I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy!

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"life lessons", America, Bob Hope, character training, fun, Human nature, Jimmy Cagney, Military appreciation, movies, patriotic songs, songs, spiritual, Yankee Doodle Dandy

Various European countries claim the original of the tune we know as Yankee Doodle, and it was the British who brought the tune to America during the French and Indian Wars. The opening words of the song refer to the fact that when Oliver Cromwell rode horseback into Oxford in 1653 he wore a hat decorated with a single feather fastened by an elaborate knot — an Italian decoration called a “macaroni.” The British troops used the song and the term sarcastically, to ridicule the makeshift appearance of the dress of American Colonial troops. When the Revolution began, the Americans adopted the song as a rallying tune, and it was played by fifers and drummers in every camp and battle. At the British surrender at Yorktown on Oct. 19, 1781, the American army band played Yankee Doodle to celebrate the American victory.

Looking for a great inspirational & fun movie for family movie night? Check out Jimmy Cagney in “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942) The story of George M Cohan, composer of “Over There, “The Grand Old Flag,” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy.”

YANKEE DOODLE LYRICS

Yankee Doodle went to town,
A-riding on a pony,
He stuck a feather in his hat
And called it macaroni.

CHORUS: Yankee Doodle, keep it up,
Yankee Doodle dandy,
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy.

Father and I went down to camp,
Along with Captain Goodin’,
And there we see the men and boys
As thick as hasty puddin’.

(CHORUS)

And there was Gen’ral Washington,
Upon a slapping stallion,
A-giving orders to his men-
I guess there was a million.

(CHORUS)

A long war then was fought and won:
The British were defeated,
And Yankee Doodle was the march
To which their troops retreated.

(CHORUS)

I’m Proud to be A Flag-Waving Yankee Doodle Dandy

Now for a real treat!

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Where did we go off track? What happened to our America? What happened to us?

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"life lessons", anarchy, baby boomers, chaos, character training, discipline, establishment, hippies, Human nature, love children, order, reasonable boundnaries, spiritual

“Where did we go off track, Barb? what happened to that America? What happened to us?”
This was a response left by a friend to a former post: Where Has America Gone?

Do you know? Here’s my take:

Where did we go off track? We have forgotten our ROOTS, our Judeo-Christian heritage and the common sense virtue that came with it. It seems to me everything fell apart in the 60’s. When we were busy tearing down questionable and corrupt authority, we were naive enough to disregard basic human nature, which in my estimation, is selfishly corrupt. We mocked and rebelled against organized education, religion, family, … just about everything “organized,” but replaced it with only chaos or anarchy. People simply cannot thrive without reasonable boundaries. Today, parents don’t know how to establish ANY boundaries, let alone reasonable ones. Discipline, self-control, and self-reliance are a dirty words, as are responsibility and accountability. Boundaries and discipline used to mean, “I am loved enough to be taught the RIGHT way.” Now it is abuse! But that is where I always return … the disintegration of the family – the nucleus family: 1 dad, 1 mom, 2.5 kids, 1 dog or cat! Again, now, anything goes. I don’t have a problem with same-sex unions, but they are NOT “marriage.” As a WORD person, it concerns me deeply that the militants don’t want to create their own word for same sex unions, they want to re-make the standard definition of marriage to include … ANYTHING. It’s from order and establishment to chaos in 40-50 years. It’s one thing to replace a set order or establishment with another design, but we didn’t. We just “let the chips fall where they may.” Now we’re reaping the consequences of rebellion and chaos. Anything goes.

All tyranny needs to gain a foothold
is for people of good conscience to remain silent.
~ Thomas Jefferson ~

What happened to our America? Without structure, the “essence” of America began to erode. Was this intentional? No clue! But I don’t think at this point it really matters. The damage is done. Self-indulgence and greed rule the day from Wall Street to Main Street. We gravitate to our private “den’s” and bemoan our sorry state, loneliness as the #1 national illness. Until WE THE PEOPLE emerge from our sleep, and re-take the reins of our present, we have no future to offer our children and grandchildren. At least, not a future in a FREE America.

Liberty is the great parent
of science and of virtue;
and a nation will be great in both
in proportion as it is free.
~ Thomas Jefferson ~

What happened to us? Somehow, as the moral fiber of our nation was slowly compromised, the population at about the same pace, became lazy, uninspired, and unmotivated. We have grown increasingly dependent on the government for just about everything from food to jobs, to our education, our information (via the gov’t backed media), to our homes. While our individual independence and self-reliance made America great, our dependence, fear and compromised morality lulled us to sleep while the “bad” rolled over us like a moral fog blurring our vision and understanding.

When the people fear their government,
there is tyranny;
when the government fears the people,
there is liberty.
~ Thomas Jefferson ~

This may be a simplistic way to see the overwhelming decline is all things solid, moral, trustworthy, and sacred, but it puts the blame where it needs to be … on me, my generation, the hippies, love children, … the BOOMERS! It’s OUR mess! God, give us a way to deal with it constructively!

Americans now are overtaxed, over-regulated, and overly dependent on the federal government! These things must change for America to thrive again.

The price of freedom
is eternal vigilance.
~ Thomas Jefferson ~

What have you done for FREEDOM?