CADES COVE (published 7-28-2022; article #342)

Introduction

My mother (Betty Lou Wood Ferrell, 11/24/1932 - 12/27/2000) and father (Earl Ferrell, 9/17/1927 - 1/25/2008) took us four boys (born from 1960 to 1973) to Cades Cove now and then. Later in life, my parents visited Cades Cove by themselves several times.

The last conversation that I had with my father, before he joined my mother, was about he and I taking a trip to Cades Cove. He looked forward to our trip together. We never got to take that trip. Dad is enjoying, with his wife and many others, the Heavenly Cove, which is far more beautiful than Cades Cove.

Cades Cove is in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The reading of “History of Cades Cove,” Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is suggested.

Inspiration for this Article

The May 20, 2022, article highly recommended “Blind Pig & the Acorn.” I still highly recommend Tipper's website! It's for folks interested in Appalachian heritage, which should be everyone!

Every few days, I stop by to read or listen for a while at “Blind Pig & the Acorn,” where there's a fresh article daily. I stopped by earlier today to catch up on new articles since my last visit.

Among the great new articles, one caught my eye with the most interest. It is “John McCaulley – Cades Cove,” Blind Pig & the Acorn, 7/27/2022. Tipper wrote:

Cades Cove is one of the most visited places in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, if not the most. It’s never been a favorite place of mine; in fact I’ve only visited the area one time.

Cades Cove is stunningly beautiful. The views will literally take your breath away. There’s old buildings and other interesting things to see, and lots of folks who want to see them. The area is often crowded to the point of cars sitting still in a long line trying to catch a glimpse of the landscape, buildings, and wildlife.

I prefer the solitude of the backwoods, the high ridges, and the deep dark hollers.

Tipper, I agree with you! If you could visit Cades Cove, without all the traffic, it would be much more pleasant. (The “Cades Cove 2007” section below explains.)

Cades Cove, John McCaulley (1880 - 1961)

Tipper's 7/27/2022 article references APPALACHIA: Donnie Laws East Tennessee Outdoors of Stories and History of our mountains (YouTube) Donnie Laws has five years worth of videos about Appalachian history and stories! I'd not hear of him before, but I'm glad to know about his website now! I may add his YouTube channel to this website's “Appalachian Heritage” section.

On his previously referenced channel, Donnie Laws published “Appalachia History of Cades Cove the John McCaulley Story,” 7/19/2022. It is a 28-minute presentation about the:

Story and life of John McCaulley and his life in the Cades Cove from 1880 till he left it in 1937. A rare audio interview with him from 1960.

John McCaulley (1880 - 1961) begins to speak in his 1960 interview, about five minutes into the video. He was interviewed a year before he passed. His wife and he had nine children. Donnie Laws comments before and after the 1960 interview with John McCaulley.

Please pause from reading the rest of this article, until you watch and listen to Donnie Laws' presentation that I have referenced.

Cades Cove 2007

Didn't you enjoy that presentation? I thought that you would!

The July 14, 2022, article mentioned Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I searched this website and found “no posts matching the query: Cades Cove.” Since my first article (3/6/2006), I've never written about Cades Cove. I was shocked! I wrote 28 articles in 2006 and three in 2008. Nary an article was written in 2007.

Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I have taken a number of weekend getaways, staying in cabins near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We've hiked several trails. One weekend was Friday, June 29, to Monday, July 2, 2007. We visited Cades Cove, and I took sixteen photographs. The following are two that I selected.

As I recall, the view is looking southeast. The weather was warm and partly cloudy. The photograph does not fully capture the amazing panoramic view, which our minds retained.

The cabin was located just off the south loop. I think a shed (partial view) was to the left of where I was standing. The outhouse was around back, as I recall. While we explored the cabin interior, I imagined who had lived in the cabin and what their lives were like, until the government forced them off their land, which had been taken from the Cherokees. (See my July 14, 2022, article.)

Mrs. Appalachian Irishman drove our 2000 Toyota Camry (the car that we had at the time). I either rode along or got out and “hiked” the road, depending on how slow or fast the line of traffic was moving. I was wearing my hiking shoes and ball cap. My canteen was with me. I hiked much of the eleven-mile loop road, with a sidetrack or two into the cove. It was easier to hike than to sit, crawling along in our car.

