As a kid, we all heard our parents and grandparents speak about how difficult life was. How no matter what they did, bills, kids, cars and houses all needed attention. The jobs were stressful in either a mental or physical nature and the boss was always difficult to work with. But, they had houses, cars and jobs. They had reasons to be thankful even though it all seemed so taxing, in the pocketbooks as well as the soul. And we thrived. There were hiccups along the way, sure, but for the most part, life went well and as expected. And then, someone dared to challenge all that was good and right with our individual worlds that made of the United States of America. We were attacked on our own soil. These miscreants and their very small numbers took the lives of American citizens, not soldiers, people that were living their difficult and stressful but thankful lives with no idea of the horror and devastation to come. On that day, America also lost its dignity.
The polarization between the two dominant political parties evaporated slightly and we came together as a country. The chants of U-S-A were heard at every gathering from pee wee football games to the World Series. We all donned our Red, White and Blue and we proclaimed solidarity in the face of evil. As time moved forward, the solidarity has waned and the country is now more divisively split between the conservative and progressive dogmatics. We see our political “leaders” fight vehemently for their platform over the gravest of hot button issues like abortion, the death penalty, gun control, health care reform and how to pay everyone.
Our leaders boldly and openly lie to advance their agenda. They are hypocritical when they tout their personal records on how they stand on these issues to tailor their message for more support dollars so they can continue living off the public milk and honey machine. I have never once been approached by a politician to ask me my opinion on what they should vote for in East Lansing let alone Washington D. C. I think it is because they don’t really care. I think politicians lobby and vote for the action items that will benefit their portfolio. Where is the dignity?
Where has our sense of right and wrong gone in this country? We laud our entertainment as if it is the most important concept of our existence. We empower celebrities with governmental prowess and they sling it about as if they have become the arbiters of the common man. Do we really want celebrities dictating country policy? It is time to recapture the dignity lost. It is time we hold our governmental officials accountable for their actions, whether it is policy that helps their constituents or go to jail for committing white-collar crime. It’s time to raise the standard of education for our kids. We must bring back actual competition to our little league sports to teach kids the “not everyone can be the winner every time.” They cannot fully know the thrill of victory complete until they have suffered the crush of defeat. It is imperative they be taught grace in the win as well as the loss and to hold their heads high for knowing this grace.
We have no sense of pride or dignity on the world stage. America has lost their credit rating and we are three times deeper in debt than we were 6 years ago. We have an administration that bows up to Russia and the Middle East behind bullet-proof glass and we allow the Hollywood elite speak down to our allies aas if they were scolding a child. We must reclaim our place in the world and soon. If we do not, the North Koreas of the world will lob their weapons at us and engage us, once again, on our own soil. Let us not just be Americans when we hold our hands over our hearts at the next high school football game. Let us stand up and demand a more dignified leadership, community and household. I demand my dignity back!
