This September 6 will be a year since I broke my ankle. I had little idea before the twist and shout and yell and cry of that day what I would go through pain and frustration wise. I can say many things about my misfortune but this will suffice for now. Watch where you step.

So I’ve started feeling like my old self in the last month or so and I couldn’t be more grateful. When you are out of commission for so long, you get a little rusty, among other things. My wife, bless her immensely has been the best partner I could imagine as we have repaired my bones and my spirit.

I was very tied down to my room for much of that time. That’s not all bad. Of course, I got out many days for our walk but I was not performing well its fair to say. These last few weeks have been better, still some pain in my ankle, but manageable in concert with all my other activities and not so limiting.

This time also diminished my studies and that desire for learning has returned substantially. I’m so glad to be reading and doing a lot of thinking about things I consider important.

One of those things of importance is what makes a country? Its people, its government, its laws, its resources, its history, its objectives, its purpose or mission? I could add some other things but that’s enough for me to think about.

We are living in the most momentous, most exciting time filled with the most possibilities and most achievements during my lifetime. I have witnessed attack after attack upon our individual freedom(s) and we have withstood them all. There are more to come and I welcome them. They are making us stronger. We are going back to the Why question in earnest. Why America, Why a Republic, Why two houses of legislation, why laws, why a President and not a king or a prime minister.

This time of reWhying our Why is so fascinating to me. For so many, it seems frightening as we grapple with these questions and come up with different answers. And the other factor is so much indifference by some if not many.

I’m intent on knowing the why of my country and refuse to be indifferent about it. I have spent many hours in this last year understanding what makes us tick as Americans and what the future might look like. I think it is bright actually. We have a magnificent beginning story from 250 years ago and I think the courage and fortitude of those that framed the Constitution has carried us a long way and will take us further. In fact, I think the Constitution is and was made for such a time as this. Life is not nor has it ever been easy. That’s just part of living. But I continue to respect the oath I took in the military to uphold the Constitution. I continue to respect the pledge I made so many times in school to the American flag and what it stands for and the republic that carries out the wishes of the governed.

The most exciting part is that so many others feel the same way. And they are raising their voices in renewal and the ongoing work of revolution against tyranny and despotic thinking. The Revolution of our forefathers continues. All those men thought the American Revolution was useful for the entire world. If they were still alive, they would continue to believe so. They would sign their names and pledge their sacred fortunes for the next chapter of America.