'Why don't you move if you don't want to be an American?' There are some people today ( you know who you are ) who are pretty damn sure they don't want to be labeled 'American' & seemingly for good reason; there is much about America herself & the epitome of what is termed 'American' that is reprehensible at best! Those who voice such concerns are not necessarily being un-American or even anti-American, they are simply stating that what passes for an American today is, one, not what it used to be & two, being an American doesn't necessarily mean that you stand for or back everything America herself ( as a nation ) stand for or does; it simply means we live here & pledge our allegiance to what is right, not what is clearly wrong!
In this life, we often feel that we are caught in a web, that we can't get away from doing a certain thing or even a certain way of doing things; I mean, if you don't salute the flag or hold your hand over your heart during the singing of the national anthem, at the very least you may be thought unpatriotic: God forbid you don't say the pledge ( of allegiance )! On the other side of the coin, one might find much the same with modern Christianity; if you don't revere the Bible appropriately, or confess certain creeds or hold to certain 'orthodox' doctrines, you may not be a Christ at all, but simply a wolf in sheep's clothing!
Spiders are interesting creatures, bloodthirsty maybe, but interesting nonetheless! When spiders spin their webs, it is not only to trap flies & other insects for food, the web also serves as their home, their network of communication & a very real line of defense. If a spider feels the minutest vibration from anywhere on the web, they know that something requires their immediate attention & they hurry to meet the disturbance with their hackles up & their senses intact.
Life in our human world is very similar, if only we would realize it & accept it! There is a thread ( however fine ) that connects us all as human beings. The apostle Paul told us that when one part of the body suffers, the whole body is affected, to whatever extent; in context he was speaking, not of biology, but of the spiritual Body of Christ, but is this not so in biology as well? Even in plant-life, we can observe that what affects the leaf usually stems from the root. Often, if the leaf is disturbed, the disease travels through the whole plant till at last the root itself becomes diseased!
As human beings, we have a similar way of communicating with each other; we use our network, not only to trap what is needful for our consumption, but also to secure our borders, to provide a home for ourselves & our loved ones: we also use the same network for a line of defense, much like the spider! When our lines of communication are providing their optimum capability, we are in tune, not only with each other but with Nature itself, with the human suffering around us & even with plants & animals when we witness their abuse. Our human biology, much like plant & animal biology, is fearfully & wonderfully made; we are so intricately woven together that I dare any biologist to so that we are not products of Intelligent Design!
To say that someone is un-American or even anti-American because they don't adhere to every doctrine or ideology that is called 'American' is not only the height of ignorance, it is destructive to the thread, the network that links us all! The same goes for those who would label certain people non-Christian because they don't subscribe to certain creeds or believe certain doctrines; it only serves to sever those all important lines of communication, theose same lines which feed us, serve as our homes & natural line of defense!
To be an American does not mean that you agree with everything America stands for, has done in the past, is doing nor, or means to do in the future; it simply means that this is your place of origin! As American Christians, or more correctly, Christians Americans, we are Children of the King! Yes, I realize that there has been a separation between what is spiritual & what is physical, but maybe this is part of our problem; we have all but severed ( or at least attempted to ) those lines of communication between what we deem as 'up there' & what is 'down here'. Some have recognized this connection for decades & centuries but have often ( usually ) suffered the fate of 'heretics'!
One must not support wrongdoing, whether the perpetrator is America or ISIS! Those who are not sure if they want to be called Americans ( for the most part ) are not saying they don't want to live in America or even support & defend her, they are simply saying, 'what America is doing, as a nation is not right & I will not support or defend what is not right'; they also, along with many who do not yet realize it ( call them 'sheeple' ), suffer under an oppressive regime. There is right & there is wrong; when America as a nation embodies what is wrong, we should do our level best to withdraw our support from her, but when she does what is right, we should support & defend that right!
In judging for ourselves, however, we should be very careful not to disturb the web, the thread that connects us all, for without that necessary connection, we will wither & die! It is only by pulling together & realizing that we are all entangled in this Web of Life that we will ever come to the realization that the spiritual & physical are two sides of the same coin. The Marriage of Heaven & Earth ensured that it is only through our spiritual connections that we communicate Life & Light, all else is Death & Darkness!
Charles Haddon Shank
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