Many people have asked me to write something about current issues and how it compares to the experiences I just lived through in Iraq. Comparing our way of life to that of the way they are living at this time. As much as I wanted to write a piece doing such a comparison I felt it more appropriate to write another piece instead. A piece which points out the flaws of our own country versus writing about a war torn country which is going through growing pains as our country once did. One can not look at another country and find fault unless one is willing to open their own eyes and look within its own soul and admit to the flaws which are buried deep within our own roots. Instead I decided to write about the founding fathers of our country and their struggles and the struggles our own country has endured to get to where it is today. This might be a long one because once I start it will be hard to stop.
History lesson
A Nation Worth Preserving: Past and Present!
By Elizabeth Kilbride © 2006
Isn’t the United States of America is a nation worth Preserving? A nation created by people from an old world with old styles and values, who craved a new challenge and a new way of life. It’s a fabulous story to be told over and over again, but for some reason we are not teaching this in our schools. Why are we allowing ourselves to forget the sacrifices that were made for us over the years? The blood that was shed to sustain the liberties and the freedoms we take for granted each and every day!
As one travels this great country you can still see the vast bounty that inspired the settlers to strive and ultimately survive so long ago. Strive for a better life then what they left behind. You can rediscover the majestic views that were discovered by Lewis and Clark, yet never seem to not stop and enjoy them as often as we should. We find ourselves exploring other lands without understanding our own backyards. As our children learn about our history in school, we leave it up to teachers to teach them about this great nation. Some of whom have not had the time to see the beauty it has to offer first hand. They teach from books instead of life surrounding them each day.
Take the Washington, DC area for example: I am fortunate to live in an area of Virginia, one which affords me the pleasure of visiting and revisiting so many historical sites in the Washington, DC area. With so much history surrounding us in this area one can always find something new to explore everyday. You can walk the streets of Alexandria where George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Marquis de Lafayette once walked. The old structures and cobble stoned streets give your imagination an opportunity to wonder, what part of history was created within these brinks and mortar.
As you walk through the streets of the most powerful city in the world, Washington DC, one can not help but feel the power of James Madison, John Adams, Jefferson and Lincoln who once walked these same streets! It’s over powering at times. To think that from the hopes and visions of a this new land of promise, these men shaped this great country we call home.
I often find myself returning to two very special sites nearby that help give me the peace and tranquility I need to survive in this town, The United States Marine Corps Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. They remind me of the sacrifices that have been made so We can be free. It never fails to amaze me as I gaze out over the majestic view of the Potomac River to see our nation’s capitol, the beauty and spender of the monuments lights flickering under the moonlight. History transcends time when one looks out over this magnificent city. . Charles Dickens once said: "It is sometimes called the City of Magnificent Distances, but it might with greater propriety be termed the City of Magnificent Intentions." — Charles Dickens, 1842 The most powerful city in the world! To me its home! Powerful, eclectic and diverse all at the same time! When both house and senate are in session there are people from all walks of life scurrying around the city. From the young staffers who come with amazing hopes and dreams of making a difference, to the lobbyists who represent special interests groups that want to gain more power and money, to the politicians, who like the staffers, come wearing those rose colored glasses only to findly realize they can not accomplish what they set out to do in one term. Nothing ever seems to get done from one administration to another it seems.
Although the view creates an overwhelming sense of pride in one’s heart it is a double edge sword…both comforting, yet scary at the same time. I often wonder what our founding fathers would say if they could sit with me and see what has become of their precious new world. Would they be able to see where we have allowed ourselves to chip away and destroy the very foundation they left us in only the last 60 years?
Historians will tell us that in the early 1700’s it was a rough existence. For some reason I can not believe this. It was a gratifying and simpler lifestyle back then. They had the ability to create everything they needed to survive from their clothes, their furniture to the candles they read by. Although they struggled to endure, they were grateful to be in a new land they could call their own! They had every right to be grateful, they worked for everything and it was theirs, a making of their own two hands. Grown by the sun and harvested together. Granted they didn’t have the luxuries that we have today! Could we live without air conditioning on those hot summer days, running water, electricity that runs our heat, our televisions, our cordless telephones, our hair dryers and even alarm clocks? What if they had our transportation systems of today! The convenience of the grocery store where everything we consume has been grown, picked, bottled and shipped right to us! The internet, where everything we do is wrapped around e-mails and storage of our personal files for faster and convenient more ways of communications. Oh and one can not forget our precious cellular phones! Could we survive without these luxuries like they did… I doubt it. This generation would be devastated!
