As kids growing up in the ’50s and ’60s, our parents taught us to “”respect” our elders, our communities, our teachers, priests, pastors, rabbis, moms, dads and #1 was love of country.

Each and every school day would begin with the Pledge of Allegiance, and thanking God for the privilege of being an American. Each and every year, American traditions were wholly celebrated as they were considered an integral part of our American character as a nation.

The following patriotic celebrations were an integral part of American Life: New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, Valentines Day, Easter, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Halloween (not a patriotic day, but indeed a day of importance for kids and trick or treating. All of these plus many other American days of note.

November brought us Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. The Christmas season was the annual season of love, peace, and happiness, the time of year when all Americans joined in the celebrations of all things great about America, the season of caring, sharing, and gift giving, “Merry Christmas was the seasons greeting that brought all of us, joy, and a sense of unification, with bright smiles.

During the Christmas season our Jewish Americans celebrated their High Holy Days of Hanukkah, and Jewish merchants decorated their stores to reflect the joy of the season.

The greatest wonders of America in those days was the celebratory attitude of all Americans, a celebration as a nation of one people. A nation united by the fact we all thank God for providing us with a nation of wonderment, the entire world came to respect as the beacon of freedom.

Ours is the only country on earth that is truly a melting pot of people from all four corners of this earth.
(The inspiration for this article came from the news report titled, “9/11 Memorial Kicks Out Teens For Throwing Trash Into Reflecting Pool.”)

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