C’MON, AMERICA! SNAP OUT OF IT!
Reading a lot of blog posts and newspaper columns today, (while also observing various comment sections in the rightosphere), one wonders who died and where’s the funeral.
Is today the 4th of July? Or did a bunch of impostors dressed up like Americans infiltrate our country to put on a massive pity party?
The most optimistic nation in the history of the planet appears to be in a funk on this, a day that above all days, should be a celebration of that optimism and and a thanksgiving for all that has been bestowed upon us by history and providence.
Instead, we have gravely long faces spouting nonsense about a politician in Washington who doesn’t much like that history and wishes to alter the experiment in representative government that has survived a helluva lot more serious threats than some ex-state senator whose claim to fame before achieving office was that he was a failed community organizer who could deliver a speech as long as a teleprompter was in front of his face.
This is a day to remember how impossible it is that we are even having this discussion as a free people. This is a day to remember the incredible odds our founders overcame to defeat the superpower of their day on the battlefield, unite the most disparate and quarrelsome of peoples, write a document that became the model form of government for the world, and went on to conquer a continent, raise a civilization from nothing, and create a nation more free, more dynamic, more powerful, than any other nation in the history of civilized man.
In the history of civilized man.
Are we remembering that today? Nope. Instead, we get crap like this:
If that America is truly no longer relevant, then let us at least spend this Independence Day mourning its death. Weep when you hear the “Star Spangled Banner,” because the broad stripes and bright stars are now tattered and torn. If it still breathes, however, then let us mend it back to strength. Let us be bold in our endeavors, firm in our beliefs, steadfast in our resolve. Let us remember the words of Thomas Paine, who exhorted a people not to revolt, nor to wage war, but to act. The pamphlet urged independence, it’s true. But independence was a means to an end, the last resort of a people whose government wouldn’t listen. The problem wasn’t the crown or parliament, but how the two managed the affairs of the colonies.
Or this tripe:
We are seeing even those small marks of personal pride and independence — the freedom to rev up the engine on a Friday night — taken away. The muscle cars, under the diktat of the president and head of General Motors, are simply being eliminated and replaced by Yugo-style cars. The common retort to my lament is that such a boost to the male ego is silly in light of global warming and the greater good. What I find alarming, though, is that today’s generation submits to such authority.
And what about those from the upper-middle classes who had dreams of becoming doctors, executives, or entrepreneurs? As our president defies history and the Constitution by firing executives, citizens applaud.
It’s a refrain that many on the right are singing today. “All is lost! Woe is us! Obama has destroyed America!”
If you actually believe that Barack Obama could “destroy” what 233 years of blood, sweat, and tears have built then I suggest you find a country more to your liking. I hear France will take just about anybody - especially those willing to wave a white flag at the drop of a hat.
Obama and the democrats will not destroy the United States. Just as Bush and company couldn’t destroy the US as charged by the left. It is a silly, stupid, exaggerated, notion advanced by ignoramuses and not worthy of citizens who reside in a country that survived the occupation of foreign troops, a civil war, and a host of well meaning fools like progressives who believed government was “perfectible,” right wing fanatics who believed the black man wasn’t equal to the white man, radicals of every shape, size, and stripe, and a peanut farmer from Georgia who almost blew up the planet with his naivete and stupidity.
Obama has ignorantly nationalized the auto industry. He has rewarded failure in the financial industry. He is seeking to reduce us to paupery with his spending schemes. And he wants to stick his nose into every nook and cranny of the economy, dictating how much people can earn, and what industries will be winners and losers in his brave new world?
But if you don’t know by now that America is more than Wall Street, more than Washington, D.C., more than the centers of media, entertainment, “green” technologies, unions, liberals, socialists, and incompetent politicians, then you really have no clue what America is all about.
America is an idea. No matter what Obama does - ignorantly or deliberately to change it - he cannot alter the fundamental truths of America nor can he change what should be in each and every one of our hearts; the steadfast, optimistic belief in ourselves as an exceptional people that there is nothing we cannot accomplish if we put our minds to it.