Although the luxuries we enjoy today were inspired by the small inventions created by our founding fathers, and those brilliant people that came after them, somehow we seem to have forgotten the reasons why this country was created in the first place. We tend to concentrate on the materialist items rather than the purpose and reasons why?
Thanks to men like Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Pierce and Washington, who were rebels in their day, they fought for freedom of political and religious persecution and eventually won. Although they labored over the potential ramifications of their actions, they also discussed various social and economic issues before deciding on how this country would be governed. As they debated over long range issues, their main concern was for their independence, versus immediate results and their next election. Some of our current day politicians should take a lesson from these men in looking at the good of the nation versus their own personal greed.
One has to wonder what would have happened back then if they had the luxuries of today, would they have been able to accomplish what they set out to do in less time! Maybe they could have. Yet, it took less than ten years and they created a country with a solid foundation on which to govern by and that same foundation has sustained us for 226 years.
Comparison:
In preparation of writing this piece, I found myself rereading the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution these men created on our behalf. Although I read these documents in grade school, I forgot just how brilliant these men were. Also how extremely religious these men were. It was evident that the Religious freedoms we enjoy today were so very important to these men back then. Their religious beliefs gave them the ability to understand that a higher being was the “Creator”, which is why they highlighted this word and the following statement in this famous document. “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them a decent respect to the opinions of Mankind”… This was and still is the foundation of this great nation. By including this statement in the Declaration of Independence they created this country to be protected and blessed by a being higher than oneself. Not a King, Not a President and no man or woman that lives on this earth! This statement also gave us the “unalienable right” to worship any God we choose to worship, the God that lives in our hearts, while instilling the freedoms and values that would eventually create a stronger unity of our very own. In those times although they were rebels by today’s standards, these men were true patriots and visionaries! They created this country to be better than the oppressor they fought to get rid of. If we allow our present elected officials to continually chip away at the basic foundation they created, what will we leave our children and future generations to come?
It’s very interesting to compare then to now only see all the obstacles they had before them, but were able to accomplish the creation of a new government. With today’s bureaucratic obstacles it is no wonder why our representatives in Washington can’t accomplish one percent of these men’s accomplishments in this lifetime.
If we were to compare our past to the present, we would realize that we were given the rights and protections from a world of oppression, religious persecution from a monarchy with rules and regulations that would have held us back for many years to come. Somewhere along the way we have lost sight of the reasons why this country came to be and have taken for granted what they selflessly sacrificed to give us. Precious freedoms they struggled to leave us, as Americans, we have somehow overlooked and taken for granted because we were born here. A heritage we have been born into, but still do not understand or appreciate. Has Power and Greed taken hold of this country and for the right dollar amount we are willing to sell off our land and freedoms to the highest bidder?
Each Forth of July marks the day in which we as Americans celebrate our Independence from the old world and their governance over this new land. It is a day in which we are to remind ourselves that a group of men took it upon themselves to stand up for what they believed was right and declared our independence. Today it seems to have taken on a different meaning: a day off from work, to watch colorful fireworks, enjoy that annual cook out with our family and friends, and to some dusting off that American Flag.
Unfortunately, over the years I have seen a decline in parents teaching their kids about the heritage of this great nation. What sacrifices were made for us to celebrate this day? The blood that was shed! The reasons why it came about? Recently I was discussing this problem with a friend and a woman along side me confessed that she was embarrassed with her nine year old son’s response when he was asked “Do you know what the Forth of July means?” his reply, “I get presents?” Although she was embarrassed to give his answer, she knew she had a lot of work to do to instill a sense of pride in her son’s heart! Until that moment she thought the schools were teaching this kind of stuff. I couldn’t believe my ears! Here sits before me an American Citizen, intelligent and well educated and she was under the impression that it was the responsibility of our school system to teach her son a sense of pride in his own country. I couldn’t believe it… she was a few years older than I was and I just couldn’t believe my ears! How can anyone who claims to be an American born Citizen believe that the school system should be responsible to hand down our legacy! The school system is only partly to blame in failing to teach our children a sense of pride through American History education! Our School system allows our teachers to interject their political views rather than taking pride in their country and teach civic pride! Therefore, it is the responsibility of each parent to teach their children about civic pride, it is the responsibility of every parent to pass this pride onto their children!