Cades Cove is beautiful and inspiring, except for the traffic. On Wednesdays, from May 4th through September 28th of this year, the park restricts vehicles. Visitors may either walk or bicycle the eleven-mile loop road (which is paved). I wonder if my wife and I will hike Cades Cove on a Wednesday one of these days. I doubt it. The route from the house to Cades Cove, which I'd take, is about a two-hour drive one way. We'd have to overnight in a cabin on Tuesday, hike Cades Cove on Wednesday, and return home. Molly, our doggy, would miss us. I don't know if we could take Molly along. We will see. The park needs to set Saturdays, not Wednesdays, as the day for hikers or bicyclers. That's my opinion. Feel free to make it your own!

Conclusion

John McCaulley (1880 - 1961) and my paternal grandfather Marion Ferrell (4/13/1880 - 11/21/1970) were both born in 1880. Papaw Ferrell lived his life in the Cave Springs area of Hawkins County, Tennessee. His wife, Mollie Gertrude Archer Ferrell (11/30/1892 - 6/11/1971), and he had eight children who lived past infancy. Their eighth child was my father. I was born in 1960, the same year that John McCaulley was interviewed. The following is a photograph of Granny and Papaw Ferrell in their younger years.

Cades Cove is downright pretty. The Cherokees lived in the cove from time immemorial. Settlers took the cove from the Cherokees. The government took the cove from the settlers' descendants. Life goes on. Just give me a horse and a dirt road, and let me live in the cove, the Heavenly Cove.

My parents and so many others have everlasting joy in the Heavenly Cove. The last conversation that my father and I shared, before he passed, was about planning to visit Cades Cove together.

Dad, tell Mom and all the others up there that I'm coming up to walk in the Cove with you! Well, I don't reckon that I'll get there today, but my plan is to get there, by God's grace and my faith!

PRESIDENT BIDEN'S REPLY TO MY LETTER – Over a Year Late (published 7-27-2022; article #341)

Introduction

Howdy, y'all! To my Tennessee audience, I wonder when the weather will warm up! It's too cold, and we've had enough snow! But seriously folks, we're in the Dog Days of Summer. It's supposed to be hot. Molly (our doggy), however, does not care for the heat.

My 7/25/2021 article took an interesting sidetrack on the Dog Days of Summer – which are from July 3rd to August 11th every year. It has something -- or nothing -- to do with SiriusXM. Y'all will figure it out! I'm not deviling you!

By the way, I hope that you listened to my podcast: "If I Were the Devil" – Inspired by Paul Harvey (published 7-22-2022; podcast #3). The podcast link is also in my 7/22/2022 article -- which has the transcript. Please share my article and podcast widely! We're trying to help folks not go to the devil – if they both hear and listen.

That brings me to the purpose of this brief article. President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., apparently, heard the words in my 5/24/2021 letter to him, but he did not listen to (or heed) my words. President Biden replied on 7/12/2022. Why did it take him over a year to reply to me?

My 5/24/2021 Letter to Biden

My 5/22/2021 article – An Invitation to the First President of the USSA to “Show Me the Money” Tree (published 5-22-2021) – includes the main content of my letter to President Biden. I mailed it, on 5/24/2022, as my article stated. The three links to the national debt are still valid.

The final two paragraphs of my article stated:

Of course, in practical terms, I know that he will never know that I sent this letter. I anticipate that a robotic letter opening machine will open my letter, scan it for content, determine that the content is irrelevant, and send my letter to the recycle robot.

My wisdom in a word will be someone's toilet paper – eventually. I will have tried!

Apparently, my 5/24/2021 letter to President Biden did not become toilet paper!

Biden's 7/12/2022 Reply

Monday, July 18, 2022, was Mrs. Appalachian Irishman's age [year censored by her] birthday. On that date, I received Joe Biden's 7/12/2022 reply, to my 5/24/2021 letter! That was my wife's “birthday surprise!”

Joe Biden's letter to me is below. I hope that you can enlarge it enough to read it. I added my handwritten notes and blotted out the name of our “huge metropolitan mega city.”

Joe addressed me by my first name only, as if we've known each other for years. So, I'll just call him Joe. He wrote that he was “hearing from” me.

My Thoughts to Joe

I'm glad that my letter inspired you, Joe, but why did it take over a year to reply to me! Joe, you and I are not traveling the same road together!

You are optimistic for the future. I am not. Most folks are not. Your common ground is sinking sand. I will not join you there.

