Truth for our times: Flag never touched ground, Alcohol Provisions Removed, & Empty house | Eastern NC Now

The Flag Never Touched the Ground

A Memorial Day Reflection on Black Soldiers, Sacrifice, and America’s “New Birth of Freedom”
by Rev. Mark Creech
RevMarkCreech.org

Americans complain a great deal these days. We grumble about inflation, gasoline prices, political dysfunction, cultural turmoil, and the inconveniences that come with uncertain times. Some of those complaints are understandable. Life has grown harder for many. Yet Memorial Day calls us to pause and recall a desperately needed perspective.

Return America’s Advocacy Is Making a Difference — Major Alcohol Provisions Removed, But Gambling Concerns Remain

Recently, Return America has been sounding the alarm about H.B. 921, the ABC & Gaming Omnibus Bill. That measure originally contained several troubling provisions that would have weakened North Carolina’s alcohol control system and significantly expanded alcohol access.

When the House Is Empty

In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that America is facing an “epidemic of loneliness and isolation.” Anxiety, depression, addiction, and what many researchers now call “deaths of despair” continue to rise nationwide.

What makes this especially troubling is that these problems persist in one of the wealthiest, most technologically connected, and outwardly advanced civilizations in human history. Modern society has worked tirelessly to improve itself. We have pursued education, therapy, political reform, material prosperity, self-help, endless entertainment, and unprecedented personal freedom.

Rev. Mark Creech is a longtime pastor and former executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina. He now writes and speaks on issues of faith and culture and serves as Director of Government Relations for Return America.