In the shadow of ‘pomp and parade’ is the only reason for our annual Independence Day celebration:

… I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.

John Adams’ letter to his wife, Abigail Adams on July 3, 1776

Could it be that as a nation, over the last 245 years, we have grotesquely overemphasized the pomp and parade, while completely undervaluing how significant our Declaration of Independence still is today?  Over the past two and a half centuries have we allowed the overdone commercialization of our most sacred day of honor to incrementally replace prayers of gratitude and self-preservation with barbecues and ‘long week-ends’?  Have we left in the shadows that which we’ve each been personally responsible for maintaining all along?

Yes.  We have.

But many Americans today are recognizing it’s magnitude is still ever-so germane, and are reviving the fore-thoughts of essential liberty into our minds and into our prayers.  We are bringing it back into the full sunlight of our own awareness.  We are remembering the blood and sacrifice of our founding, and we are honoring it and sharing it with our children and grandchildren once again.  We are deliberating our own personal price, and in real time are having to consider if we have what it takes to “mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor”.  We have quickly discovered how relevant this is today and all of the tomorrows after.

And we are all silently praying that we are not too late.

Today as we face our 245th birthday, Americans are once again making history – joining together to fight for the restoration of the America we need and cherish.  Attending school board and city council meetings have become more important than going out to dinner; holding law-makers accountable has become more important than Monday night football; considering running for public office has become more important than moving up to the next ladder-rung at work; keeping up on current events has become more important than watching television; investing in our 2nd Amendment Rights has become more important than expensive cars and trucks; investing our time in our children has become more important than spending the same on ourselves; praying to God has become more important than texting friends…

Despite this patriotic revival, this year’s Independence Day still finds a vast majority of Americans with very troubled hearts because our country is changing at warp-speed and in very disturbing, warped ways.

Some of us are attempting to unite our efforts with others – as we should.  But we also must recognize that our efforts are already naturally united with our countrymen thousands of miles away, because we are all fighting the same war in every state.

This mutual understanding and effort is noticeably true with musicians today.  Not unlike the popularity and weaponry of music during the Revolutionary War, today’s great concerns and the People’s response are being reflected in many new songs created by many artists – both new and seasoned.  The message of ‘We The People’ is reverberating from the mountaintops in the music industry – whether Hollywood approves or not.  Which is exactly as it should be.

These artists are doing their part with the talents they’ve been blessed with.  Despite the communist-driven magnifying glass of cancel culture, despite any repercussions that might come their way, they have already made a clear, conscientious and valorous decision to pledge their Lives, their Fortunes and their sacred Honor – for America.  We need to be aware of the courage of these artists, and also recognize ourselves in them – after all, we are all cut from the same American cloth.  We need to emulate their bravery by finding and using our own voice every time it is necessary.

To the surprise of us old-schoolers, many of these new patriotic songs are rap.  Some of us might need to re-evaluate our opinions of this genre – it is actually quite ingenious when you really stop and listen.  In fact, just this morning I found myself humming some of the tunes, marveling at the rhyming cadence that I’m pretty sure I personally would never be able to master.

To give you a taste of this new generation of musically gifted Patriots, we share some of these songs below, as well as other genres and older songs, along with a few speeches for you to enjoy and consider during your July 4th, 2021 celebration.  We hope they provoke deep and creative thoughts on how you can bring your own skills and talents to the table for restoring AMERICA and reviving the PATRIOTISM that created the original fabric of this glorious Nation.

May God Almighty answer the Patriot’s prayer, may He find favor in our solemn acts and devotions, and may He deliver us and our country from evil once again.  AMEN.

The Patriot by Topher

Dont Tread On Me by Nu Breed & Jesse Howard

Am I the Only One by Aaron Lewis

Misc songs and speeches to enjoy and consider during your July 4th, 2021 celebration:

2021
Am I the Only One (Country – Aaron Lewis) Clean version
Am I the Only One (Country – Aaron Lewis) Not-so-clean version
Happy Birthday America (Country – Toby Keith)
Dont Tread On Me (Mancunian Rapper – Nu Breed & Jesse Howard)
Time To Fight (Rap – Bryson Gray)
Snowflakes (Rap – Tom MacDonald)
All My Exes CHANGED THEIR SEXES (Country – Buddy Brown)
U.S. Army Marching Cadence
N. Carolina Lt. Gov. Robinson Speech June 2021

2020
Home Free – God Bless the U.S.A. (Lee Greenwood and The United States Air Force Band)
Gun Totin’ Patriot (Rap – Bryson Gray)
Earth To God (Country – John Rich)
You’re One of Us (Country – Buddy Brown)
Welcome to my House (Mancunian Rapper -Nu Breed & Jesse Howard)
The Patriot (Rap – Topher, The Marine Rapper)
Lay Me Down in the Cold, Cold Ground (Irish Folk – Sgt. MacKenzie by Joseph Rizza Kilna)

2019
Divided We Fall (Rap – Overtime)
Kids That Never Got Spanked (Country – Buddy Brown

2018
This Place Called USA (Country – Creed Fisher)
Battle Hymn of the Republic (Angela Primm – for the movie Death of A Nation by Dinesh D’Souza)
Folded Flag (Country – Aaron Lewis)

2017
President Trump Inauguration Speech (President Donald J. Trump)

2016
If You Have a Right to Burn My Flag (Country – Creed Fisher)
I Think My Dog’s a Democrat (Country – Bryan Lewis)

2015
My Country Tis of Thee (Lee Greenwood)

2014
Mr Red White and Blue (Country – Coffey Anderson)

2011
Made In America (Country – Toby Keith)
America (Neil Diamond)

2009
American Soldier (Country – Toby Keith)
Courtesy Of The Red, White And Blue (Country – Toby Keith)
Have You Forgotten? (Country – Darryl Worley)

1991
The National Anthem – Star Spangled Banner (Whitney Houston)

1984
The truth about the Bruce Springsteen hit ‘Born in the USA’.  (How fitting it was released in 1984.)

1981
A Warrior’s Pledge  (Ronald Reagan Speech)
‘Do Wah Diddy Diddy’ Running Cadence with Bill Murray from Stripes 😉

1975
Ragged Old Flag (Johnny Cash)

1972
America the Beautiful (Ray Charles)

From the Western Journal on June 18, 2021:

Exclusive from Gen. Flynn: This Father’s Day, I’m Issuing a Challenge to Every Dad in America

If you are a student of American history like me, you have heard President Reagan’s many references to America as a “shining city on a hill.”