You think that you are moving forward – when you're moving backward. I'd help write the next chapter in the American story – if you will listen to me. You don't want to listen to my courage and dedication.

The Ununited Socialist States of America (USSA) is at a critical moment. You, Joe, do not want to meet the moment with anyone, who disagrees with your socialist agenda – including me. The best days of the USA – or USSA, since 1/20/2021, when you, Joe, became the first USSA president – are behind us, at least for a long time – if not forever.

Joe, you wrote as if my letter was very important. Don't pontificate to me. I am not deceived.

USSA Money Tree

The U.S. Department of the Treasury website includes Fiscal Data, which is “your one-stop shop for federal financial data.” The Fiscal Data website includes Debt to the Penny, which is the official record of national debt, updated each workday.

On 7/25/2022, the “Total Public Debt Outstanding” was $30,543,559,825,181.40. The website includes historical national debt – by “Preview & Download, Date Range (Record Date), All.” I have included three more dates, for perspective:

7/25/2012 - debt $15,874,859,322,768.40 (almost 1/2 the 7/25/2022 debt)

7/25/2002 - debt $6,150,003,507,609.84 (almost 1/2 the 7/25/2012 debt)

4/01/1993 - debt $4,225,873,987,843.44 (first entry. No entries farther back.)

“Preliminary Report on Foreign Holdings of U.S. Securities at End-June 2021, February 28, 2022” shows at least 25 nations, to which the USSA owes money. China is number six on the list. Japan is number one. I doubt that Japan will try to take over the USSA. China wants to. I still suggest that we start learning Mandarin.

Since 2002, the national debt has almost doubled every ten years. There is no money tree, folks. The USSA is broke and continues to spend more money than it brings in (which is plenty) – as an undisciplined adult, who maxes out his credit cards.

Conclusion

I will let y'all know, if I decide to write and mail Joe my reply. I won't wait over a year. I don't think that I'll reply. It would waste my time – like casting pearls before swine. (See Matthew 7:6.)

At least my 5/24/2021 letter to Joe did not become someone's toilet paper! I assume that a low level staffer discovered that Joe's standard, canned letter had not been sent to me. So, the staffer took a canned letter, from the stack of canned letters, and mailed to me one of Joe's form letters, which someone probably wrote for him. Joe may have signed his name on the original letter, which was copied many times. I would be shocked, if I ever learn that Joe took the time to read my 5/24/2021 letter and to pen his personal reply of 7/12/2022. I doubt that Joe even knows that he sent me the letter.

Joe, you need to listen to and heed my words – not just hear them. Come on man! Joe, guide this once great nation back to the Rock of Ages – not to the sinking sand of Satan! I pray to the Good Lord that you will listen and hear. I am offering a pearl of great price! (See Matthew 13:45.) Don't throw away the pearl, Joe!

“IF I WERE THE DEVIL” – Inspired by Paul Harvey (published 7-22-2022; article #340)

Introduction

On 4/3/1965, Paul Harvey's “If I Were The Devil” aired on the ABC Radio Network. He was almost age 47. I was almost age five. The second section, below, has an apparently valid link, to his 4/3/1965 radio broadcast. I also include his 10/13/1964 and 7/1/1996 newspaper articles. Paul Harvey passed away, at age 90, thirteen years ago.

My 7/22/2022 podcast – "If I Were the Devil” – Inspired by Paul Harvey (published 7-22-2022; podcast #3) – is linked in the first section below. I attained age 62, on 7/17/2022, Sunday. The first section includes the transcript of my 7/22/2022 podcast. Paul Harvey's broadcast, which I have heard many times, inspired my podcast.

M. Fearghail (7/17/1960 - ), “If I Were The Devil,” 7/22/2022

Podcast

My 7/22/2022 podcast is on Appalachian Irishman - Podcasts (YouTube), at "If I Were the Devil" – Inspired by Paul Harvey (published 7-22-2022; podcast #3).

I wish that my voice carried the same eloquence as Paul Harvey. Read and listen to the words. The words are what matters.

Transcript

“If I Were the Devil,” by M. Fearghail, on Friday, July 22nd, 2022, as inspired by Paul Harvey.

If I were the devil, I would lie that God does not exist, that the universe was created from nothing – and it evolved, that there is no life after death, and that the Bible is myth. I would lie that I am a myth.

If I were the devil, I would focus hearts and minds on the here and now. They would think that 70, 80, 90, or even 100 years is a long time – that there is no everlasting joy – or torment.

