The traditional Thanksgiving commentary is a litany of good things in our lives. Fair enough. It teaches us to be grateful for what we have.
But while that’s not such a bad idea, I think that sometimes it’s wise to take a look at the problems we face and see what good can come from them.
Thanks to the Obama administration, the regressive and divisive political trends in our country and the progression of terrorist horrors across the world, it’s hard to avoid the negative.
The real challenge is finding reason for hope in the muck. Believe it or not, it’s there.
What am I thankful for when looking at the larger picture than my immediate life? Many things because, believe it or not, I think the world is worse now than it was generations ago, and because it’s worse, and because of what we’ve been through, we can see the possible outcomes.
Then again, that would be possible only if we’re perceptive enough to see reality and not what the politicians and the media want us to accept. Given the influence of the media, it’s a rough battle.
Those who remember and lived through World War II know that people felt it was win or lose everything. While not a pleasing choice, at least there was a choice with clear consequences.
The free world took the challenge, and with grit and courage and strength, won the fight.
Today, we have wars with no end and no real purpose. Even our own leaders are confused as to what we’re doing, where and why.
In the past, our military, and certainly the men in combat, had focus even if at times there was division among the leaders. Generally, that division was not evident to the troops or to the man on the street.
The image to the average American was that we were united in our intent and effort, and, ultimately, the goal was victory.
It’s different today. Our military has been the target of political correctness in training, dress and membership. Their assignments often have morphed from combat to socially approved assignments. Are they warriors, or are they social engineers assigned to create a better world regardless of the local politics in the chosen locales?
Do our warriors fight wars to protect our freedom, or are they now fighters without borders and are often used to build schools and infrastructure in foreign lands and even, as we are doing now with Ebola, fight a contagious disease.
Have we lost our sense of mission, or have we lost our way?
We’ve had hot wars – Korea, Vietnam, others – and at the same time, the Cold War. The average American may not have perceived the political intrigue involved in all that, but they knew the enemy.
We had the fear of nuclear war and the terrible infernos it could cause. Children learned “duck and cover,” which, in reality, would do nothing but give fake security.
Over the years, we’ve had prosperity and recession, inflation and deflation, corporate and political corruption. Often it was not terribly clear to the average American just what was going on, but eventually the reality was clear and there was some resolution.
Now we have politicians who lie openly, economic conflicts that threaten families, to say nothing of the ultimate effect on the very future of our nation.
We’ve seen stable firms destroyed and banks disappeared along with millions of Americans who found the financial rug pulled out from under them with no recourse.
Jobs are gone, salaries cut to below maintenance levels, young people facing a future of near hopelessness. Home ownership is a dream for many, and our standards of living are being lowered rather than holding even or improving.
What happened to pensions, to decent and affordable health care, to a basic and solid education for our children, to safe streets and to the equality of the races that were the legacy of the Civil Rights efforts of the ’60s?
They’re gone.
Just look at the media – and politician-fed riots of Ferguson. Look at the economic and the job situation facing not only the minority young but all citizens.
Look at the excuses given to Islamic terrorism as though their violent hate has some rational and excusable basis, even when beheading American citizens.
Look at the situation when the president makes his own laws so that the rights and benefits of American citizens are stolen and given to illegal aliens who essentially are stealing our birthright as Americans.
The leader in this is Barack Obama, the president now feeling his power. He doesn’t have to worry about midterm elections or his own re-election campaigning.
The truth is, he’s a loose cannon. He doesn’t care about any of that nor of his own party. Whether it approves of him or not, he’s feeling his oats.
Obama believes he’s above all that, and he’s essentially stated that he’ll do whatever he believes is the “right” thing for this country – essentially, he’ll do what he wants and the rest of us be damned.
As I said earlier, it’s possible to find optimism in the muck and that means my main hope is that we can see what’s being done to us so openly and put a stop to it.
We don’t have to wait until it’s a crisis. We can and must end it now before it destroys us – as a people and as a nation.
It reminds me of John Wayne’s point: “Life is tough. But it’s tougher when you’re stupid.”
Don’t be stupid.
Follow Barbara Simpson on Facebook.
Media wishing to interview Barbara Simpson, please contact [email protected].
|
