend we had the pleasure of
seeing that American spirit in action by taking in a community
theater play in a town located about 90 miles from where we live.
I don’t wish to downplay the merits of Broadway or any other
staging production but I have to say this particular ensemble
could be matched up against anything I’ve ever seen and could
stand toe to toe with the best of them.
To see volunteer citizens of this community from ages 6 to perhaps
86 act, sing and dance without missing a beat in such a
professional manner should make any American proud of what we can
do when we unite. These people don’t get paid for their efforts.
These people aren’t making a living by performing. These people
come together and obviously work hard at making a local community
production come off as slick as anything you can hope to see.
These people work at regular jobs during the day and then gather
in the evenings to rehearse for God knows how many hours just for
the sheer joy of providing entertainment to others. Is that great
or what?
Stop right now and tell me just how many community theater
productions are being rehearsed in Iran or Afghanistan at this
very moment? I’d be willing to say none at all. That’s what July 4th
is about, our spirit, our independence and our unity of purpose
for the common good. America is indeed a unique place to live. We
fight amongst ourselves when we want to and stand united when we
have to. There aren’t many other places on this planet that can
say the same. The staging of musical productions would probably be
silly to those who would seek to do us harm. I would suggest that
they may want to look at the resolve in the hearts and souls of
those small communities to better understand our strengths and
determination.
A community that will spend countless hours learning lines and
dance steps to help build character and confidence in their
children and citizens won’t think twice about taking on any force
that threatens it’s existence. The play we were privileged to see
was “The Music Man” and as Professor Harold Hill says….”You’ve got
trouble, right here in River City” Trust me, mess with any of us
in this country and you’ll find out what it means to have trouble.
We’re Americans and we can give you some trouble….right here in
River City or New York, Chicago, or any other town you’d like to
start with. We don’t or won’t back down for anyone. Happy Fourth
of July…
