If America was a cake, how would it look?
When we think of a cake, maybe our favorite cake, we imagine how it appears. It is a certain thickness, flavored with our favorite icing. It’s a beautiful cake. Maybe a birthday or holiday. I like patriotic cakes on the 4th of July. White icing with some red and blue coloring to appear festive. It can be a big cake if we plan to have company or a small cake if it’s just Ms. Lucy and I enjoying a quiet holiday. Sometimes we have a house full of family to celebrate. Cookouts with the normal trimmings, watermelon, water slides for the grandkids, and of course Ms. Lucy pulling out the smores and marshmallows for the evening pit fire before the fireworks and sparklers she has stashed away for the kids to play with as a last evening event. As a Veteran and Patriot who loves our great country, these are the times in life I enjoy the most.
There is something about watching fireworks and listening to Patriotic music blaring in the background. The Stars and Stripes Forever or God Bless America. Often, I have to make an excuse for the tears that blossom and run down my cheeks by saying the night air is messing with my allergies. The hundreds of thoughts racing through my head of the thousands of women and men who died serving Old Glory and our great nation. Many died alone with no friends or family around. The wounded and the scarred who paid the price to give and keep us where we are today. It’s like that beautiful cake we see. Perfectly baked, decorated and waiting for the celebration.
The kids hold small stick flags and wave them to the beat of the music as fireworks crackle and sparkle. It’s like the beautiful cake. How could anything be so beautiful. Like the Stars and Stripes blowing in the breeze as the bands march the parade route to their destination. America, land of the free and home of the brave. My home sweet home. There is no place I would rather be than in America.
Have you ever walked through a grocery store or bakery deli and noticed all the beautiful cakes out for purchase? All different colors and designs. During the patriotic holidays we see lots of red, white, and blue, designs and types. They all look great. Right? Sort of like the image our great nation called America portrays to the world. Some within would try and convince you America is a terrible place. I disagree and from my own foreign travels I can tell you about every place I spent time, the locals wanted to hear stories about life in America. Was this true. Was that true. “Could you really walk down the street to a store and choose from 25 flavors of ice cream with lots of goodies on top?” “How do you pick a car when you have more than 100 makes and models to choose from?” I don’t recall ever hearing a foreigner abroad speaking badly of America. It was more often foreigners sharing their dream of someday coming to America. They talked of the bright lights and festivities to celebrate the great land called America as they viewed it from afar… the dream of making a better life for their families.
No, it’s not a holiday as I write this message. It is a period in history that I wonder how it will be recorded. Such political discourse. Both sides state they love America. But, such decisive differences in what each side believes America should be. One side creating conspiracies against the other. Why? Because there is no way possible in America anyone could choose a political agenda that could be so destructive of our great nation. Education, race, economics, class warfare, destructive steps to take down a President simply to destroy him even if it means destroying our great country. This is a bad dream, right? I always imagined any major threats or changes to the America I grew up to defend and support through thick or thin would be from outside our shores. That’s how it has always been portrayed in the books and movies, right? The white and black, red and brown, farmers or businessmen, mechanics or cab drivers alike would all don a matching uniform, as one, to defend our red white and blue. Sure, we squabble here and there, who has the best sports team, or union vs nonunion, but when it was about America, most united to defend her honor.
There has been something different about the current struggle we are enduring. Over the past few weeks, I have shared with a few family and friends, something is different. There is something strange in the air. I couldn’t put my finger on the strangeness floating through the air. As Ms. Lucy tells others, I’m a thinker and she is right. I think about our homeland very often and the struggles we currently face. This time it’s not like all the rest. There is something terrible taking place. While we slept, the threat has crept inside our great nation and now wants to take down America as we have known it. I won’t get in to all of that because most of you already know it or have your own opinion about it. We can cast stones and rocks or throw out names and reasons, but the simple fact is, the historical mold of America is showing cracks and right now I’m not sure there is an easy solution to fix it.