Holy Christ people! Are you saying that you don’t have the same will to succeed as the guys who leveled mountains, bridged mighty rivers, and threw thousands of miles of steel across a continent to connect us by rail? Do you seriously believe that the spirit that animated personalities like Washington, Lincoln, King, and Reagan is lost, that Obama killed it?
Speak for yourselves. Don’t count me in with those who throw up their hands in despair and whine about Obama being a communist (he’s not) or even a socialist (he’s not - he’s a liberal) and that he wants to use illegal aliens to build a permanent Democratic majority. The challenges posed by an Obama presidency are normal political challenges, not a reason to start a war or revolution except in our own minds.
Obama cannot alter the America that lives in our minds and hearts. In the end, each of us defines America in our own way and we imbue that vision with our own experiences, our own worldview. Try as he might, that America is safe as long as we keep it alive with our words and deeds.
Interfering with the free market will not destroy America. Cutting defense spending will not destroy America. Cap and trade may grievously hurt the economy but it won’t destroy America. National Health Insurance may change our relationship with government but it will not destroy America.
The only person capable of destroying America is you - murdering your own personal dream of what America means to you. So quit your bellyaching and get to work. There’s a lot to do in order to shape America into your vision of what she should be.
Now that’s what we need to hear and hear much, much more of. Thanks for a great post. U-S-A…U-S-A…U-S-A!!!!
Comment by No Sheeples Here! — 7/4/2009 @ 3:06 pm
I had to do a little websurfing before I set out for BBQ; Beer; and fireworks.
Hell, even a Commie Stooge has to have some fun!
Rick is quite correct. Our national mood is indeed glum, perhaps because there seems no way out of our current crisis.
Americans have a limited attention span. We want our problems solved quickly.
Unfortunately; it’s going to take years to right the economy.
Comment by Commie Stooge — 7/4/2009 @ 4:29 pm
As a liberal who has put up with despair over America’s Fate since Richard Nixon was elected, I salute you and I hope your words take hold.
If we don’t like things, we get to change them.
100 years from today America will still be the greatest land ever, even if Sarah Palin and Joe the Plumber are our next two presidents.
Comment by tjproudamerican — 7/4/2009 @ 8:27 pm
On this, my friend, I agree. There is so much to be happy about. And, here is a thought. We should not put our trust in politicians to cure our ails. We have the ability to do a lot on our own. This is the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA! What always makes me the most happy is my family and friends and my faith, not in any particular order. Everything else is secondary. Happy 4th!
Comment by Mark J. Goluskin — 7/4/2009 @ 10:21 pm
“Interfering with the free market will not destroy America. Cutting defense spending will not destroy America. Cap and trade may grievously hurt the economy but it won’t destroy America. National Health Insurance may change our relationship with government but it will not destroy America.”
The only “crap” and “tripe” I have read is the quote above. You just described the Obama policies that will indeed “destroy America” — as we know it. Obama’s policies may someday be reversed, but in the meantime they will cripple this country severely, particularly the economy, making it far more difficult to make ends meet. Obama and the Dems will cause energy prices to skyrocket, jobs to be more scarce, causing opportunity to shrink, and no amount of Pollyanna BS from you is going to alter that. We may recover from this idiot but it will take years, and in the meantime we and our children and grandchildren will have to learn to live with a lower standard of living.
And Obama is definitely a Socialist. You know, sometimes your PC blather really bugs me.
Comment by Stogie — 7/4/2009 @ 11:22 pm
The last time Congress passed spending legislation like the kind they’re passing now was LBJ’s “Great Society”. Most of those spending obligations are still with us. Just how many times do you think Congress can ratchet up up spending before we collapse? The damage done in the next two years may be fatal.
Comment by Locomotive Breath — 7/4/2009 @ 11:23 pm
This attitude on the 4th of July is not surprising when the majority of Americans have been in a funk for some time.
Comment by Surabaya Stew — 7/5/2009 @ 1:05 am
“We’re doomed! We are all Doomed!!!” used to be the rallying cry of the left, it’s sad that some on the right are picking up the self-defeating mantra. The only way the right can regain momentum is by adopting a positive and purposeful direction. I’m with Rick, fie on all the doomcryers.
