Billflowers

PATRIOT

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

@spencerpratt COLDER THAN A MEAT TRUCK

[Rachael Sinclair 🎨☕ @SinclairArt]

More 'Merica! 🇺🇸

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

LIKE A SLOBBERING DOG, BENNY.....THEY JUST DONT PAY YOU ENOUGH.

[Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson]

Incredible optics 🇺🇸

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

@ConceptualJames FINALLY SOME QUALITY POSTS ON HERE

[James Lindsay, anti-Communist @ConceptualJames]

You've probably heard this before, but it's always worth repeating. Something extremely cool about the "Star-spangled Banner," the American national anthem, is that it asks a question, and it's the question at the heart of everything in the American worldview.

"Oh, say, can you see
By the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight's last gleaming..."

So the anthem begins with a question and a scene. One man, a patriot, is asking another man, another patriot, "can you see it?" at sunrise after a long, dangerous night.

The "it" in question is going to be revealed to be the flag, our "star-spangled banner," which they had last fully recognized and honored as the sun set, daylight failed, and night crept over them the evening before.

Can you see it? Say! Can you see it?!

IS IT STILL THERE?!

"Whose broad stripes and bright stars
Through the perilous fight
O'er the ramparts we watched
Were so gallantly streaming..."

Here we find that the "it" is in fact the flag, our star-spangled banner, and we learn why the question is being asked.

The flag is described as having flown and streamed gallantly over ramparts of war through a perilous fight. All could have been lost. The flag, and even the fledgling country for which it stands, one nation under God and indivisible.

Say! Can you see it? Now that the light is back?

IS IT STILL THERE?!

"--And the rockets' red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night
That our flag was still there!--"

They could see it through the battle in the light of the rockets and bombs that threatened them, here and there in quick glimpses. But it was still there throughout! But now? At dawn?

Say! Can you see?

IS IT STILL THERE?!

"Oh, say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave?"

The urgency is palpable with every refrain. They have to know. It's the first thing they must know as the sun begins to light the sky, even before it rises.

IS IT STILL THERE?!

Say! Say!! Can you see? Can you see it?!

At the heart of every American beats the fundamental truth and reality that what we have here is precious, that it's worth fighting for, to the death if necessary, and that it's fragile. That at any moment it can be lost. That we have to remember to look for it because last night might have been the night in which it failed.

Every day, every year, every generation.

The American fight for freedom, to live in self-governance within ordered liberty, is ongoing and never-ending. The price of the land of the free is that it must be the home of the brave. We have to defend it, defend it, and defend it again, against all enemies foreign and domestic, because what we have is amazing, rare, fragile, and worth every cent of treasure, every drop of blood, and every risk to our sacred honor to protect it.

Our anthem is not a declaration. It is not a proclamation. It is not a statement.

It is a question.

Every time we sing our wholly unique national anthem, we as American ask the question again. IS IT STILL THERE?! Are we still America? Does that star-spangled banner yet wave?

Because it's a question, the answer is not known. It is not a guarantee. It cannot be taken for granted and isn't. And what an honor to ask and take up our part in the story, in the American Experiment, in the greatest country the world has ever known.

For tonight, the last night of our first 250 years, as the sun gave way to twilight's last gleaming and darkness overtook our land once again, the answer was still yes. We can see it even tonight in the red glare of rockets, with small bombs bursting in air, fill the sky with the noble tribute of fireworks once again.

And we all ask ourselves, will it still be flying at dawn?

This is what it means to be an American.

Happy 250th, America! Now for many happy returns!
🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

@A10TheHog INDEED

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

THEY GIVE THOSE JOBS TO ILLEGALS WHO ARE ALSO BEING SUBSIDIZED BY OUR TAX DOLLARS.

AND A MISSED OPPORTUNITY FOR AMERICAN TEENS.

[SaltyGoat @SaltyGoat17]

Who else?

[U.S. Army @USArmy]

Since 1775, the U.S. Army has defended this nation and the Stars and Stripes. For 250 years, generations of Soldiers have answered the call with courage, duty, and sacrifice. We stand ready to defend this great nation for the next 250 years and beyond. 🇺🇸

[Noah Vandal @noah_vandal]

Remember why we are, America

[Military Support @MilitaryCooI]

Freedom isn't just a word - it's a feeling.

What does freedom mean to you?

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

@RealSLokhova BRENNAN WAS EVIL...SO WAS OBAMA. AND IT WAS ALL DONE UNDER OBAMA'S DIRECTION

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

BEHIND EVERY BLADE OF GRASS...

[The Conservative Alternative @OldeWorldOrder]

It's true.

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

UHHH YEAH

[IMPERATOR @IMPERATORAUS]

Peace is only possible when justice reigns.

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

@IMPERATORAUS TO SECURE A PEACE IS TO PREPARE FOR WAR - METALLICA

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

...SO THEN YOU STEAL IT "

[Anand Lalaji MD (Dr A) @MDANANDLALAJI]

“No options left” is often just exhaustion talking. When we’re tired, disappointed, or stuck, it’s easy to give up. But the next possibility appears only after we take a breath, ask for help, change the angle, or try the thing that feels too simple to matter.

[Shadow of Ezra @ShadowofEzra]

Christian Zionists are now attempting to rewrite American history by claiming that nearly everything about the original United States came from ancient Israel.

They claim the original 13 colonies were influenced primarily by Jewish traditions.

"Many colonists saw themselves as a modern version of ancient Israel."

[Retro Coast @RetroCoast]

On America's 250th birthday, it's appropriate to ask:

Have we lived up to the ideals of the Founding Fathers? Have we honored their sacrifices?

Would they be pleased at what America has become today? #4thofJuly

[Billflowers @Billflower56093]

AND TRY NOT TO FUCK IT ALL UP OVER ISRAEL

[U.S. Department of Labor @USDOL]

250 years ago, 56 patriots signed the Declaration of Independence.

They weren’t politicians — they were farmers, merchants, physicians, lawyers, and craftsmen.

Their courage paved the way for 250 years of American innovation, industry, and opportunity.