If I were the devil, I would lie that society decides what is right and wrong. What is right may become wrong, and what is wrong may become right. There are no absolutes – except that nothing is absolute.

If I were the devil, I'd teach the majority to worship the creation, or the government, or both – not the Creator. I would deceive them to economic then national destruction – to “save the planet.” They would worship the sun – not the Son.

If I were the devil, I would destroy the traditional family. I've been doing a good job. Children would turn in their parents, or their grandparents, to the authorities. Grandparents would have to raise their grandchildren. I already have most of the parents.

If I were the devil, I'd confuse male and female. How a man or woman, or a boy or girl, “feels” is his or her gender. I would change the definition of marriage, to be anything I wanted it to be.

If I were the devil, I would keep inflation hot. I'd print worthless money and increase national debt. I'd give out handouts. I'd keep exports low and imports high. I would make a rich nation a beggar – for money, for oil, for products – to a rising nation. I've already made Mandarin a hard language to learn.

If I were the devil, I would open the border wider – for all illegals to cross. Bring in all, who yearn for handouts, bus rides, cell phones, and places to live! Bring in terrorists, stalkers, rapists, criminals, murderers!

If I were the devil, I would demand the “right to choose” on abortion, but I would deny the “right to choose” on education. Unborn babies must be murdered, and children must be brain washed.

[Page two]

If I were the devil, the man of lawlessness, I would destroy civil society. My evil children would commit all kinds of wickedness, to honor me. The blind would blame the vehicle, the gun, the knife, or the weapon of choice – instead of how my disciples use those tools.

If I were the devil, I would ridicule the founding fathers and their documented principles. I would ridicule them – not for their principles -- but due to their vices. After all, a man with vices can do nothing virtuous! I would re-write the nation's history and indoctrinate the children in socialist schools. I would “cancel” anyone, who stood against me.

If I were the devil, I'd continue to grow the socialist government – of the government, by the government, for the government – as one divided nation, under socialism, with liberty and justice for the politically correct. Pesky patriots would go to re-education camps or “to the devil” – me.

If I were the devil, I'd just keep doing what he's doing – to take the majority to Hell with him.

Wake up (not woke up), America! Do not go to the devil! Turn to the Lord! I have spoken.

Paul Harvey Aurandt “Paul Harvey” (9/4/1918 – 2/28/2009), “If I Were The Devil”

One apparently valid link to Paul Harvey's 4/3/1965 radio broadcast and transcript, "If I Were The Devil," is via Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, at '"If I Were The Devil' by Paul Harvey | Illinois Fraternal Order Of Police.” That link also includes their 3/25/2021 YouTube link, to the same 4/3/1965 broadcast. (Note: the link could be Paul Harvey's modified rebroadcast of his original broadcast. A search of “Paul Harvey, If I Were The Devil, 4/3/1965” provides other links.)

Paul Harvey's wisdom still speaks. Please click the link, above, and listen to his ageless eloquence, in his distinct voice.

Paul Harvey's 10/13/1964 newspaper column, “If I Were the Devil I Would Pray, Our Father Who Art in Washington,” is in The Gadsden Times, in Gadsden, Alabama. The link to his column is at Google News Archive Search, The Gadsden Times, 10/13/1964, page 4. (It is easier to read.) The following is my download of that link.

Paul Harvey's 7/1/1996 newspaper column, “If I were the devil,” is in the Reading Eagle (Reading, PA). The link to his column is at Google News Archive Search, Reading Eagle, 7/1/1996, Opinion B4. (It is easier to read.) The following is my download of that link.

Paul Harvey revised his original newspaper column. He adapted his original column in his radio broadcast. Paul Harvey's wisdom still speaks. His wisdom inspired my written and verbal words, with the same title.

Conclusion

The inspired apostle Paul wrote the following, to the Christians at Thessalonica, at Colossae, and at Rome. I emboldened certain phrases and sentences, for emphasis.

To the Thessalonians

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us – whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter – asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (2 Thess. 2:1-17, the entire chapter, NIV)

To the Collossians

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. (Colossians 2:6-8, NIV)

To the Romans

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2, NIV)

The majority, in the world and in this once great nation, are choosing to follow Satan, the devil, to his everlasting torment. A few are choosing wisely. I hope that you, dear reader, are choosing to follow the Way, the Truth, and the Life. If not, choose wisely.

