In the history of our country, there have been high points like the Emancipation Proclamation and universal suffrage but there have been just as many lows like Prohibition and the HUAC hearings. Regardless, I’m proud to be a citizen of this enduring Union but that pride doesn’t blind me to problems we have or challenges that we face as a nation.
236 years ago, in a horribly hot hall in Philadelphia, the men who would become our Founding Fathers completed a document declaring why they felt that thirteen disparate colonies could become a nation. While the authors and authorizers of that document made their intent and insight abundantly clear to their oppressor, potential allies, and brothers in arms, I doubt they had any concept that they were advocating for a nation that would stand more than 200 years later. And, if they did, they wouldn’t have had any idea of how to address the problems that arose during the interim. Most likely, their only advice would be to keep the spirit of their declaration alive. To honor what I feel would have been their desire, this is my declaration.
As some of you know, 2012 is a presidential election year. For the minority who are proud to proclaim that they are active voters, please know that just showing up to vote is the absolute minimum that you can do to participate in our democratic process. So many make uninformed choices based on selfish reasoning or fail to educate themselves about the candidates. If you want to be proud, perform some due diligence and learn something about the candidates. Read newspapers, talk to friends, family, or co-workers, review the candidate web sites, and do some critical thinking about what is being said. It doesn’t take a genius to make an informed choice.
When I ask you to do some critical thinking, I’m asking you to do this as a good citizen. The 21th century has bred far too many people with a sense of entitlement that dwarfs any concepts of self-importance previously known, even in the Gilded Age. We have an entire generation that doesn’t understand that civil behavior is important and isn’t just a nicety. They think that what they want is more important than what our society needs. It’s as if Adam Smith’s invisible hand was possessed by a greedy demon. Then, in order to justify all the bad behavior, they kowtow to bankers and lawyers whose only skills are interpreting their own byzantine language and mathematical formulas that hide avaricious schemes. True insight would force everyone to see that making choices that benefit just the few not only causes friction between groups but also sows the seeds of discontent that can only end in violent confrontation.
Not all of our woes can be blamed on youth. We still have a growing gap between the richest and poorest Americans that increases tensions every day, a gap that has manifested itself in the Occupy movements throughout the country that will not magically go away. There is also the two-party political system that groans under the weight of the partisan rhetoric spewed forth by their brethren on a daily basis. How much longer can the American public continue to participate in the tug-o-war for their loyalties before they decide that any alternative is better than the status quo?
In spite of this, I still possess boundless optimism because we live in a nation that allows us to make choices to correct our course. We live in a country that has the rule of law and a strong Constitution that guarantees every citizen the right to say what they think, be absolutely wrong, voice their minority opinion, and speak truth to power. Basically, it allows all of us to have ideas, express them, and do our best to convince others of our certitude. From this bedrock, strong citizens become strong leaders; leaders who are forged, not born. Not the false prophets who pray at the church of the convenient Christ but people of real moral courage. Leaders who take the tools and material provided to them by our great country and use it to create something enduring.
We need this kind of leader because the world we live in demands it. The days of whistle-stop speaking tours, 30 minute infomercials, mass mailing, or even press conferences as a means of speaking to the people are gone. We live in a 24×7 news cycle where people get their information from many different sources. What we need are leaders who seize opportunities to take action that demonstrates their abilities. And, given the growing connectivity of citizens on the Internet, we need leaders that can balance privacy issues with the growing need to increase participation in cyberspace. These skills don’t exist yet but they will.
America is as culturally diverse as it is geographically diverse and differences of opinion abound about what it means to be American. And, through the Revolutionary War, Constitutional Convention, Missouri Compromise, Civil War, labor fights, Prohibition, Hoovervilles, and civil rights battles, these differences have forced us to examine, and re-examine, what it means to be a citizen of these United States. More than any other quality, our ability to deal with diversity and move forward (regardless of the cost) has been the hallmark of our longevity.
This is my country! Land of my birth!
This is my country! Grandest on earth!
I pledge thee my allegiance, America, the bold,
For this is my country to have and to hold.
So That's Life?
July 2012
07/01/2012236 years ago, in a horribly hot hall in Philadelphia, the men who would become our Founding Fathers completed a document declaring why they felt that thirteen disparate colonies could become a nation. While the authors and authorizers of that document made their intent and insight abundantly clear to their oppressor, potential allies, and brothers in arms, I doubt they had any concept that they were advocating for a nation that would stand more than 200 years later. And, if they did, they wouldn’t have had any idea of how to address the problems that arose during the interim. Most likely, their only advice would be to keep the spirit of their declaration alive. To honor what I feel would have been their desire, this is my declaration.
When I ask you to do some critical thinking, I’m asking you to do this as a good citizen. The 21th century has bred far too many people with a sense of entitlement that dwarfs any concepts of self-importance previously known, even in the Gilded Age. We have an entire generation that doesn’t understand that civil behavior is important and isn’t just a nicety. They think that what they want is more important than what our society needs. It’s as if Adam Smith’s invisible hand was possessed by a greedy demon. Then, in order to justify all the bad behavior, they kowtow to bankers and lawyers whose only skills are interpreting their own byzantine language and mathematical formulas that hide avaricious schemes. True insight would force everyone to see that making choices that benefit just the few not only causes friction between groups but also sows the seeds of discontent that can only end in violent confrontation.
Not all of our woes can be blamed on youth. We still have a growing gap between the richest and poorest Americans that increases tensions every day, a gap that has manifested itself in the Occupy movements throughout the country that will not magically go away. There is also the two-party political system that groans under the weight of the partisan rhetoric spewed forth by their brethren on a daily basis. How much longer can the American public continue to participate in the tug-o-war for their loyalties before they decide that any alternative is better than the status quo?
In spite of this, I still possess boundless optimism because we live in a nation that allows us to make choices to correct our course. We live in a country that has the rule of law and a strong Constitution that guarantees every citizen the right to say what they think, be absolutely wrong, voice their minority opinion, and speak truth to power. Basically, it allows all of us to have ideas, express them, and do our best to convince others of our certitude. From this bedrock, strong citizens become strong leaders; leaders who are forged, not born. Not the false prophets who pray at the church of the convenient Christ but people of real moral courage. Leaders who take the tools and material provided to them by our great country and use it to create something enduring.
We need this kind of leader because the world we live in demands it. The days of whistle-stop speaking tours, 30 minute infomercials, mass mailing, or even press conferences as a means of speaking to the people are gone. We live in a 24×7 news cycle where people get their information from many different sources. What we need are leaders who seize opportunities to take action that demonstrates their abilities. And, given the growing connectivity of citizens on the Internet, we need leaders that can balance privacy issues with the growing need to increase participation in cyberspace. These skills don’t exist yet but they will.
America is as culturally diverse as it is geographically diverse and differences of opinion abound about what it means to be American. And, through the Revolutionary War, Constitutional Convention, Missouri Compromise, Civil War, labor fights, Prohibition, Hoovervilles, and civil rights battles, these differences have forced us to examine, and re-examine, what it means to be a citizen of these United States. More than any other quality, our ability to deal with diversity and move forward (regardless of the cost) has been the hallmark of our longevity.
This is my country! Grandest on earth!
I pledge thee my allegiance, America, the bold,
For this is my country to have and to hold.
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