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WHY I LOVE THIS COUNTRY
As a young girl, I grew up in a small town in New Jersey. Every patriotic holiday I remember my father unfolding the American Flag and hanging it outside our home. I learned how to respect the flag. You never let it touch the ground, and you always brought it in before sundown. I loved our colors -- red, white, and blue! Whenever possible I wore the colors. They were my very favorite. More than the colors, I loved what they represented.
You see, in 1937, Benito Mussolini was the "Government" of Italy. He had established a fascist regime that valued socialism, nationalism, and militarism; and held close control on individuals through strict censorship and state propaganda. My grandfather had been working in the US for a while, saving enough money to bring his wife and children here from Italy. With the help of other family members they relocated to Brooklyn, New York.
My Dad was sixteen years old, the second youngest of five children. He didn't speak English and neither did most of his family. They arrived at Ellis Island and were processed along with other immigrant families. To learn English, my Dad had to begin by sitting in the first grade until he mastered the language. He then attended a technical high school and learned the carpentry trade.
I learned from him that the flag represented the freedom to speak and to live what one believed. He was proud to enter the Army when the war broke out in 1941, and he fought overseas against the country he had been born in, because he was now an American who believed in the freedom his former countrymen no longer had. Freedom of speech, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly were the "pearls of great price" that were worth fighting for.
He believed in God and was a member of both the American Legion and the Catholic War Veterans. His God was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of Israel; the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit -- our Lord Jesus Christ. It was his strong love of God, love of country, and love of family that was passed on to me.
"Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord." (Psalm 33)
Our nation was built by many, many, men and women like my father. Men and women of all races, all religions, all beliefs and no beliefs. Other than Native American Indians, we all came from someplace other than these shores. Our forefathers came with little more than Bible in hand and developed the Law of the Land based on the Law of God's Word. In a little more than 200 years this country became more advanced and prosperous than countries that had existed for centuries. A coincidence? I don't believe in coincidences.
God knows all of us. He made Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Buddhists and Moslems, but He made us with the intent that we would come to know Him and love Him and serve Him and worship Him as Creator and Lord. We are His creation and He is desperately calling to us, not only to love Him but to love one another. I pray that we all come to know our Lord, our Creator, the God of the Universe and the Bible -- Jesus Christ. May He continue to bless this country and may we never forget where we have all come from and the price that has been paid by so many to keep us where we are.
God Bless America
Linda Marchinke
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