I don't want to say "God Bless America".
I'd rather say "God Bless Humanity".

I'm not a good patriot, I think.

Patriot - One who loves, supports, and defends one's country.

Do I love my country? Definitely, though for the right reasons? I love my country because it has an amazing history, provides fruitful living and easy opportunity, generally speaking. But I don't really see why I should love it more than I love the land of...ice, say, or green. Though I have been commanded to obey the government God set into motion (though not when it conflicts with His laws) I don't recall any command to love or support it more than another nation.

Do I support my country? In some ways. I don't support all of it's decisions.

Do I defend my country? From what? My dad is in the armed forces, if that's what it entails to defend...but as for me, I equally abuse and defend America.

But that's not my point here, not my point at all. What I want to write about is the majority of American's extreme patriotism to their country. It's a fine place to live, certainly. But it's just as corrupt as every other nation. If Jesus came down from earth, would he be patriotic?

All Nations Are Corrupt

1 John 5:19 And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

Do Not Love The World

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.


"I pledge allegiance to the flag..."

allegiance - Loyalty or the obligation of loyalty, as to a nation, sovereign, or cause.

Whose Kingdom are you going to serve?

On a slightly different note, my family went out on the river to grill and watch the fireworks last night. Here in Augusta we really do have a spectacular fireworks show. This year there were some amazing ones. Smiley faces, curly-qs, my favorite - chaos - and of course the climactic lighting of the bridge. It's like a niagra falls of fire off the bridge connecting South Carolina to Georgia. But my attention was not held captive by these awesome displays. Instead, the flashing lights and sirens coming from another bridge directly in front of the fireworks one kept me distracted. The traffic had come to a complete halt, and there were somewhere around five ambulances and a fire truck wailing and shining their lights.

I was just...in a kind of trance, staring at this major upheaval on the highway. I heard a few repulsive comments from other boaters during the show, though. "Ha! Those lights are free, folks." I was really aggravated. (actually, the entire fireworks show was free, so that made him even more stupid.) I kept thinking about how awful it would be to get loaded into an emergency vehicle with fireworks blasting your eardrums, and people cheering just a little ways away...and you laying there in ruin, a bloody mess. It'd be horrible. As if there wasn't enough pain and confusion with a wreck and possible deaths, there's a major party commotion just a hundred feet away.

Then this morning I read the newspaper and find that there was a three car collision that sent eight people to the emergency room on the Savannah Highway Bridge.