A Citizens' Resolve - Past and Present

 I love America! I stand tall when I hear the National Anthem or Lee Greenwood’s “Proud To Be An American”. I fly the American flag and I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, with liberty and justice for all. I especially take seriously the military oath I swore to uphold, both as an enlisted airman and later as an officer. The oath, in part says, “ that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Yes, it’s the Constitution, not our American life style or the politicians or even the President that I promised to protect. The Constitution, the foundational document of our country that gives us our freedoms and sets us apart from every other nation in the world, is what I swore to defend.

Unfortunately, I fear that today, many Americans take our freedoms for granted and do not truly understand that freedom comes with a price. Why is this? I believe it’s because our heritage is not being taught in a way that instills national pride and patriotism. In the words of President Ronald Reagan, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States when men were free.” We parents, teachers, and citizens, have a responsibility to pass forward to our children the heritage of our hard fought for freedoms. They must understand why our freedom is so precious and why we must never allow our freedom be taken from us.

My American heritage started four generations before the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War when Joseph Hawley, my 9^th Great Grand Father (GGF), came to America from England. Joseph was born in 1603 and a memorial marker in the Congregational Church Cemetery in Stratford, Connecticut shows that he died in 1690. The dash between Joseph’s birth and death dates (1603 – 1690) represents 87 years of untold stories. One story that I would love to hear is what motivated Joseph to take the risk of leaving England to sail to a strange new land only a few years after the Mayflower landed at Plymouth in 1620.

As years passed over the next four generations, history books describe early Colonial America and the growing turmoil between the colonists and the British Crown. My genealogy tells me that four generations after Joseph, my 5^th GGF Abner Hawley was born on December 15, 1739. It was during Abner’s lifetime that living under British tyranny became so unbearable that a declaration for independence was proclaimed on July 4, 1776. This declaration was not taken lightly. These patriots were breaking allegiance with their mother country. They understood that a war against the strongest military in the world could be suicidal, but their faith in God and their sacrificial determination saw them through the hardships to ultimate victory. Captain Abner Hawley was my Revolutionary War Patriot. He was a common tavern owner who risked his life to secure the freedom we enjoy today. He became my family’s first citizen of the United States of America and lived to see the first four constitutional presidents in office: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison.

The following family members also proudly served to protect the freedoms we enjoy today:

   3^rd GGF Luther L. Hawley - War of 1812

   2^nd GGF Augustus Dean Hawley - Civil War

   Grandfather Cecil Earl Hawley - WWI

   Father, George LeRoy Hawley, Petty Officer 2^nd Class, United States Navy - WWII

   Brother, Jack Earl Hawley, Petty Officer 3^rd Class, United States Navy - Vietnam War

   And myself, George LeRoy Hawley Jr., Captain, United States Air Force, Retired

            Vietnam War era through Operation Desert Storm

With such a family heritage, how could I not be patriotic? Well, for one thing, patriotism is not inherited; it’s a matter of the heart. And just like it states in President Reagan’s quote on freedom, I believe patriotism must be taught to our children and our children’s children. We can do this by example and through teachable moments because some things are better caught and some are better taught.

It is amazing what our kids learn from us. Our actions often speak louder than words. When we take our hat off and place our hand over our heart at the playing of the National Anthem or while reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, they notice. They notice when we show respect to our elders and our veterans. They also notice when we volunteer our time to help others. These examples become teachable moments in which to instill life principles such as respect, freedom, patriotism and our proud heritage as citizens of the United States. We can teach the significance of our flag as a national symbol of unity or the history of our national motto, “In God We Trust”. As parents we can even teach our children what the public school systems cannot. The Ten Commandments and their significance to the foundational Judeo-Christian principles that our Declaration of Independence and Constitution are based on are such examples. These are principles that last a lifetime, principles of the heart. These are principles that the signers of the Declaration of Independence felt so strongly about that they wrote: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.”

As we observe this Independence Day, it is my prayer that as a nation we will remember all patriots that have fought for the freedoms we enjoy today. I pray that as individuals we will pledge to uphold the Constitution with the same vigor and resolve as our forefathers. And I pray that as proud citizens of the United States, we will bear witness to our character and protect our heritage by remaining informed and exercising our right and privilege to vote in this Novembers pivotal election.

So Help Me God,

                                                                                                            George L. Hawley Jr.