Is The End of My Country's Greatness Near?
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June 2016
“Is The End of My Country’s Greatness Near” is a question I contemplated and subsequently wrote an essay on back in 2009. I ask the very same question today, almost nine years later. It troubles me more now than it did in2009. But it is not because the object and subject of my concern, Barack Hussein Obama and socialism has destroyed America, rather it is because the conservatism I had always believed in has been responsible for bringing to political life the narcissistic demagogue and megalomaniac Donald J. Trump.
Just to be very clear. I have not wavered from my core principles, a conservatism that is far removed from today’s Evangelical, Neocon, authoritarian, oligarchical, and board room conservatism. This weblog supports a conservatism that is based on constitutional principles, the belief that all people have equal right to opportunity, that race, ethnicity, or religion should not be a barrier in anyway, that diversity and differing views are in fact good, healthy, and necessary for a strong society, and that it must be the goal of conservatism to support the economic dreams of the lower and middle rungs of the socio-economic ladder rather than the dreams of the most wealthy.
President Obama, a man I once thought would change America in ways that would significantly and negatively impact my liberties to live my life as I desire has done no such thing. I am as free to live my life as I chose today as I was before he assumed office. My fears were completely unjustified and I must say I am embarrassed that I, one who values objectivity and reason, let myself be swayed by political hyperbole and the pressures of Tea Party conservative groupthink. With the birth of the Tea Party the conservatives unjustified hyperbole reached fever pitch and it is why today, I must renounce any and all connection to the present modern day brand of conservatism. A conservatism that seeks not to expand opportunity and civil liberties for all but rather strives to impose their views on all.
As we wind down from the 2016 primaries and approach the Democratic and Republican Party nominating conventions this summer many of us feel we are once again left with the “proverbial” choice between the lesser of two evils. I certainly know that I do. Democratic hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton, while significantly more qualified than her challenger, carries baggage of her own making, not the least of which is the public’s perception she is not credible. Many question her honesty and sincerity, and perhaps rightly so.
On the other side of the political coin is republican Donald J. Trump. His qualifications are he is a businessman that has made a lot of money. Although had he wisely invested the one million dollars his father gave him he would be wealthier than he currently is. But I digress. Mr. Trump has built his campaign on the anger and uncertainty many Americans are feeling. An uncertainty and anger that has been percolating for many years, and, is frankly felt by conservatives and liberals alike. Donald J. Trump, had he elected to speak truthfully about our nation’s problems and talked about reasonable and realistic solutions, demonstrated a sincere desire for inclusiveness and the value of diversity he likely would be well ahead of his democratic rival in all major polling.
Rather than campaigning on positive and credible ideas however he has chosen to play on the fears of a certain segment of our American society. Rather than focusing on realistic and doable goals he has spent his efforts on dividing people. His rhetoric has focused on immigration, building a multi-billion dollar wall along our southern border, deporting 12 million illegal (undocumented) aliens, not allowing immigration from Muslims counties, bombing the shit out areas of the Middle East, using enhanced interrogation techniques much worse than waterboarding on terrorists, ignoring the rule of law when it doesn’t suit his purposes, relaxing libel laws, actively profiling in the wake of the Orlando massacre, and much more.
Many, including this writer, has grown to the realization that Trump, by his own rhetoric, has defined himself as a narcissist, xenophobe, and megalomaniac who if elected the highest office in our land would likely rule as the authoritarian President Obamas has proven himself not to be. Yet this is the man the Tea Party created and the GOP has chosen as their presumptive standard bearer.
As the 2016 election approaches we find ourselves again faced with the choice that has become known as a choice between the lesser of two evils. It will be an easy choice.
As I continue to ask, Is The End Of My Country’s Greatness Near?
June 2009
Blogging is almost a full time job if one wants to do it well. Being new to the blogosphere this poor blogger is still learning "the trade." Of course there is the full time job and family life to attend to. Maintaining a blog can, if you allow it to, interfere with the other important aspects of your life. It's a balancing act I suppose, and kind of like being on a high wire or tight rope. But at the end of the day it's all worth it. Especially if you believe as I do that the very existence of your Nation as you've known it may well be at stake.
A day never goes by without something being printed in the newspapers, or shown on the TV news channels, or heard on the radio airways that gives concern for the fiscal and ethical health of this country. Given this, it should be easy to find an issue each day that gives inspiration for a new and fresh blog post. In reality the news, in all it's forms, often fails to provide that spark. Perhaps this is because everything is so predictable with the news media. You get the same old biased storyline, the same old government media complex interpretation of news events, and ever so infrequently a well thought out and accurately presented story minus the usual bias.
So what's a person to do to find that incentive, that spark that drives them to pen and paper? Oops, I mean keyboard and monitor. For me it is often the everyday people that work and go about their business to make a decent life for their family. Often you find words of wisdom, and sometimes words that frighten, coming from the least expected places and people. A simple one sentence statement that at first seems of little consequence, can on further examination become that spark which drives you to thought and eventual comment.
