What is America?

What is America all about?  I hear the left and the Rino’s talk about the Tea Party as if they are the problem in our culture.  The last time I checked it was a grass roots movement of the people, just what is more American than that?  The political machines on both sides of the aisle have totally forgotten who they work for.  The egotism and the self preservation that is prevalent in both houses shows why we are desperately in the need for term limits.  Let’s face facts the people we send to represent us are not elected by the people of their communities, they are elected with huge sums of money from outside their districts sponsored by pacts and party leaders from all over the United States.  The day of local representation is gone, the loyalty to their communities is gone, they represent the people who pay for their re-election.

We have a President that seems to have little empathy toward our historic American culture and leans more toward a European style of governance and a type of liberal socialism that has failed so badly in Eastern European countries.  He was elected to represent all the people but has surrounded himself with only the far left.  He is penalizing the builders of our society by promising a share of their wealth to those who do the least for making America great.  He is a believer in throwing money at every problem even when history has shown it does little to make things better.  The problem is that it is our money and we can do little to replenish the treasury other than pay additional taxes in light of the weak economy that his policies are responsible for.   For several years now we have been printing money to pay our debts, a program that will lead to chaos as the value of the dollar drops in the world currency. 

I know I am like a tree falling in the forest, it makes a lot of noise but nobody is there to hear it.  Until we join together in programs like the Tea Party to make our voices heard and do something about our election process to stop outside money from electing our representatives, we will continue to lose power as a people.  Our Constitution that is supposed to protect our rights has been successfully circumvented in many areas by an assumption of executive privilege.  This should bother you regardless of what party you are affiliated with, as once established it can go both ways depending on who is in power.  Trust is something that has to be earned and nothing that our government has done recently gives me a feeling of trust, how about you are you willing to trust these people with the lives of your children and grand children?   

Short term fix

Congress has the upper hand in the ongoing battle over the debt limit increase if they use their leverage in a positive way.  The American people want action, the rhetoric coming from both sides of the issue is driving a deeper wedge into our whole political system.  Asked about the trust felt in politics and politicians as a whole and the people themselves will tell you they don’t trust any of them.  It seems there is an ulterior motive in every move made by either side.  The reason I say the Congress is in a better position is that they have it in their power now to pass a temporary increase with a pre laid out agenda for discussion.  These discussions should be open to the public on CSpan and any other network that wishes to be part of the program with no back door politics involved.  Congress should be represented by 5 republicans including the Speaker and 3 democrats including the minority leader.  The senate should be represented by 5 dems including Reid and 3 republicans including the minority leader.  The White House should be represented by 3 economic advisors including the treasury sec.  Each would have equal voice and be moderated by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  The extension should be no more than 45 days and carry a mandate to get things accomplished or the entire matter would be handled legally by a case brought by the people in the Supreme court. 

The President would have the right to step in and sit in place of the Treasury secretary as he wished but with the understanding that his voice is no more important than the other players.   No more politics as usual cloaked in secret deals and backroom fixes.  Put our politicians on display and let the public see their political heroes in action.

An old duffer speaks

I feel so fortunate to have been born in 1941.  I know you may consider me an old duffer beyond my prime but let me tell you what I really am;  For one thing I was raised to be a patriot and grew up in a time when the people ran the country, not an elite bunch professional buffoons.  I was raised to understand that no one owed me anything, that I would have to earn my own way in life.  I was never in a position to go on to a higher education, a fact that probably allowed me to develop my own philosophy and not that of some elitist professor.   I got married at 18 to a girl that I pledged to spend my life with and enlisted in the military, we are still together 54 happy years later.  Marriage wasn’t on a trial basis back then it was a commitment to your spouse and made before God.  I can’t say I missed much by not going to college as I have had a very successful career mostly because of the values ingrained in me from childhood.  I have always felt that you can be anything you want to be as long as you have the right attitude and work ethic. I’ve noticed today that many people are more interested in what’s in it for them when looking for work rather than the attitude of old, where we actually tried to bring something of value to the company.  You can see the same thing in how people live their lives, many put in just enough to get by and take advantage of every entitlement offered often cheating to do so.  Others build their lives around personal pride and do everything in their power to find new and innovative ways to bring honor to their position. 

I have lived long enough to see God removed from almost every aspect of our lives and strangely as his absence increased so have the values of this society and the strength of our union diminished.  The Utopian promise of the leftist progressive movement of everything from never suffering anguish or having to understand what losing feels like has left this country weaker and susceptible to a population of takers rather than the doers I grew up with.  Sporting events for children where they are taught that no one loses if you don’t keep score and the lack of family unity that comes from the failure to discipline because it may cause later trauma in the child.  Ask yourself who are the children of today’s heroes, who do they look up to and who do they want to emulate?    

Political correctness is just another way to gloss over life’s challenges so we don’t have to face the agony of normal life experiences.  A person advocates the destruction of America and I can’t call him a terrorist as it might hurt his feelings.  The fact that the terror wrought on the world by radical Muslims is growing right here inside our country, being preached in Mosques all across the land and protected by the political correctness that says we cannot profile those who would do us harm.  This in my mind has turned us into a nation of spoiled, entitled weaklings who could never have survive things like the Great Depression or even World War I or II.  America’s best days may have died with many of the last generation.  Our fervent hope is that out of the mess that is to come, leaders of the caliber of our forefathers will emerge and be charismatic enough to lead our children and grand children to build a new and stronger nation, one that understands and teaches personal responsibility and a respect for our gloried history.  Our forefathers mortared the bricks of this nation with their belief in God and just as quickly we have allowed a just a few to destroy its very foundation. 

Whether you believe in the hereafter or you are an agnostic you must admit that removing the fear of God and the basic rules of life taught by his teachings has diminished the moral fiber of the nation and left a void that is being filled by drugs, violence and lack of hope.