Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! (Psalm 33:12, ESV)
This week all American minds are probably thinking about the news and celebrating our country’s birthday. According to the news, protests may replace fireworks in some venues, and many of these protests seem to not make much sense.
We were in the LA area a couple weeks ago for a homeschool event. Protests in one area of LA showed people carrying Mexican flags protesting that they couldn’t be here as illegal aliens. They want to stay here, but they want to protest with their flags and hate America. Huh?
I grew up with a strong attitude of patriotism. It seems that many in this season are anti-patriotic, and it really mystifies me. The very acts of protest are only allowed because of the freedoms America protects. The only way they can continue to spout their angry words and not be executed is because they are saying them against America in America.
I don’t really want to make this a post of my own flabbergastedness at the attitudes and odd understandings of some of the people we see on television, on college campuses, and in some protests. Instead, I want to focus on what we can do differently as parents. How can we help our children in these unsettled times?
One thing is to limit and be aware of the media our children watch. Of course, we think of extremists and weird TickTok influencers when I say that, but I’ve watched at least two fairly decent shows lately (one on UPtv and one on Hallmark) where the teenage daughter protested the father in the family. Literally, they were out picketing against what they knew their fathers stood for, and they absolutely refused to listen to anything the fathers said. What’s worse is that after the truth came out in both situations, and the daughters apologized, both fathers praised the daughters for their rebellious attitudes because they were strong women who stood up for what they believed in. Honestly, I wanted to scream at the TV even though that would accomplish nothing.
Why don’t we ever depict fathers counseling their rebellious daughters to listen and hear what is really going on? Why don’t we teach the tolerance we hear about all the time, a tolerance that can have an uncomfortable conversation, agree to disagree, and still not find it necessary to rebel and disrespect anyone? But I digress. The point is we need to be aware and help our children learn to become strong and wise adults, not rebellious, entitled toddlers throwing temper tantrums.
Second, we need to model healthy patriotism. In our family, we don’t all see eye to eye politically. We refuse to make that a main thing in our relationships. We love America, but we’ve never claimed it’s perfect. We pray for and show respect to our presidents as much as we can, but we never say they don’t make mistakes. We don’t agree with all our country does, but we are so thankful to be a part of this nation. Healthy patriotism is a beautiful thing that brings unity to a nation even when we disagree with each other.
Third, we need to educate our children with true history and what it means to be free and what it’s like to lose those freedoms. These values and freedoms, as flawed as they may be at times, are well worth preserving. Our forefathers were men with wisdom and vision, and they led to the best of their abilities. Let’s make sure our children know the truth of our nation’s history, not just the soundbites that try to tear down our nation.
Fourth, let’s lead our families to pray for our nation. It is the most important thing we can do as Christian families. Pray together and pray often. Pray for God’s healing and blessing. Pray for his wisdom as we discuss and debate different issues. Pray, thanking God for allowing us to enjoy our freedoms and ask that he helps us not take those for granted.
Fifth, we can help our children love our nation without becoming to ethnocentric. Even though I love America, I don’t think Americans are better than other people in the world. I may like our government more than a regime in another country, but the people are amazing individuals created in the image of God as much as we are.
As we seek to focus on these five goals and enjoy our fireworks and hot dogs this week, you may want to also pick up some great books for teaching about America and patriotism.
Here are a few:
Brave Books has several books that teach patriotism
You can listen to the interview I had with their founder and CEO, Trent Talbot here.
What Is America? By Michelle Medlock Adams
God Bless Our Country by Hannah Hall
The Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall
The Tuttle Twins books have several board books and other books on history and patriotism
There are many other children’s books about America that are great. In addition, we have many books for older kids and adults.
The Bookends of Liberty: Swords of Heaven and The List by C. D. Baker
The Patriot’s History of the United States by Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen
Founding Fathers: Atheists? Deists? Are You Sure by Ray Strobo
One Nation Under God: The History of Prayer in America by James P. Moore, Jr.
The Faith of America’s First Ladies by Jane Hampton Cook
Happy Independence Day!
Happy 4th of July!
