It's Times Like These...
Thomas Paine once said that "These are the times that try men's souls", and you would be hard-pressed to not believe likewise today...right here...right now.
Americans (and by that I mean REAL Americans, not those who sponge off of the government, wanting to be taken through life by the hand, while they wallow in some alcoholic or drug-induced faux euphoria) are beset with a whole new set of issues, problems, and conundrums.
The "Average Joes and Janes" are still out there, making whatever ends they can still maintain a grasp on, meet. They're still raising children with values THEY have embraced through their own parents, or by finding another method that works.
People are toiling daily at their jobs (those jobs that have NOT left the country, that is), and they're paying their taxes.
In essence, there are a LOT of folks out there doing the right things in life.
But apparently, that isn't enough.
These same people are being assaulted by the "nanny-state" mentality of our government, whose sole purpose in all of this is to 'take care of us". They wish to nurture us, mold us, shape us...into what "they" think we should be.
Now, excuse me for being a bit dense (and a tad miffed) regarding all of this, but Americans have found THEIR OWN WAY pretty damn well over the span of this nation's relatively short history.
Sure, we've all made mistakes along the way...an well probably make a few more. But that is what makes the American people great; the ability to LEARN from those mistakes (and hopefully we really do), press on, and achieve things we never knew we were capable of achieving.
Call it Manifest Destiny...call it the American Spirit...call it what you will.
Whatever it is...it WORKS.
Still, we, as Americans have a responsibility to ourselves, each other, and to our nation to ensure that our REPUBLIC survives.
We see the evidence of what can happen when we STOP caring...
Take a look at ANY inner city, and you'll know what I'm talking about.
It's not just the crime, nor the trash-strewn neighborhoods, nor even the dilapidated structure that house the masses dwelling there.
It's the APATHY that has taken over these areas, forcing many to move, some to remain, and many more to embrace such non-commitment to bettering oneself, or one's environment.
Now, I remember a certain Abraham Lincoln who FREED THE SLAVES with a little document called the EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION. And that was supposed to be that, right?
Well, not really....it took about another 100 years to get the ball REALLY rolling and have EQUAL rights pressed home to ALL people in this nation.
Now, after FORTY years of EQUAL RIGHTS, I'm not really seeing too much of the "equal" thing going on.
(this direction can lead to a whole other post for another day, so I'll back off for now)
What I AM seeing is more people who are STILL BOUND by another, more insidious form of SLAVERY.
Funny thing is...these people enslaved actually ENJOY it.
When I look out my door, or drive around, I see evidence of another type of slavery, but slavery none the less.
I see people who are SLAVES to other "masters".
And those masters come in many forms, most of them enticing to the senses.
I see people being slaves to DRUGS.
Others are slaves to CRIME (in many cases to get the drugs from that other "master").
I also see people enslaved to the almighty dollar (which, in some perverse manner seems a bit reasonable given the financial situation this nation finds itself). People are literally Pavlovian when it comes to fads, be they music, clothing, or entertainment these days, and have become enmeshed in the nuances of this form of slavery.
I see people being slaves to their own desires, giving in to debauchery and whatever whim their senses will permit.
Now, one COULD say that we are ALL slaves to something at some time...and maybe that's provisionally correct.
I would rather counter by saying we're not all SLAVES (per se), but rather INDENTURED SERVANTS.
Sure, it might smack of bantering semantics, but it IS not only a bit more palatable to our psyche, but also is a more apropos term.
Now, the really sad thing about all this "slavery" in today's world, is that few, if any of us that are enslaved actually realize it...it's THAT subtle. It's not all about having those shackles about your ankles or being whipped by some taskmaster.
We are being whipped by BIG GOVERNMENT, and they're hitting us in the "hip-national bank".
Those in Washington, D.C. see the need to keep ALL of us under increasing control...they want to "save us from ourselves".
I had ONE mother and father...and that worked out pretty damn well.
I don't think ANY government will come close to either of them...no matter HOW hard they try.
So, I don't believe that ANY form of enslavement to "protect me" is going to work either.
We have got to start weaning ourselves off of the teat of big government.
Too many people have become too damn dependent upon ANY form of government to "help them" through their lives.
And I suppose if you lived in a world much like Fahrenheit 451, that would be all well and good.
Most REAL Americans feel MUCH differently.
We want to succeed...OR fail...on what WE do (or do not do).
We want to strive for personal betterment.
We want to be able to enjoy our freedoms...AND our liberties, without the government's intervention for "our sake".
We want to pursue that happiness the Constitution spoke about.
Like I've said here before...the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S job is to take care of this COUNTRY...not every single person living here.
That responsibility can fall to the individual states...or cities.
I think they're gotten the differences between CHANGE and CHAINS a tad mixed up. They're blurring the distinctions between those words...and words DO have POWER.
(and like bullets...once they're "out of the muzzle", you can't call 'em back)
Our government established documents to PREVENT the intrusion OF that same government into our daily lives.
And it was the PEOPLE of this nation that spurred growth and achievement here, by THEIR contributions, inventiveness, and innovation. The government's task was to protect this nation from those who would subjugate those same people.
So, the last thing any of us really needs at this point is another shackle on us. As we go through life, we forge those chains ourselves (as Dickens once wrote in A Christmas Carol)...and we alone have to shoulder that burden.
Paine was so correct. These ARE times that WILL try men's souls...that's for certain.
The best thing all of us can do is to WATCH...LISTEN...and to not be afraid of calling those civil SERVANTS to task for something we feel is blatantly WRONG for us.
This nation is STILL ours. It's all about OF the people...BY the people...and FOR the people.
I don't see anything regarding TO the people (as what's being done TO us by big government).
It was the PEOPLE who enacted REAL change...in this nation...
As it should always be.
Be vigilant, be aware, and...
Stay safe out there, America.