This morning I recalled a conversation I had yesterday with my son Patrick. While discussing issues of the day (usually we disagree) he made a simple statement with respect to the USA. He said, and I paraphrase, nothing good lasts forever, every great power after reaching it's zenith of power and influence has receded into relative obscurity. My son, knowing that I have a deep interest in history, having selected it as my major, knew I couldn't argue his point. He is absolutely correct. From Ancient Egypt to the Persian Empire, Ancient Greece to the Roman Empire, Spain, France, Portugal and the British Empire, the Chinese Dynasties, and many more all rose to their pinnacle of power and influence and then faded away. Perhaps, as most things are cyclical, they will at some point rise again. But that my friends is a discussion for another day.
The burning question to me is why do great civilizations fade? Is it natural and unpreventable, or is it something else? Something that if understood is controllable and thus preventable? Many theory's exist as to why each great civilization fell from preeminence. I concern myself here only with America as she is my country. I see her falling from the preeminent position a truly Great Nation should hold. A nation founded in part on the beliefs that individual liberties and private enterprise are the foundation of a free and prosperous society.
The American fall from preeminence began before the current generation was born. It started around the turn of the 19Th century when American progressives, under Theodore Roosevelt thrust the federal government into the business of becoming progressive with the Anti Trust laws. This is to say active in the private sector in a way that was previously frowned upon. This was the beginning of a socially active government and the birth of socialism in America. Europe at the time was toying with Marxism, the most extreme form of socialism, and the United States had a small number of proponents as well.
The strength of our underlying principals were such that we as a nation continued to grow in stature and power. The next significant change to the structure and direction in our federal government came in the 1930's under Franklin Roosevelt. The country, struggling to survive the impact of the Great Depression set the stage for the next socialist shift. FDR'S New Deal pushed the door open further to the causes of progressive thought and socialism. The federal government was now in place to eventually become "Big Brother" to us all at our collective expense.
The United States reached it's pinnacle of power following World War II. To the everlasting credit of this nation we almost single handed rebuilt Europe and at the expense of the American taxpayer. As a people we knew why we fought this war and as a people we believed it our responsibility to rebuild the countries devastated by Hitler's war of oppression. Students in schools and universities across America were still, to a large degree, being taught the underlying values that made the United States of America the freest and most prosperous nation the world has ever known.
The early sixties ushered in the next wave of progressive and socialist intrusion into American government and society. Following the assassination of President John Kennedy, a conservative democrat by today's standards, Lyndon Johnson took the nation on the next great move towards socialization of government with his Great Society legislation. Not only did he advance the cause of Civil Rights, which was without question the right thing to do and supported by this writer, he also gave us Medicare and Medicaid. These programs where a furtherance of the Social Security Act and the next step in the progression to total and complete socialized universal health care that President Obama has made a cornerstone of his administration's goals for America.
With the creeping government social agenda, and the largess it brought with it, the progressive and socialist's knew they had to change the way Americans thought to totally succeed in their efforts. The way to effectively do this was through the public education system. The progressive educators begin their drive to reinvent American history, and the interpretation of it. This became known as "revisionist history" and it was and continues to be real. This writer was attending college in the early 1970's and had professors who acknowledged this very effort by progressives.
Through the efforts of the progressive is academia, the progressives and socialists in the government, and a complicit government media complex the socialist agenda took a deep hold. As it progressed we began to hear the terminology of diversity followed by multiculturalism, followed by globalization, followed by "It Takes a Village to Raise a Child." Throughout this gradual progression the common thread that makes us American was somehow lost or forgotten.
We no longer teach American history, we teach social studies. We no longer teach the values that made America great, rather we focus on what we did wrong and encourage self immolation as a nation. We no longer teach our children the hard facts of life and the self restraint required to succeed, we teach immediate gratification as the goal. We no longer teach shared and common values we teach that we must celebrate our differences. We teach not that Americas founding values are the strength of our past and the hope for our future, but rather that our differences make us strong and the collective good is more important than the individual.
We have progressed to that fine and noble place in time when our President finds it the American ideal to globally apologise for America. We have come full circle and now stand on the brink of the final stages of the socialization (or Marxist indoctrination) of American society. Yes there remains in America millions who understand. Many are beginning to speak up and stand against the progressive socialist march to declining prosperity and American preeminence in the world. I for one hope it is not to little and to late. Not only for me, but for my grandson and his children as well.
So, as a true American Independent Conservative I will continue to fight the American fight. I will fight it in the true American spirit of liberty, limited government, free market economy, fierce individualism, and free and impassioned dissent and activism. History has shown Socialism, Marxism, Fascism and Government by Divine Right to be abject failures. It has also shown the remarkable ability of the American free market system to create wealth and stability when the government exercises limited control and oversight. If we go the way of previously great nations we have only ourselves to blame. If it happens it will be because of a lack of understanding our common heritage as Americans, our inability to make our government responsible to us, and our cultural and ethical weakness from within. As Michael Savage would say "Borders, Language, and Culture."
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