Only with the passage of time can we, as individuals, begin to know and to understand events that happen in our lifetime, sometimes, long after the perpetrators of those happenings are dead. Who knew the details of Vietnam, as it was happening? or Watergate? or the Cuban Missile Crisis? I am sure that I had no understanding. The only reality for me was the number of young men coming home in body bags or maimed, mentally or physically from Vietnam because those men were little older than I. The same is true of the current war situation. I understand the decisions made about entering Iraq and Afghanistan, only partially.
I was disturbed the other night by the going away speech of the current president. I believe him to be a good and sincere man. I also do not agree with his policies and am glad that someone else will have a stab at establishing priorities for this country. In his speech, he intimated that we must always be involved in wars, in other countries, in order to insure our own freedom. It is hard to know if that is what he truly meant, by his words, or if that was just my own interpretation of them. To me, the statement, if I took it correctly, means that we must continually have a war going on, somewhere, where we are sending our young men into harm’s way, so that the rich old men of this country, and others, can have their peaceful existence. There seems to be something morally wrong with that picture and ongoing expectation.
The financial situation is another ball of wax, with all these bailouts. How did this all develop? Didn’t anyone see the problem coming? If so, why didn’t the general public, Joe and Jane, know that their homes would suddenly drop in value, and that their life savings they’d invested, in what turned out to be bogus companies, were at risk? Why is it that the financial insiders can get away with murder, while the guy in the factory has no idea the ax is going to put to his job?
The Great American Dream has been to have two children: one boy, one girl; have two cars in the garage; live in Suburbia; and for both adult members of the family to have a career. Today, what we find are colleges that are diploma mills where any idiot can sit through classes that mommy and daddy are paying for, but not do the necessary work required, and then, when the person receives a poor grade, the student and parents both whine that the kid should have gotten an “A.” We are producing a society of a bunch of ninnies that skate by, with an attitude of “good enough,” but they are actually sub-par in all they do, even if and when those bought pieces of paper that say they are college graduates are attained. Colleges and universities are expensive, and student loan debt is through the roof. Credit card companies lure college kids into getting into debt early, and staying there for the next 40 years, paying minimum balances, while interest rates jump to astronomical highs. It is a fool’s game.
This country is a mess, and everyone is walking around, scratching their heads, and wondering why. Don’t pass the ball. Success or failure begins and ends with every citizen of this country, and attitudes of “entitlement” are getting us nowhere. My wish is that America would step up to the plate and demand better leadership from those we elect. Politics will always be politics and unfortunately, politics usually entail a little bit of crookedness. It goes with the territory. Just look at the recent incident in Illinois and you need look no further. There is a lot of malfeasance in office, from soliciting page boys for secret pleasures, to trying to fix elections, and more, and all of it is sickening with a capital “S.”
I long for a time when I felt more secure, living in this great country: this melting pot of ethnicity. Crime is rampant. A relative of mine went for a walk and was gone for twenty minutes this week, and came home to a burglarized home and a stolen purse. “Gangs” have moved into their neighborhood.
With great anticipation, I am looking forward to the leadership of Barack Obama. He has a lot of obstacles to face, but I don’t think that his race is one of them. His vision for a better America has already transcended that issue. Next week, when he takes office, it will be a milestone with many facets, not the least of which is the feeling in the air that circumstances will improve, and that the ordinary American will be able to overcome financial reversals. I just hope that young people sit up and take notice and realize that President-Elect Obama and his wife have risen to the highest pinnacle of success, as leaders in the White House, because they are decent people who paid attention and who were great students. When I look at the example they set, I am proud to be an American.
Patricia Cummings
Quilter’s Muse Publications and Virtual Museum