As proud patriots, it is easy to relish in the Great Communicator’s bold picture of an America whose destiny is to shine the light of freedom far beyond our own borders. Yet many Americans do not realize that President Reagan did not develop the “city on a hill” concept on his own.

The great Puritan John Winthrop had a vision for the New World to be a city on a hill.

He famously cast this vision in a sermon delivered before he even stepped onto American soil. His inspiration came from the fifth chapter of Matthew’s gospel, which charges that “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.”

As governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Winthrop lived out his vision, and many other colonies followed suit. America grew into her independence and quickly became a beacon of freedom to the rest of the world, just like Matthew wrote, just like Winthrop envisioned and just like Reagan acknowledged.

Our nation’s role as a “city on a hill” has a rich heritage worth being proud of.

However, it is important to note that the challenge of being a city on a hill is not a vague allusion to some watered-down idea of good living. It is a clear and direct call to action.

As Winthrop preached, “We are entered into a covenant with [the Lord] for this work. We have taken out a commission. … If we shall neglect the observation of these articles which are the ends we have propounded … the Lord will surely break out in wrath against us … and make us know the price of the breach of such a covenant.”

Winthrop believed that the settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony would be held accountable for their calling to be a city on a hill.

That burden is still in effect, yet today’s America has a serious lack of accountability. A loving father or mother will hold their children accountable for failing to meet expectations.

Why should our loving Heavenly Father turn a blind eye as America falls short of our calling? The world is still watching us.

Yet accountability does not start on a global level. It starts with you.

The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass is often quoted as having said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”

This Father’s Day, it is my challenge to fathers everywhere to be man enough to accept accountability for the rearing of your children. Invest yourself in a treasure without price, and the dividends will be without end.

If America is to continue to be a shining city on a hill, your home must be a shining beacon in your community.

Accept accountability, set an example worth following, and trust in the power of God Almighty to be your strength in trouble.

God Bless America!

So what differentiates a Trump Voter from your stereotypical run-of-the-mill, wimpy, go-along to get-along, watered-down Romney-type Republican that has left most of us wanting (and holding the bag) for decades?  Commitment.  Nerve.  Values.  Moxie.  Loyalty.  Courage.  Clear vision.  Blatant honesty.  Boldness.  Outspokenness.  Fidelity.  Full-strength truth.  Resolve.  Undying dedication to the cause.  American pride, ingenuity and determination.  Guts.  Backbone.  American allegiance backed up by pit-bull cojones, that’s what.

Which is why more than half the nation from all walks of life, and most especially the working class, quickly grew to respect, deeply appreciate and unabashedly support Trump; we finally found a leader that would fight the way we want him to, a leader that would back us and our country up, by never backing down and punching back every single time it was warranted – and several times as hard.  A leader that values our children as much as our military, who values our families more than foreign relations, who values our independence more than any president we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes.

The last time I can recall a Republican making a Trump-like stand was on Sept 14, 2001 at ground-zero when President Bush said “I can hear you! And the rest of the world hears you! And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!”  It is well-worthwhile to watch that 2 minute video clip linked above – not to watch or listen to Bush, but specifically to watch and listen to that diverse crowd of American brethren.  On that day we all believed we had a real fighter, a leader, who would stand up and punch back for us and our country – you can hear it and see it in every American face and voice on that video – who, by the way, are the ones who actually carried that historical moment.

Fast forward to today, and George W. just stabbed us in our backs for standing up to defend our country from what is clearly totalitarianism (Bush describes GOP as ‘isolationist, protectionist and, to a certain extent, nativist’, Apr 20, 2021).  That proves to be just more of what we had all been experiencing for decades before Trump; the resolve and guts displayed on occasion by most leaders in office is the exception, and not the rule.

Unlike past administrations, both Democratic and Republican alike, Trump also recognizes that Americans can most oftentimes get things done better than government.  Operation Warp-speed is a beautiful example of that – just the logistics alone would’ve been a catastrophe with the government at the helm, and certainly would’ve put the country into a much longer lock-down than what occurred.  Trump has always known and honored the fact that ‘We the People’ are America – not government.  Biden, on the other hand, just tried to convince us yesterday that government is “We the People”.

With Trump, the fierce and undying devotion to America is the rule, and not the exception.  It’s important to acknowledge however: Trump didn’t teach us to stand for our country, he joined us.  He mirrored our own values and loyalty back to us – and that made us even stronger.  Bigly.  But he did show average Americans how to fight for our country, when the fight is on our home soil.  Just look at what happened in Vail, Arizona a few days ago – the local school board fled their scheduled public meeting because they were frightened by the number of parents who had shown up in protest of the continuance of a mask mandate.  What did the parents do when the school board fled their own public meeting?  They elected a new board, and then promptly lifted the mandate.  (Way to go Vail, AZ!!)

Trump became the tip of the American spear that had already existed before he came onto the political scene.  We just needed the right kind of leadership to shape and brandish the point.

We were that spear in 2016, and we still sure as heck are now.  So it’s time to get to work.  We have a country to save.