I have been watching all the events going on in the US recently and it has crossed my mind that the USA has been labeled as lazy, decadent, and to into frivolous things. We have never paid much attention to this as these comments have come from our enemies for years, even decades. Watching all these events and listening to all the complaining about those events I have began to wonder if our enemies saw something in us we refused to see.
We are supposed to be a free society where the individual can thrive and pursue a good life under the liberty from over powering government influence. The immigrants from Europe that founded this country desired this as they wanted to be free of persecution in religion and have the ability to own property of their own. To make money, to save money and experience a life where you can make your own life. We started as groups of local communities, living and existing with each other, lending a hand whenever our neighbor needed it. These communities where on their own as they were thousands of miles away from any governing authority. These realized that while a limited government was necessary more could be accomplished at the local community. It was a new and novel idea, that the people could govern themselves and did not need a ruling class to make every decision for them to the extent of owning all the land and letting the people live on that land as long as they worked on it. Under the new philosophy of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness a new nation was born.
Just over one hundred years ago a new philosophy was emerging, it was called progressivism. In a nut shell this new idea was for the government to provide for the needs of the people and replace the individual as the provider for the individual’s needs. Progressivism wanted to reorder the government to a strong central federal government and alleviate the local governments and the individual of the burden providing for their own needs. The problem with this is that it is a one hundred eighty degree turn from the fundamentals that the USA was built on. Many currently in national elected office today are in one degree or another followers of this progressive movement. At the core of this movement is the idea that the few(the ruling class) know more about what the many(the governed) need than the many do. I suggest what many also believe, that the politicians in office have no idea what we need they only want to be in office because that is where the power is. Well let me clarify that. They know what we need and while the campaign to get elected is going on they will identify those needs and identify with those needs. Once in office it is to hell with the people until the next election.
This brings me back to my original thought, the American public is lazy. We go through our lives not paying attention to what is going on in government at any level. We only become polarized around issues that seem to draw the majority of attention, whatever the news media wishes to keep in front of the American public by keeping it on the air. Most will fall under the banner of any cause that their favorite celebrity champions, misguided or not. Here is a question, is that celebrity being compensated for the TV ad that gets you to follow their ‘cause’? History and social studies in schools of all levels are becoming watered down. Actual history is but a blip in a text book while they seem to be more in-depth on subjects like Oprah. Survey study after survey study proves that the average American knows squat about the country they live in. Much like anything else politics any more is only a popularity contest where we are convinced to vote for the most popular rather than the most qualified. More over this country has become a nation of people who honestly believe that the country owes them a living rather than earning that living for themselves! I know, I see it every day! Everywhere! Is there no personal pride anymore?! Americans should be proud and be knowledgeable about who we are as a nation and our roots. Why is there only national pride when we are attacked or in the wake of some natural disaster? Civic pride is also non existent.
I hope that I have stirred some thought. If you are angry or offended, prove me wrong! Maybe, just maybe some will read this will get involved in their country and local community.
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