I write the day before Memorial Day, when the island celebrates the beginning of summer. Indeed it was a packed island the last two evenings, with fireworks and all. But somehow, this Memorial Day event was depressing to me.
I shall always love our country, our flag, and honor those that served to defend our liberties and freedoms. But my growing suspicion is that the United States is not longer a leader of the world, the strongest country, or the most just. We seemed to have pissed away our former glory, accepted a President as a lunatic puppet king, and engaged our armed services in a ridiculous holy war that our Founding Fathers would find rather shocking. Even the mighty dollar, once the currency of global trade, is now frowned upon as worthless Yuppie coupons that must be redeemed for something of real value.
Back in the early 1800s many European observers predicted that the United States would only last a few generations before falling into a nasty dictatorship with a broken economy and eventually, anarchy. These predictions never came true, as today we are still a proud, industrious people. But there is a growing sense of frustration, with less than a third of Americans thinking that our country is going the right way - and confidence in the US Congress has fallen even lower, to 10 percent. What would Washington, Adams, and Jefferson say about that?
The notion that we caused all this ourselves - even by electing a President that should be found guilty of High Treason - is especially galling on this Memorial Day.
8 comments:
Sam, holy war? High Treason?? A little bi-polar depression today?
Millions of people hate the US because we are us. Their are extreme radicals that use religion as a tool to control their masses. The Shiites hate the Sunni with plenty of hate left over for anyone who isn't one of them. They teach hate at kindergarten and on their version of Sesame Street. This isn't something we can reason or negotiate with. We could have made life simpler by staying out of it and letting IRAQ and Iran kill each other. Of course, whoever succeeded would have gone after the Christians and the Jews anyway.
Also, we had and still have the well meaning idea of belonging to the UN. However, the UN is no longer an honorable institution. They put rogue nations in charge of the UN commission that looks into torture and human rights violations. Nations know that they can mostly do whatever they want. The UN only threatens, never really acts.
In order for the US Dollar to become worth something again, we need to get off illegal drugs, and also off of imported oil. Both addictions send billions into foreign countries that don't have our best interests at all. We send billions to Venezuela..who use their checkbook to threaten all of South America. We send billions to Iran, and the Saudis, who use the money to buy tanks and weapons that they point at Israel. Not to mention the destabilization of Lebanon.
If you wish to be depressed, the biggest assault came after 9/11 when we rushed to pass laws that ignore the Constitution. We forget the Bill of Rights so we can save the country and do it in a way the Jefferson would never have agreed to.
BTW, thanks Sam, now I'm depressed. Pass the tequila or whatever it is you were drinking.
RayDean
What drivel. You really should learn the meaning of the word "treason" before throwing the term around so lightly.
Sammy ol-boy, you need a beer and a chill pill :)
Not to get into an argument, but, do you carry a gun to the market in case a suicide bomber chooses today to die? Old ladies in Israel do.
Have you been in a bomb drill since grade school?
The main reason for a central government is to protect our borders and while the current group in DC have not even done that yet, we have lived for the most part a fairly save life since 9-11.
Be thankful for what we have on this day and those that have died to give us the chance to have it.
Your move conservative Beer Buddy !
Ken T.
Obviously I exposed some raw nerves here, and should stay with the light comedy and island gossip. I wrote this after reading some letters to the editor at large newspapers such as NY Times, Washington Post, and LA Times. Then one can look at foreign mags and papers such as the Economist, Spiegel, and others for a unique perspective on our culture.
Many of those letters and articles were WAY too "leftie" or savage for my tastes. And sorry if I offended anyone about my treasonary comment, but thank goodness the Old Boy only has 7 more months in office.
So I wrote a blog, my web journal. Memorial Day was never intended as it is today, originating from the Civil War. Over the years, WWI, WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam were added to the list, along with all those nice Memorial Day sales (interestingly, all sales used to be AGAINST THE LAW on Memorial Day in some states). It was never happy occasion. Ever notice how WWI was almost forgotten? More American men died in just one battle - the Argonne-Meuse - than in some of the other wars fought over many years.
This blog will return to its normal cheerfulness after a commercial break from our sponsors ...
Sam, I'm sending you an e-mail about the Federal Reserve bank. That is is our first problem! Why is it that no one remembers that it was "Billy boy, the Dishonorable" whose administration put Iraq on the list of countries that needed watching and if need be, getting their asses kicked? It wasn't either of the Bushes. And if we "invaded" to take over the oil fields, why has that not happened yet? He,Bush II could have used the "pretext" of taking WMD away from Sadam and taken over the oil. Hasn't happened and isn't going to.And just who was it that said he had WMD in the first place? Why I do believe it was the aforementioned Slick Willie.I'll tell ya Sam, I really fear for the future of this country as it is headed straight for anarchy I also do a ton of reading every day, both sides of the "aisle", and without fail, most of the "pundits" seem to agree with me to some degree. Shit, now you got ME depressed! I think I'll go whip up my favorite drink, one shot of Grappa, two shots of lemoncello, blood orange juice, and ice! For breakfast! With a water glass of vodka for a chaser, and I very seldom imbibe!!
Slick Willie was not the only one to want Iraq dealt with; watch this video for a reminder...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9JE48XHKG64
Have a Mike-a-rita and enjoy
Mike
For you others who might like to read this hook up to this site:
http://www.wtv-zone.com/Mary/BIGGESTSCAMINHISTORY.HTML
Oops! Wrong link an now I can't find the right one! Sorry
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