Jewish World Review May 28, 1999 /13 Sivan 5759
Don Feder
An American credo
(JWR) ---- (http://www.jewishworldreview.com)
ON THE DAY when we memorialize those who gave their lives so America would endure, we should ask what it means a
citizen of this republic.
Here are the thoughts of one American, a credo for the coming millennia.
I am an American. I was conceived at Plymouth, born in Lexington and Concord, and reached maturity at Philadelphia.
I went through the fires of Shiloh, Gualdacanal, the Chosin Resovoir, Khe Sanh and a thousand other battlefields, and
emerged rededicated to the ideals on which America was founded.
I am an American. Ever ready to defend my liberty and independence, to make any sacrifice and bear any burden - still,
I seek no quarrel.
I march to the sound of the guns out of necessity alone. I fight not for glory or territory, or to make others bend to my
will, but to vindicate my rights and preserve my freedom.
I am an American. I'm proud of my past. Words like Valley Forge, Gettysburg Address and Pearl Harbor -- names like
Washington, Jackson, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt -- make my blood stir.
Glancing behind me, I see generations of men and women who labored and struggled, lived and died to let me stand
where I am today -- who cleared the land, planted the crops, built the factories, raised the cities and made the discoveries
that created a civilization which all the silent, suffering ranks of slaves, serfs and subjects who came before them could never
imagine.
I am an American. While recognizing the errors that were made in nation-building (has a nation ever been built
exclusively on light?), I proclaim America's past glorious indeed, a boon to humanity, and consider myself among the blessed
of the earth to share this nation's destiny.
I am an American. Liberty is my birthright. To speak my mind, choose my leaders and legislators, defend my home and
family, and worship the Creator in my fashion -- these are not privileges, but G-d-given rights. Governments can respect or
deny them; they cannot change them.
I am an American. I have no rulers. Those who make, interpret and enforce our laws are servants. When they no longer
recognize that verity, their authority loses legitimacy.
I am an American. My rights are a sacred trust to be exercised in the cause of justice and virtue. They are not the
playthings of a spoiled child or mechanisms of self-indulgence.
I am an American. English is my language. Our ancestors arrived on these shores speaking everything from Chinese to
Yiddish. It was English that united us, that allowed us to overcome age-old antagonisms.
From the Mayflower Compact
to the latest piece of legislation introduced in Congress, our history and heritage are written in the tongue of the Magna Carta
and the King James Bible.
I am an American. I have no distinctive race, religion or ethnicity. I am black, white, yellow, brown and red -- Catholic,
Protestant, Jew and Hindu. I came here from the hamlets of Old England, the bogs of Ireland, Napoli's sunny shore, the Pale
of Settlement and the villages of Vietnam. American isn't a color or creed, but a state of mind.
I am an American. I welcome immigrants who are here to work and build, who identify with our past and ideals, who
were spiritual Americans before they landed. Broken English is fine, as long as faith remains unbroken. An American speaks
with the heart as much as the lips.
I am an American. My ism is Americanism. I reject all dogmas and ideologies. Collectivism, racism, militarism and
imperialism have no place here. The rot that's eaten away at the soul of so many nations and cultures must be fiercely
resisted.
I am an American. I recognize only one loyalty higher than allegiance to our flag -- faith in G-d. I acknowledge that
America and G-d, the physical and the spiritual, are inseparable. America was founded by people of faith and grew to
greatness by His grace. I pray that we will always be the instruments of His will.
I am an American. I weep over the fact that American history is no longer taught in our schools. In its place is a worldly,
cynical skepticism inculcated by authors and educators at war with our basic values.
I am an American. I cringe at the
collection of connivers, cowards, clowns and quacks that passes for our political leadership. I wonder that so many of my
compatriots have no idea what America means and show no gratitude for the blessings that are theirs.
I am an American. My ranks grow thin; the night closes in. Whether I will be the last of my kind or the vanguard of their
resurgence, only time will
tell.
5/26/99:Do we really want peace in Yugoslavia?
5/24/99: Gay 'marriage' -- don't pass go
5/19/99: Little Bill, you had a busy week
5/17/99: Gun control, campaign-finance reform -- two liberal illusions
5/12/99: Watch Quayle go from "incredible" to quite credible
5/10/99: Conservatives excluded from academic diversity
5/05/99: Expecting the impossible of parents
5/03/99: Gore race-baits with impunity
4/29/99: Why Kosovo? Oh, just because
4/27/99: The president's pro-parent claptrap
4/22/99: McCain plays to the media
4/19/99: NATO would have favored the confederacy
4/14/99: Before we march into Kosovo
4/12/99: Taiwan more worthy of U.S. support
4/09/99: Bauer and Forbes --- Main Street vs. Wall Street
4/05/99: Bubba and Maddy lit Kosovo's fire
3/29/99: At Passover, Egypt is a state of mind
3/29/99: Could the GOP stand Pat in 2000?
3/17/99: Hollywood's party line in 1999
3/15/99: All bow, the court is in session
3/11/99: In praise of negative campaigning
3/09/99: Day-care study defies common sense
3/04/99: Starship Clinton orbits Kosovo
3/01/99: Public will blot out Broaddrick's accusation
2/25/99: Slick Hillie for Senate would be fun
2/23/99: Fascism in the name of fighting fascism
2/16/99: Was anything learned from the impeachment trial?
2/12/99: Educating the democratic voters of tomorrow
2/10/99: First Amendment doesn't apply to pro-life cause
2/08/99: Dems' triumph over Constitution complete
2/03/99: Blood of victims will drown out breakfast prayers
2/01/99: Without a home the heart knows no rest
1/29/99: Poster boy for term-limits
1/27/99: The 'so-what' defense in the City of Saints
1/25/99: Whose choice?