Wake up, America – before it's too late!

THE SOLID ROCK: CLINGMAN'S DOME, KUWAHI, or CHRIST? (published 7-14-2022; article #339)

Introduction

Over the years, several trips to Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park have been memorable. Mom and Dad took us boys there. I remember taking a girlfriend or two there. Other times were with family and friends or alone.

Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I have been to Clingman's Dome a few times. On 10/28/2007, I took the photograph below of the observation tower on Clingman's Dome. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman was standing centered, wearing the light blue sweatshirt. You're “busted,” dear!

Once, after my mother (Betty Lou Wood Ferrell, 11/24/1932 - 12/27/2000) went to see Jesus, my father (Earl Ferrell, 9/17/1927 - 1/25/2008) admitted to us boys that he'd hiked up the short and paved but steep trail to the overlook and walked up the ramp to the viewing area (where Mrs. Appalachian Irishman was standing in the photograph above). This was after we all knew about my father's damaged ticker (heart). Dad, however, was aware of his limitations and what he could and couldn't do. He knew what he could do, if he took his time. Dad had hiked Clingman's Dome, even with a damaged heart! Yes, Dad was tough.

“Clingman's Dome,” not “Clingmans Dome”

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park website has a section about Clingman[']s Dome & Newfound Gap Area. You may wish to explore that section.

As an aside, I must point out a common grammatical mistake. The correct spelling is Clingman's Dome, not Clingmans Dome. The apostrophe is required, as will be explained farther into this article.

Clingman's Dome Could Be Renamed Kuwahi

The Land Changed Hands

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, a sovereign nation, may petition the federal government to restore the original Cherokee name Kuwahi to Clingman's Dome. I heard this the other day on a local television news station. An online source is “Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians may ask feds to restore name 'Kuwahi' to Clingmans Dome,” WBIR, by WBIR Staff, published 7/8/2022. The Tribal Council considers the petition today (7/14/2022).

Kuwahi means mulberry place in English. Kuwahi has historical significance to the Cherokee people. The Cherokee people, as a larger nation, had lived in the land for centuries. The Eastern Band of Cherokees, as a much smaller nation, still lives there.

The federal government forced the native Cherokee people off their land, during the Trail of Tears (1830 - 1850). My bookshelf includes the book Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation, by John Ehle (12/13/1925 - 3/24/2018), published in 1988. Years ago, I bought and read the book. As an understatement, the moral failure of this once great nation to the Cherokee people is profoundly sad. The ideal principal in the Pledge of Allegiance of “liberty and justice for all” failed the Cherokee nation. Settlers took over their land for about a hundred years.

Of course, the federal government has owned the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for almost a hundred years. In 1934, the United States Congress chartered the park. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the park in 1940. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park started during the Great Depression. The socialistic New Deal was underway.

By the way, I happened to find, at Social History for Every Classroom (SHEC), an interesting letter from 3/7/1934. See Anonymous, "A Citizen Claims the New Deal is a Path Towards Socialism," SHEC: Resources for Teachers. New Deal socialism concerned that writer eighty-eight years ago. Concerns about socialism continue to this day. My parents were still children in 1934.

The creation of the park forced the settlers, whose ancestors had taken the land from the Cherokee, off their land. The “greater good” paid those folks a little money, even if they didn't want to sell, to get them off their land. This was another moral failure in American history, from the standpoint of “liberty and justice for all.”

The land has changed hands three times: from the Cherokee to the settlers and to the federal government. In the current “woke” (whatever that is) culture, names are changing, monuments are coming down, and history is being rewritten. I understand why the Eastern Band of Cherokee wants to rename Clingman's Dome to Kuwahi. See the next section.

Thomas Clingman

The article “Thomas Clingman (1812 – 1897),” North Carolina History Project, by Jonathan Martin, undated, chronicles the life of Thomas Clingman, after whom Clingman's Dome was named. (That's why Clingman's is correct, not Clingmans.) Thomas Clingman was a Democrat, who served in the United States Senate from 1858 until 1861. In error, he thought that one man could own another (slavery). In the Confederate Army, he held the rank of colonel, during the War Between the States.

I had never known the story behind the naming of Clingman's Dome mountain, until I learned, a few days ago, that the Eastern Band of Cherokee wants to rename Clingman's Dome to Kuwahi. Again, I understand why they want to rename their ancestral mountain.

Knox County, Tennessee, Needs to be Renamed!

