America is Sick and Dying

I know what you are saying (because I know all three of you). One is thinking "Woahh, now that's going too far," while the other is thinking "WHAT?!?! No alteration???" The third is thinking "What, no chocolate? I'm going back to bed."



Let me address the second first. I couldn't think of an alteration.



As to the former, hear me out.



Since the birth of this nation, we have held that the biggest concept is freedom and security. Freedom of speech, religion, press, etc. This nation was founded on those very principles.



Now, we seem to have lost many of those sacred rights and that, along with some other points, have led to a nation that is not as strong as it was as recently as the 1940's. I will admit that my history may be off a little bit. Our government, and its citizens, have slowly stripped away our rights.

For Example: During the recent Bush administration, the President complained about a comment an entertainer made (although the company the entertainer denied it, I believe this is true) and the man lost his job. During the same administration, every American was monitored. Mentions of terrorism, disaffection or even sites visited on the web were tagged for "closer scrutiny." In the interest of security (we were told), the government monitored us for potential seditious activities.

But that's not all. We can not blame the government for all our woes and ailments. After all, WE are the government. There is more in the private sector that is wrong than can ever be accounted for by blaming the government. There is still: Rampant Racism (and anyone who thinks it's just the crackers is . . . well . . . crackers.), hatred, political and/or religious intolerance, paranoia and general apathy. If you will bear with me, I will address each issue.

Racism, it's not just for whites anymore, and never has been. I myself have encountered a great deal of racism in my life. There are blacks (or African Americans or whatever they prefer to be called this decade ((OIIYY that sounds racist))) who hate anyone who isn't black and blacks who hate blacks, there are Hispanics who hate anyone who isn't Hispanic, likewise with Asian and etc. ad nausea. This is strictly divided along race lines. They don't have (or need) a reason for their hatred, there are ample excuses though. Racism breaks away the very bond that should hold this country together. After all, we all come from somewhere that once hated the very neighboring country that our neighbor (or spouse or best friend) came from, but we got over that, because we are all Americans. That's the way I like to look at it (contrary to the appearance of the above statement), that we are all Americans. Period.

Hatred. This is more than hatred on the side of race. It's a hatred of anything that is different. A hatred for someone who makes more money than you or a hatred of someone who believes differently from you. This is a catch all topic.

Intolerance, Political, Religious or otherwise. This is a BIG problem. This one should probably have come first. There are those out there (and I know some personally) that believe that there political/religious beliefs are the only ones worth having. Break it down
Political: Bush was a great president because he was Republican. Obama is trying to take over the US. You don't believe me, I'll spout threats of what WILL come. OR Bush was trying to take over the world and Obama is trying to save it. He is a Saint and deserves deification. Let's get it straight. Bush had his good points and his bad, so does Obama. Dis Obama deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, NO, he hadn't been in long enough to make a difference, but that's judged by a bunch of intellectual idiots. No one can take over the US without our help.
Religious: All the Muslims are evil. They believe is killing everyone who isn't Muslim. I, p[personally, try not to believe that. I have not studied Islam and neither have 99.9% of those who disbelieve it. I do still want a picture of Muhammad to post and I believe the Muslims should respect my feelings that he is not an icon to me and I do not have to follow their religious beliefs.

Paranoia: This goes with the belief that Obama is trying to take over the world. We harbor these fears of the government and tell our children to believe them. We tell our daughters that they are not safe being alone in their house/apartment alone, "they WILL be raped!!!" I have seen the commercial that talks about signal strength EVERYWHERE. It follows a woman through the commercial everywhere EXCEPT in the parking garage. Then she amazingly turns in to a large black man. WHAT???? Or all the commercials for security systems that have girls have their doors busted in, get real. This kind of paranoia leads to the personal isolationism we have throughout our country, which has lead to a fractured citizenry.

Apathy: This is the nail in the coffin. We have all the problems above, but it is our apathy that binds them all together. "I'm not gonna do anything to change this because . . ." Give me a break people. Get out there and vote or be active in politics. Of course, being active is not MY job, it's YOURS. I'm just gonna sit here and write blogs for you to read.


Peace up, Charles

Gott speilt nicht verful mit dem Universum. A.E.