1/21/99: Censure worse than nothing
1/18/99: Words can`t dignify a dishonored presidency
1/13/99: Conservatism "with a heart" is conservatism without a head
1/11/99: If he isn't removed, watch out for Bill!
1/07/99: We can learn a lot from Teddy
1/05/99: Monica and a call to modesty
12/30/98: Will Bubba get away with it again?
12/28/98: Zionist dream alive and well on West Bank
12/18/98: Impeach or abandon the Rule of Law
12/16/98: Clinton moves Middle East closer to war
12/14/98: Why we lost interest in the homeless
12/10/98: No place at table for conservatives
12/07/98: The day America lost its innocence
12/02/98: Pilgrims Pilloried in streets of Plymouth
11/30/98: Caribbean dogpatch not a good candidate for statehood
11/25/98: Will Vermont force gay marriage on the nation?
11/23/98: The ACLU wants your kids to get a love life
11/18/98: Why liberals hate tobacco and guns more than drugs and crime
11/16/98: "Pleasantville" a countercultural morality play
11/13/98: Ads are a tough sell for abortion
11/09/98: Why gutless Republicans lost
11/06/98: Historians against the Constitution
11/02/98: Loving response to a hateful conference
10/28/98: Professor Death will fit right in at Princeton
10/26/98: Plymouth caves to Pilgrim foes
10/21/98: On '98 election, keep a critical eye on polls
10/19/98: Clinton could yet be 'prosperity president'
10/16/98: Working families -- Dems love 'em (stuffed)
10/09/98: Majoring in 'weirdness'
10/07/98: Friends of Billy Clinton
9/29/98: Letter from ex-soldier highlights defense peril
9/28/98: Answering arguments against impeachment
9/18/98: The nation that doesn't exist
9/14/98: Bubba isn't the only one who should be ashamed
9/11/98: Resolution of Clinton crisis will define national character
9/09/98: We're still just wild about Harry
9/07/98: Mexican banditry didn't end with Pancho Villa
9/02/98: Clinton forgives us!
8/31/98: Ashcroft's plain talking touches responsive chord
8/26/98: Public opinion be damned
8/24/98: Why liberals condone Clinton's lies
8/20/98: Time to move on -- to impeachment
8/12/98: With Bubba in the sexual privacy zone
8/10/98: The truth won't set Clinton free
8/06/98: Truth about Hiroshima is incontrovertible
8/04/98: Clinton not the first hollow president
7/30/98: "Small Soldiers" -- a fractured Vietnam allegory
7/27/98: Crime wave hits hometown
7/22/98: Love in an Internet fishbowl
7/20/98: Ads bring ex-gay movement out of closet
7/15/98: Brian and Amy -- the children of Roe
7/13/98: Why are we scared of obnoxious 'activists?'
7/6/98: Fonda still resists reality
7/1/98: New York blesses domestic partnerships
6/29/98: Teddy and Calvin stood for virtue
6/24/98: Will Clinton betray Taiwan?
6/22/98: Big tobacco? What about big casinos?
6/15/98: Religion -- God for what ails you
6/10/98: Planning Clinton's China itinery
6/8/98: Republicans' Custer offers advice
6/4/98: Oh, Dems Christian-bashers!
6/2/98: Goldwater did conservatives more harm than good
5/27/98: A Clinton-hater confesses
5/15/98: Giuliani's assault on marriage
5/13/98: Hillary knows what's best for everyone
5/11/98: To honor her would not be honorable
5/6/98: Conservative chasm: pragmatism vs. worship of marketplace
5/4/98: Anglo-saxon me
4/29/98:
Needle exchange programs are assisted-suicide
4/27/98: Chretien's mission of mercy to Fidel
4/22/98: School-choice is a religious freedom issue
4/20/98: Corporate execs deliver body parts to Beijing
4/14/98: National sales tax --- looks better all the time
4/13/98: The U.N. sinister? Hey, where did that idea come from?
4/8/98: Unions fight workers rights in 226 campaign
3/30/98: Africa's leaders should apologize
3/25/98: GOP shouldn't look to media for advice
3/22/98: You should care about Clinton's 'private life'
3/19/98: Color-coded reading, product of obsessive minds
3/16/98: Amendment will end exile of G-d from our public lives
3/9/98: Havana will break your heart
3/2/98: Vouchers Terrify Teachers' Union
2/25/98: Presidential politics starts at a resort hotel
2/23/98: Hillary's support comes at a price
2/18/98: How many times must we say "no" to gay rights?
2/16/98: Enoch Powell spoke the truth on immigration
2/11/98: Bubba behaving badly
2/9/98: A conservative dissent on the flag-burning amendment
2/5/98: We get the leaders we deserve
2/2/98: Send a signal that could penetrate boardroom doors
1/27/98: State of the president: hollow rhetoric
1/25/98: For Monica's playmate, we have no one to blame but ourselves
1/22/98: At Yale, bet on yarmulke over gown
1/19/98: Commission tackles America's fastest-growing addiction, gambling
1/15/98: Capital punishment and the hard case: no exceptions for Karla Faye Tucker
1/12/98: Partial-birth abortion and the GOP's future: the "big tent" meets truth in advertising
1/8/98: IOLTA: the Left's latest scam to crawl into our pockets
1/5/98: Connect the dots to create a terrorist state
1/1/98: The Unacceptables of 1997: Long may they rave
12/28/97: Hypocrisy is a liberal survival mechanism
12/23/97: Chanukah is no laughing matter
12/22/97: No merry Christmas for persecuted Christians around the world
12/18/97: Bosnia, Haiti, and how not to conduct a foreign policy
©1999, Creators Syndicate
|