I decided to find out how Knox County, Tennessee, got its name, along with the city of Knoxville. This section is what I learned.

"Fun Facts About Knoxville," City of Knoxville, includes the following:

Knoxville was named after Henry Knox, President Washington's War Secretary.

Indians were the first settlers of Knoxville and East Tennessee. By the time the first European settlers appeared, the Cherokees dominated the region.

Who was Henry Knox? "Historic Valley Forge, Who Served Here? General Henry Knox: Page 2," US History, includes the following (bold yellow highlighting added for emphasis):

Knox was elected Secretary at War by Congress in 1785, and in 1789 he was appointed Secretary of War in President Washington's new cabinet.

Conflicts with various groups of Native peoples primarily occupied Knox in his role as Secretary of War. Knox oversaw a government policy of steady removal of native people, including the Creek and Cherokee, from their traditional lands.

The Cherokee people did not receive “liberty and justice for all,” due to Henry Knox (and assumedly many others). Further research confirms that the general area around Knoxville and Knox County was a hunting ground for the Cherokee people. See The Knoxville Focus archived article by Mike Steely and City of Knoxville: History of the City.

If the Eastern Band of Cherokees wanted to petition the Knox County government and the Knoxville City government, to rename Knox County and Knoxville to an appropriate Cherokee name, I would understand.

After all, my ancestry is predominately Irish, and I know the oppression that the Irish endured under the British Empire and as immigrants to America. (See, for example, my March 10, 2021, and January 30, 2022, articles.) I don't like “the fighting Irish” nickname for the University of Notre Dame football team, even if it has a positive connotation.

Conclusion

It is the reader's choice to determine if this article is written sarcastically or seriously. Perhaps it is written with both sarcasm and seriousness. Go woke or go broke! Y'all figure it out.

If the federal government decides to rename Clingman's Dome to Kuwahi, while this nation's demise into “Socialist Utopian Oblivion” continues, then I won't mind saying “Kuwahi.” Please, however, forgive me, if my slip of the tongue says “Clingman's Dome!” I would not want to be “canceled!” As if anyone could “cancel” this strong-willed Irish-American!

This once great nation did not follow the biblical worldview, when it took land from the Cherokees and engaged in other evil activities. At times, however, this nation has predominately followed the biblical worldview. Now it doesn't. The majority seems to be guided by a range of unbiblical worldviews.

Wake up (not “woke up”), America! Return to the principles of the founding fathers, which are based on the biblical worldview! Stand on the Rock. All other ground is sinking sand.

In 1834, Edward Mote wrote the hymn, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.” The first verse states:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ Name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

The inspiration for the hymn is the conclusion of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew Chapters 5-7. Jesus' conclusion in chapter seven, verses 24-27 (New International Version), is as follows:

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

Do I hear an amen? The Solid Rock is Christ, not Clingman's Dome (Kuwahi)!

7-4-2022: “JULYTH” OR INDEPENDENCE DAY? (published 7-3-2022; article #338)

Introduction

Well, howdy, y'all! I trust that international readers are doing well. I hope that national readers are doing fine also. Mrs. Appalachian Irishman and I are getting along well enough. Life, “such as it is,” keeps on rollin'!

On 7/3/2022, about 1:35 PM, views on this website, for the last 30 days, were from the following nations: United States (or USSA) 1.04K, Russia 402, Germany 176, China 123, Canada 84, France 69, Sweden 66, Netherlands 60, Ukraine 47, Indonesia 41, India 35, Poland 33, United Kingdom 30, Singapore 8, Turkey 8, Georgia 7, Pakistan 7, Austria 6, Belgium 6, Other (not specified) 119. Where are the views from Ireland? Come on, Ireland!

In June, the monthly view total was 2,395. Six articles were published. Three are now in the “Worldviews in Conflict” section. I created that new topic section today. Lord willing, I plan to write additional “Worldviews in Conflict” articles, to expand that very important section.

Could July the Fourth be called “the Fourth of July,” “Independence Day,” or “Julyth?” This article is serious, includes satirical humor, and ends with a serious stand. To national readers, have a happy “Independence Day,” for the right reasons, tomorrow!

“June the Nineteenth” (6/19/1865)

The article of 6/21/2022 questioned, satirically, whether 6/19/2022 was Father's Day or “Juneteenth,” or both. I stated:

I have known and continue to respect the historical origin of “Juneteenth.”