Each of us in our own way can relate to so many things our founding fathers enjoyed. Gardening as Jefferson and Washington; a love of Reading as Jefferson, John Adams, Franklin and Payne; disgust for injustices as Samuel Adams despised and of course a love of writing as they all enjoyed. Unfortunately we don’t give enough of these men credit for their accomplishments. Many writers try to destroy their credibility. Maybe because they were our first politicians we tend to want to find the dirt and destroy their true accomplishments instead of realizing that they had their faults as all men and women do! As we all know from our own recent history, each and every politician begins their career with such love of this country in their hearts, wanting to make a difference and be the voice of the people. It is not until they come to this magnificent city that they realize the true reality and impossibility of accomplishing what they set out to do.
TODAY! Power versus Greed!
We as a nation have become so wrapped up in our daily lives, while trying to survive we have forgotten to look at the bigger picture of what is happening around us? Today’s motto is: If it does not concern us at this moment, why bother getting involved! Therefore, we can only blame ourselves that we are allowing our basic liberties and freedoms to be destroyed by greed. Social issues that have been neglected over the last sixty years and continue to be overlooked are chipping away at the very essence of our countries foundation. It is a thirst for power and greed that plagues us as Americans to allow our historical pride to be destroyed while our essential liberties are taken away from us with every breath we take. How could we have allowed these Social issues to take a toll on our country with little chance of regaining what has been lost?
For example:
Have we allowed the First Amendment of Free Speech to be misused or abused? Speaking out against the government when a travesty has come to light is one thing, but to allow such frivolous lawsuits claiming First Amendment Rights violations are being taken away is ludicrous! This is America People… the founding fathers wanted us to have the right to Free Speech! If we continue to allow cases that are basically disrespecting our country, our foundation and our founding fathers, to be brought before our courts, wasting their time, only to have a judge misuse his or her power as a Justice and grant an award for a stupid claim just to get the case off their docket, we will ultimately lose this special right given to us! This has to stop! One has to wonder if our Legal system has lost its perspective or has the process changed so much that it has fallen pray to the destruction of the basic foundation. It seems that if an argument sounds good, it must be good enough to set precedence for future cases. Are Lawyers striving to get their name into the law books for life? Does it not seem as though our justice system has fallen prey to this same power and greed?
When the Founding fathers included the Second Amendment for us to Bare Arms it was not their intent for each American to bare an Ouzi, or a machine gun, it was to bare arms against invading forces in the protection of their families, property and freedoms. Most Americans hate the National Rifle Association for their lobbying to keep the Second Amendment alive. That’s because most do not understand this amendment! I happen to agree 100% with the Second Amendment! We must uphold our rights as Americans to bare arms against an invading force. More so today than ever before! {I would like to stress for those who feel I am completely wrong in my statement! This amendment was not written to assist the objectives of ever crook in this country. It was not to safeguard drug dealers and criminals who refuse to find a job and be productive in society. Who wish to instill fear in their neighbors and take control of our communities for further power and greed! These are social issues that we as a nation need to address and eliminate together. Politicians need to stop using this one issue as a means to further cloak their smoke and mirror issues to cover up their faults on Capitol Hill. This issue has been around for many years and until the American People tell them to STOP they will continue to bagger it to death! I realize that people have died as a result of gun abuse, but it is not the guns that kill people, it is People that Kill PEOPLE!} We as Americans must stand up and take responsibility for our own actions first and foremost! We are the ones holding these guns at another human being… these guns do not fire on their own!
