Happy July 4th.
This weekend I saw a commercial celebrating our independence day, it got me thinking. This commercial played out by portraying red coats at the time of the revolutionary war ready for combat. The situation turns grim when they discover that our founding fathers are charging directly at them at about 55 miles per hour...in a few American made cars and as the Brits run off in disgrace, a triumphant George Washington emerges and we are greeted with a slogan: America got two things right: Cars and Freedom.
My impulsive reaction was to blurt out that we have neither and in 2010 to invoke the memory of American automobiles in the face of unprecedented bailouts is just silly. Later that day we watched the fireworks and I was swept up in thoughts that many would consider pessimistic and against the spirit of the holidays. Unfortunately, we as Americans must be more cognizant than ever of what 4th of July means and what it once represented. Our independence day represented America's victory over taxation without representation, tyranny, a disinterested central government and class warfare.
Yet as I stood and watched the fireworks I could not help but remember the following: many Americans lose half their paychecks to various governments, oppressive laws dictating ownership of guns and which substances we are allowed to put in our bodies, a Washington DC growing more and more detached from middle class America and a sharp division between the providers and the takers.
Worse yet, we are in the midst of a recession that will soon be regarded as America's second Great Depression and just like the Great Depression most Americans have no idea why so many people have to suffer, as an unconstitutional central bank lurks in the shadows and our government plunges into record debt.
I am sure that this is not the first time that pessimism reigns during 4th of July and plenty of people have issued similar warnings in the past several decades, but with each year the situation worsens. Worse yet, the trajectory of our nation is no longer linear, but instead looks hyperbolic much like the chart of our national debt. Too many people would rather watch the fireworks blissfully and pretend that our hardships will resolve themselves just like they did so many times ago. Yet this apathetic approach is not only detrimental to our well being, but not any different than the third of the population just before the Revolutionary war that preferred not to get involved and buried their head in the sand.
As we lose our health care, our finances, our private companies, our guns and our private properties we must always remember how brave Americans laid down their lives for much less than what has already been taken from us over the course of just 90 years.
My impulsive reaction was to blurt out that we have neither and in 2010 to invoke the memory of American automobiles in the face of unprecedented bailouts is just silly. Later that day we watched the fireworks and I was swept up in thoughts that many would consider pessimistic and against the spirit of the holidays. Unfortunately, we as Americans must be more cognizant than ever of what 4th of July means and what it once represented. Our independence day represented America's victory over taxation without representation, tyranny, a disinterested central government and class warfare.
Yet as I stood and watched the fireworks I could not help but remember the following: many Americans lose half their paychecks to various governments, oppressive laws dictating ownership of guns and which substances we are allowed to put in our bodies, a Washington DC growing more and more detached from middle class America and a sharp division between the providers and the takers.
Worse yet, we are in the midst of a recession that will soon be regarded as America's second Great Depression and just like the Great Depression most Americans have no idea why so many people have to suffer, as an unconstitutional central bank lurks in the shadows and our government plunges into record debt.
I am sure that this is not the first time that pessimism reigns during 4th of July and plenty of people have issued similar warnings in the past several decades, but with each year the situation worsens. Worse yet, the trajectory of our nation is no longer linear, but instead looks hyperbolic much like the chart of our national debt. Too many people would rather watch the fireworks blissfully and pretend that our hardships will resolve themselves just like they did so many times ago. Yet this apathetic approach is not only detrimental to our well being, but not any different than the third of the population just before the Revolutionary war that preferred not to get involved and buried their head in the sand.
As we lose our health care, our finances, our private companies, our guns and our private properties we must always remember how brave Americans laid down their lives for much less than what has already been taken from us over the course of just 90 years.
Comments
Post a Comment