I wish that the historical day could be called “the Nineteenth of June” – not “Juneteenth.” We call the Fourth of July, “the Fourth of July” – not “Julyth.”

To hear or read “Juneteenth” still hurts my ears! The day, however, is honorable, as that 6/21/2022 article mentioned.

The Image by Wynn Pointaux from Pixabay, in the 6/21/2022 article, was a free image of the Pan-African flag, with “Juneteenth” written on the flag. The Pan-African flag is red, black, and green. Source: “On Flag Day, Remembering The Red, Black And Green,” by Leah Donnella, editor on NPR's Code Switch, 6/14/2017. The NPR article explains the meaning of the colors. I read the article. This note corrects the 6/21/2022 article – on the flag that I used.

The official “Juneteenth” flag is blue and red, with a star, a burst, an arc, and “June 19, 1865” in white letters. Source: “The Juneteenth flag is full of symbols. Here's what they mean.” (By Harmeet Kaur, CNN. Design by Will Mullery, CNN. Updated 6/17/2022). The CNN article details the origin and meaning of the flag. It is a good article. I read it.

“Juneteenth” is, apparently, a word – according to “ol' man Webster.” Source: Merriam-Webster, Definition of Juneteenth. To say “June the Nineteenth,” however, just sounds better to my ear!

“Fourth of July” (7/4/1776)

Searching “ol' man Webster” (Merriam-Webster) for “Julyth” finds “the word you've entered isn't in the dictionary.” I wonder if I need to help ol' man Webster add “Julyth” to his famous dictionary! My sarcasm has been saying “Julyth,” for a few weeks. I'm trying to coin the word! Please help me!

I took the above photograph on Thursday, 10/28/2010. It was my 72nd hike on House Mountain. I was at the middle bluff, looking northwest. That hike was the first, as mentioned in the article “Four Hikes in Four Days!” (published on 11/14/2010). Eventually, the flag pole and the flag were gone. I think that the owner removed them, for some reason. I regret not seeing that flag.

U.S. History (Pre-Columbian to the New Millennium) contains sixty major sections, from “Native American Society on the Eve of British Colonization” to “Toward a New Millennium.” The website is a compendium of American history. I read several sections.

No nation is perfect. The history of every nation includes immorality. This once great nation is no exception. This nation has been wrong in its treatment of native Americans, Irish immigrants, negro slaves, unborn children, and so forth. This nation has resolved or is resolving many of its evil actions. No person or nation will ever attain perfection. (Jesus, the Christ, as God incarnate, was the only perfect man.) The founding fathers ensured that this nation was founded on moral principals – even as some of those men failed in areas of morality. This imperfect nation does not always honor the moral principals, upon which it was founded.

The agenda of the socialists is to destroy the good that our founding fathers did, by ranting constantly about their imperfections. Imperfect people, however, can still accomplish good. Their good must not be rejected, due to their imperfections. The socialists are not following the foundational moral principals of this nation.

The final subsection in U.S. History is “The End of the American Century.” The conclusion reads:

Will the 21st century also be an American century? Or will the United States be eclipsed by new superpowers like China or the European Union? Only time will reveal the answers.

In the meanwhile, the United States will rely on its history of increasing democracy and respect for human rights, its dynamic diversity, and the innovative character of its people to seek new solutions to whatever problems may arise.

The USSA is in its declining years as a nation – following a pattern similar to other once great empires and nations. The decline can be reversed. I pray to God that the “new solutions” will be based on the biblical worldview. We will see.

The home page of The National Flag Foundation, under “Let's Reunite America,” states:

Our Flag was born in 1777 through the power of a revolution. Out of that revolution came its meaning – liberty and justice for all – as a birthright for every American.

“Liberty and justice for all” is from the The Pledge of Allegiance. The foundation of this nation is “liberty and justice for all” – despite this nation's imperfections. The foundational principal still stands.

Conclusion

Will you rise, as you read, to pledge with me?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

I call this once great nation the USSA (Un-united Socialist States of America). The nation is falling, not standing. If this nation were as one, under God, then there would be “liberty and justice for all.”

Many national readers STAND with me. Others need to STAND on the moral foundation that our founding fathers created (despite their imperfections). So, let us all STAND together, on the founding principals – otherwise, we shall all fall.

National readers, y'all have a safe and happy “Julyth” tomorrow – ya hear? Y'all are welcome to share this article, on Independence Day!