by CJ Clark, Featured Contributor
I FEEL BETTER ABOUT the United States of America today than I have since 2001. I was so proud of the country after 911 – we were aligned, solid and resolved to demonstrating that we were strong and would not succumb to terror.
It was so rewarding to see flags flying, people espousing their pride in our country, and understanding that peace comes from strength. We balanced our resolve with our innate sense of caring, and we wore our pride on our sleeves.
It took about 3-4 years of media coverage to convince us that the direction we chose after 911 was wrong, that we were the antagonists on the world stage, and that the claim of WMD was based on faulty information. That played into everyone’s weariness of war.
Then came 2008 and the great recession. The media helped us ramp up our concerns about our country, setting the stage for hope and change. Still not totally sure what the hope and change were, but as that platform unfolded, it appeared that the hope was “the government will take care of you,” and the change was “don’t worry about hard work, we’ve got you covered.”
Two weeks ago, I had concluded that those of us who understood how important our freedom is, and how tenuous it has become, had become too complacent to take back our country. I wrote a couple pointed articles here expressing my doubts that we could ever recover from the catastrophe our county had become, and a few people responded about how important it was to get out and vote.
I was still skeptical – were there even sufficient numbers of people who really understood freedom to emerge and out-vote those who wanted big government? I was doubtful.
I have NEVER been so happy to say I was wrong. The piece de resistance was listening to incoming North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis make the comment “the only thing that government can give to you is freedom!” To add to the sound bite, he apologized to his staff for going off-script, saying he would leave reading the teleprompter to Obama. Okay!
I have renewed faith in the United States, and really do see hope! Now the hard work begins.[message type=”custom” width=”100%” start_color=”#FFFCB5″ end_color=”#F4CBCB” border=”#BBBBBB” color=”#333333″]
Let’s take this as a lesson. Our country is built on the foundation of hard work. Our Congress must step up and do the hard work necessary to get us back to global and economic strength. Our Congress must help the administration understand that it is not okay to show weakness to our enemies. And our Congress needs to continue to hear from us. Getting out to vote is one thing. Let’s keep the communication going – tell your elected representatives your opinion, and give them the courage and backing to make the change we need.
God bless the United States of America![/message]
The government cannot give people freedom. It can only take it away.
When government has more rights, the people have less. Simple as that. It is a zero sum game.
Comments relayed from CJ Clark (Author):
That’s an interesting perspective, BeeKaaay. I see it a little differently but probably with the same end game. Thanks for your comment. CJ