-
Happy Independence (from Fear) Day!


You will find very few people who are more cynical about the direction of our country – and for very good reason - than me. Yet, oddly, you will also find very few people who are more optimistic about how it will turn out. Why? Because America has always been able to figure out how to solve our problems, one way or the other. As Winston Churchill said, “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.”

We face a ton of problems at home and abroad yet it’s not like we haven’t faced this and worse before. We survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, WWI, WWII, Korea and Viet Nam. And we will survive ISIS and every other assault on modern life that comes our way too; that’s what we do.

I know that most of us are disgusted with the direction the country has taken and the choices we have for leaders and rightly so – in a country of 330 million, these are the two best candidates we can come up with?! But we forget that we’ve survived a number of really awful presidents in our history. To name just a few, Millard Fillmore, Warren Harding, John Tyler, George W Bush and, apparently, the infamous Muslim, African, Communist Barack Obama. Trust me, we’ll survive the Donald or Hillary too.

Don’t be confused by false messiah’s, we have a lot of problems but if anyone will solve them it will be us - doing it together. We will do it by not losing sight of all the things that have made us great: we are not a fearful people, we are optimists; we are country of immigrants where everyone wants to get ahead; we are willing to try and fail in order to try again and succeed. And we stick together when times are tough. 

I know sometimes we kind of lose sight of these things but somehow we always seem to get back to the simple truths that Thomas Jefferson wrote 240 years ago; we are all created equal and have rights that no one can take away from us and that’s what the 4th is all about. America has changed and will certainly continue to change but one thing won’t; until proven otherwise, this is still the greatest nation in the world.

So go ahead and have a beer and a hot dog on the 4th, you’ve earned it. (And let’s hope  that good, old Winston continues to be right!)


Happy Independence Day, my friends!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Time to Say Goodbye

-
Image
  "Avoid Becoming an Act of Force and Not of Right . . ."  A Time to Say Goodbye This is not what I wanted to post today but it is what I thought I had to. We have so many issues to deal with in our country but I think this is one we will really need to face in the near future. I take no pleasure in this post. I spent 28 years in the military ostensibly defending the Constitution and being proud of that, I gotta say this is really uncomfortable. We, the Supreme Court, beg to differ That being said, I’m sorry old friend, but it’s finally time to say goodbye. You’ve been around for centuries yet it seems like just yesterday that our best and brightest sat down in a hot, stuffy building in Philadelphia and glued you together from a bunch of mismatched pieces. You have been through wars, depressions, good times and bad. You helped as we went from a small backwater country to the most powerful nation in the world. Your genius was in being almost a gymnast in your flexibility ...
Read more

The Last Leaf

-
Image
  My oldest daughter recently sent me something that, at first blush, is perfect for a leaf watching meditation and it certainly is that. Of course, as you will see, this verse can mean different things to different people and for many different reasons. As for me, as a lot of people have noted, I've had a pretty negative outlook for quite some time (although sadly as one looks around my country, I may have good reason.) So this lovely piece was very timely because it forced me to have an attitude check that I definitely needed. It may not negate the things have made me feel so sour but it reminded me that it's easy to let the minutiae of modern life take on a role well beyond their actual importance.  It said, "Come on, pal, it's time to step back and get a grip, focus on t hings like family, friends and how you are living your life instead of crap you can't control." Alrighty then! Obviously and most importantly this contemplation also speaks to the biggest ...
Read more

A Tale of Two Posts

-
Image
  Take heart . . . I had prepared two different posts for after the election – and I really wish I was posting the other one.  America Just had a Worse Day than This . . . Like most non-Trump voters I am gob smacked by the results. Who knew there were so many people who were so angry and dissatisfied with their lives in our country that they were forced to vote for possibly the most unqualified candidate ever. As a twice-impeached felon who is clearly mentally diminished and who tried to overthrow his previous loss, he is certainly a "interesting" choice. Our two party system; ain't it grand? Perhaps more problematic than his dark outlook on America, however, are the barnacles that are riding along with him. People like Elon Musk, Rob’t  Kennedy Jr. – and the Evangelicals? And, of course, his crackerjack VP, JD Vance.   JD does offer one positive for Trump however. Never thought I’d say this but with him in the wings we REALLY must hope that Trump makes it to 20...
Read more