Social Services and Welfare is a program that needs to be revamped and or completely abolished! There are so many cases of Big Brother’s power and greed running ramped throughout this system of financial incentives and lack of accountability for social workers' gross misconduct and neglect that really needs to be investigated before another child is put in danger through this system. Although there are many cases of actual abuse of children, something I do not condone in any way shape or form. Unfounded cases being brought against military personnel are running ramped in this country. Many cases are now being brought on against these warriors by false accusations, former spouses trying to get out of the relationships, or someone who hates our military who makes a false claim. There is no checks and balances in this system and before another child is taken falsely every one in this country should demand that our representatives take heed on the warning of an election which could go badly for them and stop this form of terrorism from attacking our families of our military and the average citizen of America. If there is no foundation for the charges and no criminal charges brought against a person for these charges, I am sorry but the child should not be removed from the home. Your 4th and 14th Amendment Rights are being abused. Politican’s STAND UP FOR AMERICANS... Many Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen are returning home after being gone for a year only to be slapped with unfounded child abuse, or child neglect charges. Why because they are viable children for the adoption train you have created? Why isn’t our military protecting them? Social workers are some how obtaining personal files of military personnel only to use these against a warrior, isn’t the personnel jacket of a military personnel considered as a secured document? How are they obtaining them? This is no way for a Soldier who is serving in the United States Armed Forces to be treated after defending this country upon his or her return home!
During the Great Depression President Roosevelt created what was called the “New Deal Act" to help those less fortunate provide a living for themselves as well as for their families. I can not believe that his original intention was for people to be on this program for 20- 30 years, or to have Big Brother take advantage of the system like it is now. A portion of this New Deal turned into the Welfare Program as we know it today. Called Social Services! This program was only created as a temporary means to help people get through the rough times, not as a means of consistent support for everyone to abuse. Especially politicians! Unfortunately, President Eisenhower and those that followed him should have discontinued a majority of this program when they had the chance, but for political reasons they only fueled the fires even more by capitalizing on this issue and added more federal funding to this program. Now we have this program taking advantage of our legal system further by taking children out of homes on the word of an anonymous caller reporting abuse. With the number of children being killed under this program each year, should there not be an investigation conducted by the Inspector General’s office along with the Secretary of Health and Human Services for the abuse and gross negligence of this program running ramped throughout our country. This one program abuses our children on a daily basis, but no one does anything to stop it!
America you want to know why the Social Security Program is running out of money, take a hard look at Social Services because they are helping to drain it through a program which sets up an account for the children in foster care.. unfortunately most of those children never see it...
Farming Issues: Farmers are losing their homes and livelihoods because of programs created over 60 years ago!
Another program under Roosevelt’s New Deal Act is the Farming Subsidies that still controls the farming industry today. Under the same “New Deal Act” President Roosevelt created two programs which on one hand helped preserve our natural resources and parks, while the other a temporary fix at that time began the downfall of the farming industry as we know it today. Unlike Roosevelt, our founding fathers were farmers and environmentalists. Agriculture and the environment was second nature to these men. It had to be, they lived off the land. Not like today where everything is done for us and delivered to the grocery store so we can buy it, cook it and consume it. Yet the people who live and work on our farms are losing everything they own because of the rules and regulations of the “New Deal Act” still in effect today. Regulations that still today prohibit them from growing bountiful crops that our economy needs to thrive upon. Why do we continue to buy from other countries when our own farm lands that can provide these necessary products to our stores are being closed because of programs created over sixty years ago? When all our farmers are dead and gone, who will we turn to grow these bountiful crops we need to survive on, machines, laboratories or other nations? The Farming industry is a fine art of production and agriculture; it is an art/skill that is being lost on a daily basis! Shouldn’t we as a nation be helping to preserve this skill and not destroy it?
IMMIGRATION:
The main issue in the news these days is Immigration. What I find ironic in this issue is a simple fact of life. One woman I heard on the news say she demands respect for doing the jobs that the average American refuses to do, the dirty work where you get your hands dirty. On one hand I have to agree that yes immigrants do handle all the jobs the average teenage believes is beneath them, but to demand respect! Who does she think she is... she spoke in barely English and yet demands respect. Many of the settlers who came to this country seeking a better life for their families during the late 1800 and 1900’s came from lands where a foreign language was spoken, did they demand respect, no they learned ENGLISH! I suggest before anyone who comes to this country and demands respect, try respecting our customs, our way of life, and our language first.
