I found this in the AutoSave, take it for what you will
I sit here across a see and I think about what is wrong with our country, not because I am in a better one by any measure but because I look at the news, papers, and talk to home only to hear of how bad things are getting. Why is this? Why has my beloved homeland fallen into trouble? Why on earth is our government bailing out companies who couldn't do their jobs right and ethically?
I am a photographer, so you might say that I work for myself. If for some reason I fail at my job, no one is going to come and rescue me, especially not the government. I don't have the pull and money people do to change things. What would George Washington say if he could see this? What would Abraham Lincoln say about this? What would any of the countless people who have died to save our freedoms say about the state of our country?
There is the recurring thought in my head that perhaps they would be very disappointed in us. Personally I would be ashamed at the gross failure that is today our society. You all care nothing for the greater community, nothing for the people you don't know. Everyone claims to be an American, and yet some don't vote. There are people that are dying to give a voice to other people, and you are going to throw yours away only to complain about the way its being run afterward. According to http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/, Sept 08 Bush had a 19% approval rating on how he handles his job, with 5% undecided, which leaves 76% disapproving his actions. According to the National Statistical Coordination Board,(http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/) there were 215,694,000 registered voters in America for the 2004 Election, of which according to the census bureau 125,736,000 voted. This is 63.8 percent voting. SO WHERE IS THE OTHER 12% DISAPPROVAL COMING FROM? It's coming from people who either didn't vote or weren't registered. If you don't vote, please don't try and complain about the decision you decided not to take part in. The point I am making is that people aren't fulfilling their duties as Americans.
That is another problem in America, people forget that they have duties as Americans. One is "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." or another is "...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". We the people of America have a duty to stand against our government encroaching on our freedoms. The governments power is not theirs, it is ours, we lend it to them to govern our lands that we may be a prosperous people. Our government has tried to play the police for the world and tried to be the crutch for to many people. We need to rise up as the people of America and rectify our conditions.
Why has our country fallen in such a way you ask?
Could it be that people no longer care about their neighbors? People have become so engrossed in their technology that they forget social interaction, they see people and don't even have the common decency and respect to say hello to others when they see them. Children are so used to either getting what they want that they don't understand the concept of sharing, or team work. Our society is splitting into smaller pieces rather than staying strong as a whole. We are a diverse people who need to stay strong if we are to face down the challenges of our future.
People in our country have two flaws that have become inherent social tendencies, first that all want to be politically correct and that everyone is afraid to be different. First off political correctness has only helped politicians, second we have never defended freedom with political correctness, just look at Vietnam. American Heroes died for the politicians mistakes. With everyone wanting to be the same with the same goals and the same pot to draw from, we are mired in a constant struggle for the scraps that our society has left.
Our current state is a failure not of only companies, but of our system.
Our people get into mortgages that are horrible ideas because they don't understand finances. They don't understand finances because our schools don't teach finances as a requirement, although it is a requirement in real life. People who know how to make finances work for them are wealthy, the people who don't are poor. If the schools don't teach it then where does a person turn for guidance, their parents, who often know little or nothing about it. It's no wonder our country is going down hill. we have no concept of economy, we only know what we are taught.
And when it comes to our societies interaction skills, most of our teachers have only went to school, college, and started teaching. How many have been in the regular working world to say that they know how to teach another person successful tactics on how to interact with other humans?
So what is my solution you ask?
If you are a parent, send your children out to play. Yes, you are putting them at risk of cuts, bruises, broken bones, and perhaps even name calling, but what doesn't kill them makes them stronger. My generation is weak, self centered, and thinks it is owed something. Do not allow your children to take up this motto, don't be afraid to say no. You are the parent, raise your child, not baby them until they are 35. Internet, cell phones, and games should be tools or entertainment, not lifestyles. If you live to check your email, instant message, or game,then you are missing a whole world of reality that is 100% more gratifying than virtual life.
I don't care who you are, learn about finances. If you want money you must understand it, if you want to understand money then you have to make the effort to learn. Don't expect anyone to look out for your best interests but you.
Take an active roll in your government, even if it is only voting when you have to. Don't sit back as your freedoms evaporate around you.
I don't have all the problems or solutions, but I do know that our country is better than what it is showing now and with hard work, respect, and common sense we can get back to the shining star of our world that we were made by our forefathers. Our future does not rest on the government, but the people. Become the American that our country needs you to be.
