On a warm summer day in Hueytown, Alabama, members of the community gathered around their town center to celebrate flag day, one of several summer holiday’s meant to celebrate the freedom and security our country provides. While gatherings of this sort are not at all uncommon, this one was special because of the events that immediately preceded it.
Earlier that day, at a ballpark in Virginia, members of Congress became the target of a brutal attack that left Rep. Steve Scalise in critical condition and four others wounded. Unlike most of the violence that has gripped the world in recent years, this attack took place in our own backyard. It wasn’t on some distant battlefield or in a desert oceans away, but at a ballpark where children often play. It didn’t take place during a political rally or partisan event (not that either of those would make it anymore justifiable), the attack came during one of the few times our parties come together, a baseball practice in preparation for the congressional baseball game.
It is easy to see how a vicious attack on such an innocent event would cause even the bravest among us to question just how secure we really are. This is especially true given that the attack took place on a day that we celebrate that very freedom and security. But instead of hiding in their homes, the citizens of Hueytown and America showed the world that our resolve is unwavering. On the hills of an attack that undoubtedly scared many, young and old gathered and celebrated our freedom. There were no metal detectors or checkpoints that had to be crossed before gaining admission; there were only prayers—prayers for the victims of the attack and prayers for our country. Indeed, the celebration that took place in Alabama was special, but rest assured, it was not unique. Across the country, millions of Americans came together like the citizens of Hueytown, standing firm against the forces of tyranny.
The celebration that took place in a small town in Alabama is important because it reaffirms what we already knew; that even though evil persists, our freedom endures. Those who seek to destroy the fabric that binds us would have us believe that our greatest moments are behind us and that the American spirit that allowed us to rise above so many challenges has faded. But the type of celebration that took place in Hueytown, Alabama, should serve as a clear message to the world that we don’t need to become great again, we have remained great. We remained great on the beaches of Omaha. We remained great while our tallest buildings fell around us. We remained great during the greatest economic collapse since the great depressing. And we remain great today, even while those at home and abroad attempt to force us to live in fear.
Our greatness doesn’t exist because we have the biggest ships or fastest planes, it exists because of the American spirit, our spirit refuses to be defeated. And that is what separates our nation from every other nation that exists now or at any other point in history.
Those who mean to do us harm might overlook the events that took place in Hueytown, Alabama, as either insignificant or isolated. But this because they lack the understanding of what makes us who we are. For the patriots among us, we know what the forces of evil will never understand, the strength of the American spirit.
About the Author: Chris Simmons is a law student at Cumberland School of Law and a clerk at the Reid law firm. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]. The views of guest contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Yellowhammer.
Don’t miss out! Subscribe today to have Alabama’s leading headlines delivered to your inbox.