Comment by Thanos — 7/5/2009 @ 8:20 am
Re: #1’s post, chanting USA… I find it so interesting that since Obama is President, it’s now cool to be proud of America. I bet that same person was embarrassed of America and hated this country for the 8 years Bush was President.
Obama *IS* destroying this country. He is slowly and systematically dismantling the framework that makes America exceptional and successful. The problem is not folks like us who are pointing it out; it’s folks like you who do not realize just what’s going on. I find it admirable that you believe that the spirit of America is strong enough to withstand Obama’s Marxist push, but at the same time, I find it distressing that you are naive enough to believe that the political and capitalistic framework that America is built upon is not something that is fragile and needs protection. America is unique in the world when it comes to freedom, and that includes capitalistic freedom… if that is torn down, there simply *IS* no alternative to America on the planet. Frankly speaking, I will pit myself against ANYONE who seeks to dismantle my beloved country, and that includes this current President. But unlike you Bush haters, I will still love my country while hating the administration who runs it.
Oh how little faith you have in this country. And calling me “naive” is idiotic. I am better informed of what is going on in this country than you as proved by your simple minded, exaggerated, critique of what Obama is doing. It is obvious you have a childlike idea of the tenets of Marxism.
(btw - commenter #1 is a good conservative who supported Bush - something you would know if you had bothered to visit his website. In your eagerness to prove what an idiot you are, you mis-identified him.)
Stick to mommy blogging and leave politics to the grown ups.
ed.
Comment by Jennifer — 7/5/2009 @ 8:57 am
Amen. Don’t be too intimidated by the punks who haunt us now. the worm will turn.
happy independence day!
the union forever, hurrah boys, hurrah!
Comment by starkness — 7/5/2009 @ 9:53 am
Definitions:
Liberal - term usurped by the lefties early in the 20th century. Meant open minded, open to new ideas.
Fascism - ideology based on government controlling industry (still private)
Socialism - government controlling means of production & industry (no more private industry).
Communist - above after abolishing property rights.
Comment by joe blowe — 7/5/2009 @ 12:52 pm
“Holy Christ people! Are you saying that you don’t have the same will to succeed as the guys who leveled mountains, bridged mighty rivers, and threw thousands of miles of steel across a continent to connect us by rail? Do you seriously believe that the spirit that animated personalities like Washington, Lincoln, King, and Reagan is lost, that Obama killed it?”
Obama hasn’t killed it, yet, but he’s well on the way.
As for what kind of people we are, we are NOT the same people you describe above. If we were, we would not have elected this fraud. We’re a people, one half of which feels that citizenship is not worth paying any income tax for. We’re a people who became a hyphenated people, without complaint. We’re a people who are more than willing to let someone else make our shit for us, to sell our future for another nine dollar t-shirt, and just leave me alone, thank you. We are a different people and the rest of the world is starting to find out about it. That’s why the Indian Govt., our “ally” in Asia now calls for a new world currency. If they thought the American people were the same as the one you remember, they’d be betting on us in the future.
Obama is just the instrument and we’ve just given him the sacrificial blade.
Comment by rascalfair — 7/5/2009 @ 1:30 pm
I could more easily share your optimism if I had any confidence that we’ll see free/fair elections again anytime soon. With all the (taxpayer) money going to ACORN, along with all the POWER being handed to them (see also: 2010 Census), there’s very little hope that the electoral process will survive.
With a President who discards the Constitution when it gets in his way (sidestepping Congress on a treaty because it’s an EMERGENCY? Excuse me???) and empowers groups whose aim is to undermine our liberty and our rights I don’t see any reason to feel optimistic for the future. At BEST our streets will one day in the not-too-distant future like those in Tehran or Tegucigalpa.
I hope you’re right, but I think you’re in for a very rude awakening.
