We celebrate New Year’s not as an end but as a new beginning. A renewed opportunity to use what we have learned to make changes for the better. Let this year’s resolution be that we are committed to upholding our God-given human rights, which America has always pledged to protect and still is today. Let this new year be a time to ensure that this generation and future generations will continue to enjoy the success of liberty. We must not fear the challenges that will be laid before us, but meet them head-on and let no one become our masters. With the American principles and values that have been revived this last year, we must not become complacent and think we have clear sailing ahead. There are those who seek power to oppose American heritage and do not support our Constitution, who are seeking control of the government. If we are to maintain a free society, we must stay diligent and forthright in our pursuit to stop the aggression and subversion that endangers our God-given rights. Let this year also be a time we can enjoy and be thankful for all that God has blessed us with. Let’s take some time this New Year’s to reflect back on American greatness two hundred and fifty years ago. We were a collection of British Colonies, and our economy was mostly agricultural. The American Revolution was beginning to lead to the end of British rule and the creation of an independent nation. Two hundred years ago, it was a nation still finding its way, a land of pioneers, wooden towns, endless frontiers; there were 24 states. Candles were used for lights wood for heat, and most of the population was in the rural areas. Letter writing was the main form of communicating to connect with people of any distance. Horse-drawn wagons were the mode of transportation. The Erie Canal was built to provide open transportation from the Great Lakes to New York City. America was becoming an economic powerhouse. A young man named John Stevens invented the Steam Locomotive, and that began the expansion of moving goods and people across America. One hundred and fifty years ago had suffered through a terrible civil war, and was now the beginning of the second industrial revolution. Travel was mostly steam boat, or the American Buggy telegraph system was beginning to emerge for communication, and sports started becoming increasingly popular. One hundred years ago America’s radio broadcasts were popular, and radio adventure and comedy shows and news had families sitting around the radio most evenings. The automobile had become the desired mode of transportation, and new inventions were being developed at an unbelievable pace. It was the beginning of modern technology. Fifty years ago, the median Family income was $11,100, and the average price of gas in 1974 was $3.36 a gallon average price of a home was $ 29,900. Computers became popular with the introduction of Apple 1 by Steve Jobs; it was the era of technology advancements that astonished the world. All this to say, America has been blessed by God and has been the envy of every nation. We have been able to take on whatever challenges have came are way and recovered, coming back even better than before. So this New Year, let’s commit to keeping what we have, the best, freest nation in the world. There has never been and never again be another America.
Written By: Delmer Eldred
Email: pulseofliberty@gorge.net
