The SoapBoxers

This is the day that many kids of all ages wait for each summer. The excitement of cook outs, parades, and fireworks are anticipated and enjoyed by entire families and communities. I am lucky enough to live in a smaller town, where the parades are more intimate, the festivals are filled with friends and children I know, and the cooking is great!

I am a boy scout and cub scout leader, so I try to include some teaching with events and celebrations, especially when attached to historical the basic identity of our country. First, this is the celebration of the independence of the United States from the United Kingdom. The significance of this is not to bash the British, they have been friends and allies with the United States through out our history and during some of the most difficult and dangerous days we have faced. The significance is in the action of strongly independent and self sufficient people declaring their separation from a culture of class and obligation based on birth rather than skill.

The documents that were left to us by those strong willed people still resonate today. Americans resist the idea of an elite who have some right to lead, ordain or command. Americans have always been ready to fight, even among themselves when they feel the cause is just. They are willing to sacrifice treasure and life for others, and except for the period of “Manifest Destiny” without the thought of territorial gain. You can see this resolve in many of the wars the Unites States has participated in, from the World Wars, to intervention in Haiti, to placing our service men and women between hostile factions. This is not to say that the United States has always been blameless and pure. The actions taken against the Native Americans in general, and specific un-punished activities by government and civilians occur, but are not on balance the rule.

There are so many checks and balances to keep our nation on the ideal path or at least close to it. You can see the corrections from the peace and equality rallies of the 1960s, the anti-terror and anti-war rallies of the early 2000s, and the current round of protests by the TEA parties. I point out to my scouts that we have no less than four amendments to the Constitution to try to protect people of African decent (I am not kidding: XIII, XIV, XV, XXIV). First to free them from slavery, then to protect their right to vote, over and over again. It may take the United States a while to get things right, but eventually we seem to at least get close.

So as you burn bratwurst on the grill and eat too much cherry pie, consider what we are celebrating. As you watch the fireworks displays, consider the risks and challenges that our founders faces to get us where we are today. And most especially, remember those people who have through the years, worked so diligently to keep you safe and free. You will see them in the parades, service men and women, firemen and police, politicians, students, senior citizens, immigrants, farmers, and civil servants. Know your Constitution and celbrate our freedom and success. This is a freedom and success to be enjoyed by every citizen and guest.

Could it be? A brand new story? Yep!

Andrew sighed as he pressed his face against the window and watched the rain fall. It was going to be another dreary day inside cell block K. He had been rousted from his bed far earlier than he would have liked, and after the morning’s calisthenics, he was forced to participate in the prison’s compulsory education system.

Andrew felt wrong by the system. He was no criminal – he had been railroaded by the system. He missed his younger sister and his parents and was angry that his prison sentence restricted the time he could spend with them. He knew that the years were going to pass very slowly.

For a moment, he envied his brother Sam. Sam was also an unjustly held prisoner. At least Sam had some hope for a better future. Sam was in cell block 6, but would be moving to a new facility within the year. The new facility afforded the inmates more opportunities. It wasn’t freedom, but it was far closer to freedom than Andrew could dream of.

It wouldn’t even be accurate to say that Sam was disappointed with the lunch that the prison served. During his time in the prison, he had grown accustomed to the swill that masqueraded as food. Government workers producing the very worst in institutional food. Andrew felt himself getting sick to his stomach. Didn’t the constitution ban cruel and unusual punishment?

The mid-day siesta was a welcome break from the drudgery within the prison walls. For an hour, Andrew was able to push aside the negativity that filled his days. He dreamed of the better days ahead. Days outside these prison walls, walking through a meadow on a beautiful summer day. For this brief period each day, Andrew had hope for the future, and his mind escaped the prison walls.

After the siesta, the inmates were marched out to the exercise yard for the alloted period of fresh air. The dampness still clung in the air, and it was chilly. Andrew huddled to keep warm as he watched some thugs in another section of the yard. Some of these people had clearly grown accustomed to the life inside these walls and even seemed to enjoy it. Andrew hoped that he would never fall victim to this fate. He would never give up and resign himself to life within the walls.

As the day wound down, Andrew went to a corner of his cell and scrawled another vertical line, marking yet another day within the prison.

“Andy,” shouted Miss Bolton. “We don’t write on the walls. Give me that crayon!”

Andrew smiled sheepishly and gave the red crayon to his kindergarten teacher,