Yes, Virginia, Branson’s Spirit of Faith, Family, Flag, and Fun is alive and well!

An Old Seagull takes pleasure in answering this question that just “revisited him” this week:

“Dear Seagull,

“I am eight years old, and when I tell my friends we are going to Branson for a vacation, they say that their parents say Branson’s Spirit of Faith, Family, Flag, and Fun is dying. My daddy says, ‘If you see it in the Ole Seagull’s column, you might disagree with it, but it’s his best shot.’ Please tell me the truth: Is Branson’s Spirit of Faith, Family, Flag and Fun dying, and will it be there when I get there?”

Signed: “Virginia Believer.”

Virginia, your friends’ parents are wrong. The Branson Spirit, dedicated to Faith, Flag, Family and Fun, is alive and well. Today, as it was yesterday and hopefully will always be, that Spirit is an inherent part of the values, heritage and fun that makes Branson the special place it is.

What they forget, Virginia, is that all minds, “Whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours, man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.” *

Yes, Virginia, the Branson Spirit lives on reflecting the ‘50s and ‘60s values, heritage, culture, spirit and attitude of its pioneer attractions and shows such as Silver Dollar City, The Shepherd of the Hills, Baldknobbers Jamboree, Shoji Tabuchi, the Gabriels, and Presleys’ Country Jubilee. It exists as certainly as people and families love excitement, adventure and having fun together in a safe, patriotic and God-honored family environment creating memories that will last a lifetime.

Alas, how dreary would the world be if there were no Branson Spirit! There would be no oasis in this world from the “if it feels right, do it,” “what’s in it for me,” “do the politically correct thing,” and increasingly, the anti-Semitic and Christian sentiments that are permeating our country today. There would be no vacation destination in America where the love of God, America and family values are today, as they have been for over 65 years, the foundation for the entertainment experiences it offers.

Not believe in Branson’s Spirit of Faith, Family, Flag, and Fun! You might as well not believe in the American spirit. You could stand outside of every Branson show and attraction, watching the millions of people going in and out each year, and it’s not something you would see directly. “The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men see.” Yet, Virginia, my bet is that once you experience Branson, you will feel the Branson Spirit and will return to experience it again and again, as millions before you have done.

“Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else as real and abiding.”

No Branson Spirit of Faith, Family, Flag, and Fun? Thank God it lives and, through His grace, will live forever. “A thousand years from now, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now,” that Branson Spirit will continue to “make glad the hearts of childhood” and all who believe in Faith, Family, Flag, and Fun.

*All quotes are from the editorial of Francis P. Church. entitled, “Yes Virginia, There is a Santa Claus, ”and family values are today, as they have been for over 65 years, the foundation for the entertainment experiences it offers.

Not believe in Branson’s Spirit of Faith, Family, Flag, and Fun! You might as well not believe in the American spirit. You could stand outside of every Branson show and attraction, watching the millions of people going in and out each year, and it’s not something you would see directly. “The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men see.” Yet, Virginia, my bet is that once you experience Branson, you will feel the Branson Spirit and will return to experience it again and again, as millions before you have done.

“Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else as real and abiding.”

No Branson Spirit of Faith, Family, Flag, and Fun? Thank God it lives and, through His grace, will live forever. “A thousand years from now, nay 10 times 10,000 years from now,” that Branson Spirit will continue to “make glad the hearts of childhood” and all who believe in Faith, Family, Flag, and Fun.

* All quotes are from the editorial of Francis P. Church. entitled, “Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”