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62% Of Americans Believe Their Country Is Heading In The Wrong Direction - ABC News/Washington Post Poll
We belittle our fellow countrymen. We’re far more rude to one another than our grandparents’ generation. It’s no surprise that we’re overtly aggressive and far more prone to revert to violence and guns to settle what are minor disputes.
Across America
This Is Our Country
Our grandparents, and their grandparents would not know the nation we inhabit today. Today’s America looks something like their America. The Grand Canyon is still there — and so is the Statue Of Liberty. But our America doesn’t feel anything like their America did. Millions of us grew up in that America. We remember. Their America was friendlier, poorer, more honest. One person could earn enough to support a family. People were polite. The future looked bright.
If you’re old enough to remember, you know that their America was not perfect. But everybody was expected to be civil, do his or her part, and to be honest. In most towns people had little reason to lock their doors because Americans respected the property of others. Back then, people worked together, as much to preserve the American Dream as to make a dollar.
Today, most of us work only in our own best interests while expecting others to preserve our freedoms, protect our national interest, and grow the economic pie from which we all seek to feed. We’re more tolerant today, better educated, and far more skilled than our grandparents’ generation. We have far better communications, and unbelievably wide choices in goods, services and housing. Our cars are safer, our appliances more efficient, our entertainment options nearly endless.
Foggy, Corrupt, Disheveled
But we’re not happy. We belittle our fellow countrymen. We’re far more rude to one another than our grandparents’ generation. It’s no surprise that we’re overtly aggressive and far more prone to revert to violence and guns to settle what are minor disputes.
Our grandparents respected people for their character, contributions to society or sacrifice to nation. We worship people who can hit or throw a ball, appear regularly on television, or jump about at a concert. They sent their sons, husbands and fathers to war to preserve our freedoms and way of life. We send other people’s sons and daughters to war as if their lives are worthless and expendable.
Prior generations established banks to serve the national interest. We changed our banking laws to permit banks to serve the personal interests of bankers. Their America demanded that media serve the public interest while we encourage our media to serve only their own interests.
What have we done to the land of the free and the home of the brave? Millions of our fellow countrymen are unnecessarily unemployed. Yet those who robbed our banks and eviscerated millions of jobs remain in place. We’re wary of violence in our neighborhoods, and threats of terrorism within our own military.
We’re unhappy with government, angry at those who hold political views not congruent with our own, and befuddled at how nearly everything we were taught to believe about America is becoming foggy, corrupt, or disheveled.
Are You Part Of The Problem, Or The Solution?
But you already knew we are not living in our grandparents’ America. We’re living in the one we made. The one we avoided serving. The one we thought existed only to make us rich. Or powerful.
This is our country. We made it and we shall have to live in it. Or put up with it. Or tolerate it.
Or, change it.