Our Country 'Tis of Me

It's funny: If you look back over the years, my annual Fourth of July post has grown increasingly irritable.

I would like to believe in this country again. There is much I've been proud about in the past. But we are losing what we once had, and that is nothing to be proud about. We used to sing "Our country 'tis of Thee." To be accurate, we should now be singing "Our country tis of ME."

We were once a strong nation, composed of people who had seen nightmares and lived through them. Nightmares like the War for Independence, the Civil War, the Depression, the Dust Bowl, World Wars 1 and 2, Korea, and Vietnam.

But our modern generation has seen little to no turmoil until the badly-run Seven Year War that is still ongoing in Iraq. I'll admit we don't have a distinction in this. Many wars have been run badly by a government that isn't concerned with losing lives (World War 1 is a classic example). Still, this is startling to see in these modern times. (For those who want to quibble, I'll admit that we are being told that this year is a better year for us over there, but frankly it's 6 years too late).

And instead of learning to cut back or to sacrifice (as our grandparents did in the early 1900s), President Bush encouraged us to spend, spend, spend our way into "prosperity." As a result, we are in a major recession which affects all but the richest of us.

We are also facing an election with two very substandard candidates. Both Barack Obama and John McCain would never have made it this far twenty years ago. Our standards were higher then. But now we are dealing with different factors:

1. Our educational standards continue to decline.

Go here to see an 8th Grade exam from 1895. Obviously our children aren't being exposed to the same materials.

There's a popular TV show called "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" I believe that this is a dangerous show for two reasons:

One, it makes the average American adult seem even dumber than they are. This gives many dummies a false sense of security. They feel a little better about their idiocy when they see fellow idiots on TV. "See?" they say excitedly to each other while passing the pork rinds, "We couldn't have answered that either!"

Two, it gives the average American the false belief that we have high educational standards for our youth.

The dumbing down of America is something that the government finds to be very desirable, over all. Dumb people are more malleable. They'll take what they can get, without questioning it.

2. Campaign Finance.

Because only the very richest and/or best connected people can run for President of the USA, we are now forced to choose among a very small (and morally bankrupt) group. Repeated campaign finance laws have done us little good.

What we need is a law banning ANY campaign spending. This would level the playing field, and would force the news stations to go to the candidates, instead of the reverse. It would also force the candidates to take their campaigns to the internet: A cheap solution for us all, allowing a wider selection.

3. More Money Out Than In.

Our trade deficits are almost laughable. The Chinese "have us by the short hairs", as one of my friends so inelegantly (but accurately) said. Now McCain says that if we try to reverse these deficits, and bring the jobs back home, the American worker will suffer. I find it hard to see how the average jobless American worker could suffer more.

I'll grant you that many of us would have to work minimum wage. But, that's better than making even less through welfare or unemployment benefits. And yes, perhaps the cost of goods would rise somewhat. So, we might need to learn to conserve a little more. But with the rising cost of gas, all consumer goods will be going up. Whether we pay that to China or to our own people is up to us.

4. We are becoming morally bankrupt.

Our standards continue to lower. What is acceptable now would have been questioned even 20 years ago.

Most people know who the leading contestant is in a variety of talent contests such as "So You Think You Can Dance" and "America's Got Talent" and "American Idol." But many cannot name the Presidential candidates or the Governor of their own state. And if they can identify these people, these citizens certainly have no knowledge of them and feel little (if any) passion about them.

Most people no longer attend church because they want to become better people. They attend it to feel better, or to network, or perhaps they feel that it is necessary for their image in the community.

I would challenge these people to leave church behind entirely, and take up something useful like golfing. Golfing is a great business tool: We know many deals are made at the golf course. In addition, they'd shed themselves of a bit of hypocrisy in their lives.

Which reminds me, I need to get out on the golf course and practice. In this economy, I'm looking for work: I need all the job skills I can amass.