Independence Day has come and gone...

The yearly festival where the 'patriots' come out en masse to display their flags, blow stuff up and yell 'God bless America'.

Oh, the fireworks are okay. I mean I love blowin' stuff up as much as the next guy... maybe more. But the flag thing really gets to me for some reason. Folks who haven't given a thought to our flag or to what it really represents in, oh 363 days or so, roll them out for the fourth and make a big display of it.

Well, there's Memorial day too, sorry.

But the whole thing just screams "Look at me! I love America!" a little bit too loudly for my tastes.

In my mind, the Memorial/Independence Day patriots are a secular, nationalistic version of the C&E Christians. You know, the folks who only come to church on Christmas and Easter.

Now, admittedly, in my theological understanding, church attendance cannot equate one to one with salvation - having a relationship with God is much more important than how many times you've gone to church or mass (or temple or mosque or shrine) in the past year. I'm perfectly willing to admit that those who attend the worship service of their choice once or twice a year may, in fact, understand God just as much as I do.

Maybe more.

But why bother showing up once or twice a year? If you truly believe that you've got a direct line to the Almighty without organized religion, then stay at home. On the other hand, if you believe as I do, that regular corporal worship adds to and enhances an individual's spirituality, then why only do it a couple of times a year? I've been in both places (and some others) but a few years ago, I consciously and deliberately made the decision to participate fully and regularly in my church's celebration of God.

Shouldn't this same logic apply to nationalism/patriotism? What does it mean to roll the flag out a couple of times a year? Shoot some fireworks off, eat yourself into coma, get drunk, and then
go back to work the next day? How in the world does any of this demonstrate one's patriotism or one's understanding of what makes this country great?

Exactly!

Perhaps those folks who bear their flags twice a year could spend at least as much time meditating on what the flag represents, why it is important, and what that means to a 21st century U.S. citizen. My eight year old son can tell you more about that than most grown up 'patriots'.

While they're at it maybe they could quit watching American Idol or General Hospital long enough to read some of the really great thinkers who have shaped the thought of this nation.

Like Washington, Lincoln, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther king Jr., and about a dozen others I'm forgetting to mention right now.

Sometimes I wonder if it has not been against her better judgment, but God has blessed America.