The Value of Independence

 On July 6, 2024, I attended an appreciation event, Salute to Veterans, honoring local veterans for their service to our country. My dad, Ronny Hartsell, was one of the veterans honored during the event. 

Our immediate family was in attendance along with the husband of my parents' eldest daughter. 

The event was held at Westend Baptist Church in Newport, TN, and was kicked off with a few words and an opening prayer by the church's pastor, the Reverend Tom Moody-himself an Air Force veteran. At the conclusion of the prayer, we were asked to remain standing and to join in the Pledge of Allegiance:

"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

At the conclusion of the pledge of allegiance, we were asked to remain standing to watch and listen to a video of the US Army Band playing The Star-Spangled Banner at Fort McHenry in Baltimore, MD where it was written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 during the battle of 1812 with Great Britain. The anthem was adopted by Congress in 1931 as our national anthem. 

About halfway through the anthem with my hand on my heart, I had to bite my bottom lip to avoid anyone seeing it quivering as I filled with emotion listening and attempting to sing the lyrics.  I was caught off guard by just how emotional I got at that point in the event which had only just begun. After the national anthem as we took our seats, I felt compelled to get my phone and capture the details of the event. Normally, I wouldn't dare even have my phone visible much less be on my phone during such an event.  But something told me none of that mattered now. "Capture the details of this event because it will be important to you later," the voice in my head said.  So, I did just that with little regard for whether or not anyone around me even noticed. 

To be frank, I had some misgivings about attending such a patriotic event in an area known for having a conservative-leaning electorate. And, rereading that explanation, just now, stuns me due to the stark irony it exudes.  But let's move on...

Dallas Short, the main speaker for the event, was introduced, and immediately, my attention was piqued overriding my previous misgivings. The master of ceremonies went on, "He is from Ohio, spent 28 years in L.A., and has only been in Newport for three years during which time he has become an integral part in honoring all the veterans in all of Cocke County through a program called, Operation Therapy."  This program offers a place for veterans to recover from PTSD. 

I was impressed. And, honestly, I felt grateful that someone was doing such a needed project for a population of our society needing to feel valued, especially at this moment in our history. "Well done, Dallas!" I thought. "But how are you, an "outsider" going to fare being the main speaker at such a patriotic ceremony with such a conservative electorate during an election year?" I wondered to myself. 

But then, I stopped and thought, "wait a minute, everyone here is either a veteran, a family member in support of a veteran, or an organizer/supporter/contributor making this honorable event possible; which direction would the electorate in attendance lean?" I asked myself. Feeling flummoxed at this conundrum, I regained my drifting attention and focused solely on the emcee's remarks. 

"The theme of Dallas' speech today is on independence," the emcee announced as the audience welcomed the main speaker with applause. "Independence?" I thought to myself. "Isn't it ironic that after 248 years, we seem to be right back where we were when we decided to declare our independence from King George III and Great Britain." But this time the difference being, we are going to the poles in November 2024 to decide whether to continue with our experiment of democracy, or to forfeit our independence and pledge allegiance, not to a foreign monarch, but to a domestic dictator-wannabe.

 Nothing could distract me at this point; I was a captivated with a focus so honed in that nothing short of the dictator-elect himself showing up could pull my attention away. 

Dallas Short began his speech with a reminder that we tend to forget what this 4th of July holiday is all about. He then went on to remind the audience of the events 248 years ago that led to creation of this holiday we celebrate every 4th of July. He explained that at that time, 13 colonies voted to sever ties with Great Britain and George III.  He went on to describe how Thomas Jefferson penned the Declaration of Independence as a result of this declaration.  But he pointed out that it was actually a year earlier on April 18, 1775 that the war of revolution began which took the lives of both men and women who sacrificed for our independence. 

Dallas added and emphasized one important detail about July 4th that we should keep in mind: Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had a long friendship prior to becoming bitter enemies for years. "Later in life," he explained, "the two former friends overcame their differences through the exchange of some 380 letters before their deaths on the very same day, July 4, 1826." And with that, he paused and looked at the audience almost pleadingly, before he finished with, "And that is all I wanted to say to you today."  And Dallas smiled, nodded his head, and he took his seat. 

I sat motionless as the audience expressed their thanks to Dallas by way of applause. There was so much running through my head, so much stirred up by his remarks, that I sat emotionless. But I continued recording details in my phone. And as I finished up my notes about his remarks, a smile of appreciation came to my face.  Specifically what I was appreciative of at that moment, I wasn't quite sure. But it became very clear as the ladies' quilting group began their portion of the ceremony: presenting and wrapping each veteran in a beautiful quilt call the Quilt of Valor. 

As the veterans made their way to the front to receive and be wrapped in their Quilts of Valor, the smile of appreciation that puzzled me, began to come into focus. And almost as if I, myself, was being wrapped in a quilt, not of valor, but one of remembering, I was reminded of how grateful I was of: 

- the area from which I had fought my own independence years ago. But the one that I still hold fondly in my heart...

-the family split apart by deep differences from which I was forced to establish my own independence. But the one that I love dearly and am forever grateful for the person I have become today...

-the country and culture about which I have made it my life's purpose to understand and to cherish. The one that once fought and won its independence from the very country that it now considers its greatest ally, Great Britain-the other country and culture I have made it my life's purpose to understand and to cherish...

Dallas Short's speech was short. It included facts about our country's history. It stated what we all know to be the first steps our founders took in unison leading to where we are today. And it was perfectly suited for the audience, for the occasion, for the recipients, and for me. It made me proud to be, not only in attendance, but to be a part of a community honoring its veterans, and especially, my dad. 

Dallas Short's speech was a success. In its simplicity, it transcended all that divided this community to remind us of all that we shared in common, and to be supportive of our veterans, to celebrate and honor those who fought and those who lost their lives for our independence-for our liberty. And it was beacon to remind us to remember those values we hold so dear: Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness: the values that make us the great nation we have become today. 

So my utmost gratitude and appreciation to the veterans honored at the Salute to Veterans ceremony:

Joe Cutshaw

Carl Dewayne Frazier

Danielle Enders

Ronald Hartsell

Jack Holt

Marvin Holt

Darlene Jenkins 

James Kuykendal

Edgar Seay

Buford H. Messer

Gregory Dandrow

Ronald Wilds

and a special thank you to Dallas Short.