Day 186: Independence!

Now don't get me wrong.  I love my country.  I'm proud to be an American and will always stand stall, place my hand over my heart and sing the National Anthem when it's played.  But my mood lately has been one of a fan who's team is on a VERY long dry spell.  I'm a die hard San Francisco 49ers fan and since the days of Joe Montana and Steve Young I've had very little to cheer about for over 10 years until just recently.  I'm feeling very much the same way about my country.   

We've lost our way. We are NOT the best country in the world.  We've become that old, high school football star that's now fat, bald and bitter because he knows his best years are behind him.  As a nation we haven't suffered or struggled since 1945 yet we try to convince ourselves that the petty little problems we've experienced since then warrant some great praise and therefore we're entitled to a life free of burden or responsibility.  We are not the greatest generation.  We're a bunch of whiny, bitchy, self-centered takers.  We sit atop the accomplishments of those that came before us and take credit for someone else's blood, sweat and tears. 

I could point to the east and say all our problems reside in Washington, DC, but I'm not going to lecture or complain about our current "leaders" in Washington.  The only way anything will change is if we, the American citizen, change ourselves.  We really don't know what we want as a country because we have no idea who we are or what we stand for.  Pick up your Kindle, Nook or search a Wiki on the internet, and go READ the Constitution.  Go READ the Declaration of Independence.  Go READ the Bill of Rights.  Go READ the Gettysburg Address.  I guarantee you will be SHOCKED when you see what our founding fathers laid out for us and how so far off the mark our country is today.   But more importantly, when you read those documents you'll see how much the American people are EMPOWERED to run their own lives instead of being the indentured servants we've become under our current government.  

When we know who we are as a country it will be easier for us to pick the right people we want to lead us.  We'll no longer be taken in by catchy sound bytes or clever slogans.  We'll be able to read between the lines of all the political rhetoric our candidates spew at us and know the truth.  We'll demand just and sound leadership.  We'll demand accountability of our leaders AND our fellow citizens.  We'll demand our independence.

We will once again be the greatest nation.