April 19th: A Day of Awareness, Remembrance & Understanding

Today is April 19, 2015. It is a Day of Awareness, Remembrance & Understanding

Awareness

Americans should be aware of certain events that have taken place on April 19^th in the history of the nation.

● April 19, 1775 -- The American Revolutionary War begins with an American victory in Concord during the battles of Lexington and Concord.

● April 19, 1861 -- A pro-Secession mob in Baltimore, attacks United States Army troops marching through Baltimore. The American Civil War had begun one week earlier on April 12^th.

● April 19, 1865 – Funeral service for Abraham Lincoln is held in the East Room of the White House.

● April 19, 1985 – 200 ATF and FBI agents lay siege to the compound of the neo-Nazi survivalist group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord in Arkansas. The CSA surrenders two days later.

● April 19, 1993 – The end of the 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidians outside Waco, Texas, USA. In the fire 74 people died – 25 were children.

● April 19, 1995 – Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, USA, is bombed, killing 168 – 19 were children.

Remembrance

● April 19^th is a day in which we should remember the lives of the people who ended in the events above, especially the lives of children.

● April 19^th is a symbol that should remind us of the deadly consequences extreme political and religious beliefs can produce in a society.

Understanding

● April 19^th is a reminder for each American to learn the duties of citizenship that underlie his or her share of the responsibility of self-governing and then become actively engaged and committed to dealing intelligently and legally with problems. Democracy, above all else, means that all people are important and we are responsible for one another to some extent.

● April 19^th is reminded for every “believer” to research the origins and histories of their beliefs and the groups or institutions that teach them. Just because something stirs emotions doesn’t mean that it should be believed or acted upon. The ultimate responsibility for believing anything rests on the shoulders of the individual believer and not anyone else. Unexamined beliefs are not truths – they are just opinions.  

Shalom,

Jim Myers

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