One Nation Under God

“I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”

How did we get to the where we are in America?  How did we become so angry, aggravated, and intolerant of each other? When did we dismiss “one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL?”  I don’t know when it happened, but I can tell you that I don’t like the fact that so many people have forgotten it. 

I believe in my own 80/20 rule.  I think 80% of us from every different category you can imagine can get along and at the very least, be respectful of each other.  However, I believe that 20% of every categorical group is going to hate everybody that is not like them until the end of the time.  The real problem is that the 20% of each group is usually louder than the 80% of us that can respect others, even when we may not agree with them.  On 9/11/2001, America was attacked by a force of evil.  Immediately after that, we were united as one nation under God.  Everybody was proud to be an American, proud to live in the United States and was genuinely concerned about each other.  When you look around at the dissension that goes on daily now, our unity seems like a million years ago.

As school starts back each year, I always remember the teachers that were dedicated to giving me the education that I needed to get through life.  I didn’t always like some of the work it took to get through school, but I respected the fact that it was what was best for me.  Our education system in the United States is falling apart in a lot of areas.  I believe that much of the reason for educational deterioration is that many kids are no longer taught to be respectful.  When a child is growing up in an environment that does not teach them to be determined and committed to their education, they are probably not going to care.  That is another problem that I see with society today, many people do not consider the best decisions they can make for their future.  They only consider what they need to do today, just to get by. 

               I was blessed with a wonderful mother and father.  They gave me direction, taught me to be respectful and gave me rules to live by.  Not one time in my life did I ever hear my parents support something only for political reasons.  They made decisions based on what they thought was right. Because at the end of our life, when the decisions we made truly matter, there will only be one way we are going to be saved. And I hate to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I can assure you, being saved will not have anything to do with a political party.      

          

               I grew up on a small, private dirt road named Boyd Brafford Dr, after my grandfather.  Down that road we were free to play, ride bikes, visit grandparents, and not worry about many of the evils that the world faces today.  We walked about a quarter of a mile to the bus stop all of our lives by ourselves and we never had one issue.  That will always be home to me.  Every time I ride down that road, I think about so many wonderful memories and how grateful I am for my childhood.  But I also remember the lessons I was taught about respect, appreciation, and honor.  Long before a song made it famous, I was taught that no matter what, always be humble and kind. 

               Today marks 18 years since Deddy passed away.  Ironically, we are having one of the strongest hurricanes that we have had in many years.  There is an old Chinese proverb that says, “When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.”  I think as Florence passes through and damages start to be assessed, we’ll all see the good in people come to fruition. Family, friends, neighbors and strangers will come to the aid of others in need.  Lives will be saved, trees will be cut from houses and roads, linemen and emergency crews will work incredibly long hours for weeks and most of all, compassion will prevail over strife.  It’s a shame that society often needs a tragedy to remind all of us of how much we need each other.  I think we can all agree that if the world we live in today would put forth more effort into helping one another and less effort into finding reasons to hate each other, it would be better for everyone.  I think there are a lot of lessons that need to be learned in the world today, but we have to be willing to listen to one another in a reasonable way.  One of the most significant reasons I miss my father so much is that he was always was a voice of reason.  He was the one person I could always turn to during a difficult time.  As I have gotten older, I have grown to appreciate that even more.  No matter where I go in this world, home always leads me back to Boyd Brafford Dr.

               I wish all of you the very best as Hurricane Florence rips through North Carolina.  I pray that all of you stay safe over the next several days.  As always, we will get through this together and I am certain that compassion and empathy will prevail, and that is an America that we can all be proud of.  #Keepthefaith #BraffordStrong #Krobsworld #Robbiebrafford