In today’s issue most of the people who are raising this issue have come here for a number of reasons: achieve the American dream as many of our grandfathers also dreamed. They came here legally without reservations to give their families a better life from what they had in their mother country. Yet today many in this country arrived illegally knowing that our system is screwed up. It was only after September 11th 2001 that the Immigration Naturalization System decided to get their act together and do something about the illegal alien issue. To Little To Late don’t you think? These people came here for work, work that the average American citizen refuses to do because it does not allow them to attain the proper stature of society. That kind of work is beneath them. Workers in hotels doing the maids job usually are not English speaking citizens and most every one of them do not pay taxes on those earnings. Ever wonder why your taxes are so damn high? Now you know why. Damn, go to the local 7-11 or McDonald’s and try to order something and you will see that you are now in a foreign country within the borders of the United States of America. It is not only frustrating but down right disrespectful that employer’s would higher someone who doesn’t speak English in a service oriented business. On top of disrespecting our social culture in this country reports on the news say that the American Flag is not to be displayed or flown over schools who have a larger amount of immigrants in attendance... ok am I hearing this correctly? Is this fact true, I ask you? If so, our country has just moved away from the very foundation it was founded on and allowed not only every American Citizen to be disrespected but our flag as well. Who ever the politician or school official is who came up with that bright idea should be taken out back and tarred and feathered for sure because they are no better then those who are trying to destroy this country one law at a time. People if you don’t like our culture, society and or our immigration laws then why stay here? It is time that the people of America stand up for this country and the laws that each of us live by. The new immigration law which is pending before the house will only help to destroy this country further. Europeans and Asians abide by the process in which to enter our country, why shouldn’t those who share our immediate borders do the same?
ECONOMY, HOUSING and TRAVEL INDUSTRIES:
During any other time in history where our government has sent our military into another country to defend freedom or oppression on a large scale as we have done in recent years, the government instilled in our fellow Americans to conserve and ration resources to keep prices down. Back during World War II, everything was rationed, gas, food, metals and clothing resources. During Vietnam again gas was rationed and so was metal and various items associated with the textile industries. This time around, we are not conserving anything. Not one mention of gas rationing or capping has been mentioned. If this country does not do something very soon we will be in a position where we see more and more jobs in the textile, automotive and travel industries going to the way side. What does that mean to the average American... this: everything you want to buy from food, clothing, furniture, simple luxuries such as dvd players, televisions, your cell phones, computers, to everything you hold dear to your heart, those items will go up in price. Housing market prices will sky rocket and shortly after you purchase that home, the value will plummet. Your travel adventure will be tripled and for you to go visit the family back home the cost of that airline ticket will be so far out of reach of your wallet you might have to take out another mortgage for those materialistic items you want to buy for the holidays.
If the government really thinks that the economy is on track and no one is suffering then I suggest they go out to the pumps, read the real estate page of their local newspaper or check out the prices of airline travel in this country, because they apparently are not seeing what I am seeing in this country. Not only is our economy, housing and travel markets off the charts, but the prices in which are reflecting these markets are not only going to hit the roof soon, but eventually plummet so badly that the economy will go into a tail spin. Because none of it is worth the paper they were negotiated on.
If politicians looked beyond their congressional offices and realistically looked at the bigger social picture facing our nation, they would realize prices are causing the current crime situation taking hold of our nation. People who can not afford to put food on the table much less afford the prices of the bare necessities of life in order to continue to live are resorting to some form of criminal activity.
We as a Nation must be willing to step up to the plate and personally take responsibility in the initiative to preserving our own history and the liberties it gives us! We can no longer expect our elected officials to watch out for us and those same liberties we are so worried about losing. As we look at our community and begin to question the issues that are important to us, we must also ask ourselves how they relate to our neighbors as individual Americans. One can not expect our government to do everything for us because if we leave it up to them, our voices will never be heard. Now is the time to begin to look at the future and let your voices be heard once and for all! Until we address these issues separately, with calm voices, they will not go away any time soon. The one right every American has is their right to VOTE, do not allow that right to be taken away too. Do not vote for a political party, vote for the individual who you feel in your heart will represent you and your rights as a citizen of the United States of America. We need representatives to represent us all not their own personal power trip or greed. Representatives who will stand up and go through the security check points the same as you and I would have to do, without incident or making it an issue of race or religion. Representative’s who will take action to preserve our rights and benefits as Americans, not sell them off to the highest bidder because they wish to stay in office. The time to stand up for the legacy of America is now!
Shouldn’t we demand that our Country be preserved for future Generations not for immediate Power and Greed?
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