*NOTE* Here's Charlie's 9/11 soapbox from 2018. - TeamCDB/BW

As the seventeenth anniversary of that fateful time in American history approaches, the memories of that day and the days afterwards spring vividly into my consciousness as images of America in shock and confusion, as I had never seen it.

*NOTE* Charlie will be back with a brand new soapbox on Monday, in the meantime, here's a rewind from WAY back in 2000. - TeamCDB

Just before Jesus went to the cross he gave his disciples another commandment, to love one another. With the exception of the commandment to love God with all our hearts, the others are all wrapped up in the new one that Jesus gave.

I remember as a child seeing the newsreels at the movie houses about the Second World War and the inhumanity and cruelty of Hitler and his Nazis.

I remember the huge holes full of the naked, skeletal bodies of Jews - men, women and children - who had been murdered and were being buried in mass graves because the furnaces where they usually burned the bodies couldn’t keep up with the amount of prisoners the monsters put to death.

I come from a long line of people who made a living by the sweat of their brows and the labor of their hands. Hands that could handle a plow or a crosscut saw, break an ornery mule or hold an infant baby.

To anybody who will admit the truth, the animosity and downright hate that exists in the political arena goes way past anything this nation has ever experienced before. The vitriol has grown to the point that party power comes before patriotism for many of these jaded partisans, to the point they will fight tooth and nail to defeat things that would be beneficial for the country just because it’s the opposing party’s idea. 

*NOTE* Charlie will be back with a brand new soapbox on Monday, in the meantime, here's a rewind from 2014 about the 40th anniversary of the 'Fire on the Mountain' album. - TeamCDB

Forty years ago this December, the CDB released what would ultimately be our first gold, and then platinum album called Fire On The Mountain.

It seems there is less and less common ground in discourse in America anymore as the constantly redrawn battle lines move farther and farther apart, taking with them even the folks on both fringes, severely narrowing the space for what have heretofore been known as “moderates”.

*NOTE* Charlie will be back with a new soapbox on Monday, in the meantime, enjoy this soapbox rewind on the 40th anniversary of the Volunteer Jam, and don't miss the broadcast premiere of VolJam XX on AXS TV Concerts Sunday night at 9C/10E. - TeamCDB

The Charlie Daniels Band had been nipping at the heels of major success for a while with a top ten single in 1973, "Uneasy Rider," and several albums that played on a lot of radio stations around the country and sold moderately well, but never crossed the threshold into the rarified air of gold or platinum.

I was born in 1936 when many of the small towns in the South were controlled by two or three and in some cases one family. They owned many of the retail businesses, significant interest in banks and other entities that determined the ebb and flow of available credit in the area and exerted significant influence over local politics.

*NOTE* Charlie will be back with a brand new soapbox on Monday, in the meantime, here's a soapbox rewind from 2007. - TeamCDB

As time goes by we pick up new readers of this column and for that, I am very grateful.

For you who have been with us for a while, I think you know how I stand on most issues concerning morality, politics and the good of the country. For those new readers, let me once again declare myself to give you a premise on my core convictions and beliefs so you’ll understand how my opinions are formed.

While on the road recently, I got the news that a non-politician businessman won the Republican nomination in Tennessee’s gubernatorial primary elections.

*NOTE* Charlie will be back with a new soapbox on Monday, in the meantime, here’s a Soapbox Rewind on the dangers of socialism from 2009. - TeamCDB

In his formative days, Jack Nicklaus hit one thousand golf balls a day on the driving range perfecting his craft and, as we all know, his tenacity and devotion to his sport took him to the very pinnacle of his profession, setting records that have not been broken till this day.

The refusal by some NFL players to stand up for the performance of the National Anthem at football games the past few seasons has had some far-reaching ramifications. It has ruffled the feathers of much of the population, resulting in less fans in the stands and a somewhat dwindling television audience, plus leaving deep scars in the veterans community.

*NOTE* Charlie will be back with a new soapbox on Monday, in the meantime, here's a soapbox rewind from 2010. - TeamCDB

We are constantly reminded about how short life is and how quickly time goes by.

The dictionary defines trust as, assured reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of someone or something in which confidence is placed.

The pollsters tell us that trust in Congress is close to an all-time low, as is trust in media.

*NOTE* Charlie will be back with a new soapbox on Monday, in the meantime, we're running a soapbox rewind from 2009, just a few days before the 4th of July. - TeamCDB

Every year it is a God-given blessing of mine to travel the length and breadth of this, the greatest and most beautiful nation on Earth, the United States of America, and I never tire of it.