Comment by Nik M — 7/5/2009 @ 7:48 pm
Good post, Rick, and I do agree with you about America’s resilience. However, I also understand the funk out here when we keep seeing and hearing from the likes of Pelosi, Reid, Frank & Dodd (just creepy, all of them), Geithner (a tax cheat telling us how to run the economy), Gibbs (snide personified), Christina Romer (what is wrong with that woman??), and Obama (just trust me, folks!) Let’s just say I don’t watch any of them just before going to bed.
Comment by MochaLite — 7/5/2009 @ 7:56 pm
[...] Right Wing Nut House: C’mon, America! Snap out of it! [...]
Pingback by Best of the Blogs - Weekend of July 4 on The Patriot Room — 7/5/2009 @ 11:51 pm
From Stogie above -
“…they will cripple this country severely, particularly the economy, making it far more difficult to make ends meet…”
“…energy prices to skyrocket, jobs to be more scarce, causing opportunity to shrink…”
“We may recover from this idiot but it will take years…”
Seems like a perfect summary of the 2009 effect of the Bush years.
Comment by Your Brother Jim — 7/6/2009 @ 9:27 am
Thank you for this post. Really liked it a lot.
I still do disagree with you on one thing: I do believe this president is a socialist.
Go USA! I have always been proud of America. I have also lived in other countries so I know what a wonderful place this is.
I will continue to cling to my guns and religion, and refusing to be controlled by the goverment.
Comment by Charlotte — 7/6/2009 @ 9:49 am
Will Obama ‘destroy’ America as a word or a flag? Nope. Can he and his backers dismantle and destroy the ideals that made it morally unique and materially superior? Of course.
We have the same will to succeed. The fundamental mistake you make is the assumption that we will continually put up with having to move two mountains, to move the one we choose to move. A mountain that exists solely because we see one to move, and decide to move based on our own peaceful goals, is one thing. Having to move a second one placed in our way by people intending to use our lives and resources as tools, who depend on our ability to move the first one for ourselves to move the second one for you, is the issue.
It is nearing time for Atlas, to Shrug. The abuse of individuals and our god given dignity, and right to our own actions, lives, property, and service to our own peaceful goals is about at it’s limit. we are tolerant people, we mountain movers, but you are now over reaching into what we can no longer tolerate.
you burden our descendants with debt for your own current ends, you threaten to interfere and destroy the very systems that keep us alive, such as healthcare, on the basis that beltway pols know better than free men and free markets what we value. I will not allow my three year old to grow up in a nation where this goes on much longer, and I own every right to defend my life, my ideals, my sons, and every one of the fine people who agree with me, such as Jennifer, (attacked on the basis of her sex by one of the ‘caring progressives’) right here on the soil I was born on.
Interfering with the free market *does* destroy America, because the right to create and trade with other peaceful individuals no matter how others with other goals see your trade, is a fundamental human right of creation, not an artifact delivered us by our betters. National Health insurance will commit us to socialized misery and equality in expensive and impersonal political rationing.
We’re not interested in supporting some name called America flying a flag that looks the same over a socialist nation. We are not tied to some appeal to history, or tradition…we are committed to the foundational principles of this nation, the ones that made it unique after the innumerable millennia of nascent socialist depravity…the ideas that all are created equal, endowed by creation with inalienable rights, not by other men.
Comment by Mtngoat — 7/6/2009 @ 5:56 pm
Come on over and listen to this. It’s what we played on the 4th of July, and I find it very stirring.
Comment by amba — 7/7/2009 @ 1:11 am
@nikM:
“With all the (taxpayer) money going to ACORN, along with all the POWER being handed to them (see also: 2010 Census), there’s very little hope that the electoral process will survive.”
So what about the 2010 census?
http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/is_acorn_providing_workers_for_the_2010.html
Exactly what power is being given to them to destroy america?
This is off-topic, but I’ve never understood the hate for ACORN. Can any Reds in here enlighten me as to what makes them so evil?
Comment by busboy33 — 7/7/2009 @ 5:16 pm
No wonder Obama is threatening the Swiss. Seems like quite a few Aericans are leaving.
Comment by Thomas Jackson — 7/11/2009 @ 10:26 pm