"with liberty and justice, for all"
SGT Larry E Krusieski
I am a photographer, so you might say that I work for myself. If for some reason I fail at my job, no one is going to come and rescue me, especially not the government. I don't have the pull and money people do to change things. What would George Washington say if he could see this? What would Abraham Lincoln say about this? What would any of the countless people who have died to save our freedoms say about the state of our country?
There is the recurring thought in my head that perhaps they would be very disappointed in us. Personally I would be ashamed at the gross failure that is today our society. You all care nothing for the greater community, nothing for the people you don't know. Everyone claims to be an American, and yet some don't vote. There are people that are dying to give a voice to other people, and you are going to throw yours away only to complain about the way its being run afterward. According to http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/, Sept 08 Bush had a 19% approval rating on how he handles his job, with 5% undecided, which leaves 76% disapproving his actions. According to the National Statistical Coordination Board,(http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/) there were 215,694,000 registered voters in America for the 2004 Election, of which according to the census bureau 125,736,000 voted. This is 63.8 percent voting. SO WHERE IS THE OTHER 12% DISAPPROVAL COMING FROM? It's coming from people who either didn't vote or weren't registered. If you don't vote, please don't try and complain about the decision you decided not to take part in. The point I am making is that people aren't fulfilling their duties as Americans.
That is another problem in America, people forget that they have duties as Americans. One is "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." or another is "...all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed". We the people of America have a duty to stand against our government encroaching on our freedoms. The governments power is not theirs, it is ours, we lend it to them to govern our lands that we may be a prosperous people. Our government has tried to play the police for the world and tried to be the crutch for to many people. We need to rise up as the people of America and rectify our conditions.
Why has our country fallen in such a way you ask?
Could it be that people no longer care about their neighbors? People have become so engrossed in their technology that they forget social interaction, they see people and don't even have the common decency and respect to say hello to others when they see them. Children are so used to either getting what they want that they don't understand the concept of sharing, or team work. Our society is splitting into smaller pieces rather than staying strong as a whole. We are a diverse people who need to stay strong if we are to face down the challenges of our future.
People in our country have two flaws that have become inherent social tendencies, first that all want to be politically correct and that everyone is afraid to be different. First off political correctness has only helped politicians, second we have never defended freedom with political correctness, just look at Vietnam. American Heroes died for the politicians mistakes. With everyone wanting to be the same with the same goals and the same pot to draw from, we are mired in a constant struggle for the scraps that our society has left.
Our current state is a failure not of only companies, but of our system.
Our people get into mortgages that are horrible ideas because they don't understand finances. They don't understand finances because our schools don't teach finances as a requirement, although it is a requirement in real life. People who know how to make finances work for them are wealthy, the people who don't are poor. If the schools don't teach it then where does a person turn for guidance, their parents, who often know little or nothing about it. It's no wonder our country is going down hill. we have no concept of economy, we only know what we are taught.
And when it comes to our societies interaction skills, most of our teachers have only went to school, college, and started teaching. How many have been in the regular working world to say that they know how to teach another person successful tactics on how to interact with other humans?
So what is my solution you ask?
If you are a parent, send your children out to play. Yes, you are putting them at risk of cuts, bruises, broken bones, and perhaps even name calling, but what doesn't kill them makes them stronger. My generation is weak, self centered, and thinks it is owed something. Do not allow your children to take up this motto, don't be afraid to say no. You are the parent, raise your child, not baby them until they are 35. Internet, cell phones, and games should be tools or entertainment, not lifestyles. If you live to check your email, instant message, or game,then you are missing a whole world of reality that is 100% more gratifying than virtual life.
I don't care who you are, learn about finances. If you want money you must understand it, if you want to understand money then you have to make the effort to learn. Don't expect anyone to look out for your best interests but you.
Take an active roll in your government, even if it is only voting when you have to. Don't sit back as your freedoms evaporate around you.
I don't have all the problems or solutions, but I do know that our country is better than what it is showing now and with hard work, respect, and common sense we can get back to the shining star of our world that we were made by our forefathers. Our future does not rest on the government, but the people. Become the American that our country needs you to be.
"with liberty and justice, for all"
SGT Larry E Krusieski