Like that perfect cake we see in the Deli, we don’t know what is beneath the perfectly placed icing and décor. The cake could be undercooked, overcooked, old, or great. We don’t know that until we get it home and include a piece in our planned festivities. But, when the icing is off and we start to determine there may be a problem, we just don’t know for certain. Like America today, many of us knew we faced some problems but nothing that was not fixable. We are seeing and learning we now face major issues on many fronts and I have to ask, do we have the leadership, skills, materials, and willpower to fight and rebuild our great America in the mold we grew to love her? With the icing removed from our beautiful cake called America, we are witnessing worse division and powerbrokers wanting to dictate what we can and can’t do. Controlling our food and distribution centers. Ordering churches closed and abortion clinics open on the day of Sabbath. Somewhere the recipe went wrong.
So often everyone turns to Washington D.C. for answers and fixes. If there is a problem, it must be created by a politician in Washington D.C. If we need more money or if a war is about to start, we blame it on Washington and a politician. We blame everything on Washington and our elected officials. Notice I said “OUR” elected officials. We did elect them, right? They do work for us, right? They are accountable to us, right? What happened? While we stood by the street and waved our flags to celebrate America, someone snuck in and replaced our dream with massive debt, sold out our industrial base to foreign lands, failed our schools, confused our children, celebrated the broken home, broke our communities, and left our hardworking citizens at home without a job or pay check. We have citizens fighting virtual wars against one another behind oversized monitors yet they refuse to get up and take a stand to defend our great America. It’s easier to read fake news and censored propaganda than spend time finding out truths.
Like with many problems, the foundation to the fix must start at home and the local community. Just like we would take a bad cake back to the store and complain, we must do the same in our communities. We must know what our unelected officials stand for before we send them to a political seat at the local, state, or federal level. What are their values. What is their background. Will they stand and fight for the wishes of the community with integrity and respect to the people paying their salary.
Historically, communities respected local churches. A church carried a lot of weight from town to town. Community leaders met with church leadership to discuss problems needing addressed. Even non-church going leaders respected the church. Today, we have church going elected leaders who wish to not include a church in the social problems of their community unless it involves a church member. Community leaders who partake in festivities at local churches but act like they must sneak in the back door so no one will see them around the church. They have forgotten what the church once brought to the community.
Just like the best cake available, families and communities must use the best recipe available to get the desired outcome. If we, as community citizens, church members, and voting citizens, fail to build our community to produce the best cake possible, the stale cake under the icing will continue to age until mold takes over and the cake is no longer desired. How many around us no longer desires America as the America we grew up loving? How many take the blessings and beauty of America for granted and believed that she would always be around? Kind of like baking the same cake over and over and now not requiring a recipe because we bake it as we remember it being. Maybe it’s time to pull out the recipe for America and start considering some of the things we need to be doing at the local level to ensure the American cake remains the best cake ever. Yes, the icing must be beautiful. However, the ingredients must be accurately selected and combined to ensure the full recipe is included before painting the icing over it. Our America must include every Amendment of the Constitution and be mixed timely with the Bill of Rights to get the best cake mix ever. Just like the days of our forefathers, right? If the recipe is currently wrong, we must go back and make it right. Has the current crisis revealed soon enough the problems fracturing the foundation of America's cake?
I personally prefer the fireworks and festivities many want to take away from us now. I personally am tired of the mental gymnastics of the “haters” who smile to our face while trying to change our beloved land. Our flag is not a symbol to be burned or thrown around like dirt. Our police, fire, and emergency responders are professionals putting their life on the line 24 x 7 to protect us while we enjoy our cake. Many in all types of uniforms died for America and our flag and continue serving us in some of the most austere conditions, both politically and situational. Have you asked yourself internally, do you still know the recipe for the red, white and blue cake? Can and will you be ready to take a stand when called upon to fix and protect America while she is in repairs? I think it’s something we all should be thinking about. I do each and every day. How about you? Oh, enjoy your cake. Hopefully we can have our beautiful cake and enjoy it too!!!
Blessings,
Bravo Echo Out
