Our Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness—. Our Constitution says, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution —-.” The Bill of RIGHTS says,
that our “Rights” include Freedom of Speech, Freedom of the Press, the Right to Freely assemble or gather in protest of our government and the Right to religious beliefs and practices. It prevents the government from creating or favoring a particular religion or religious practice.
All of the above lay down the foundational principles upon which the “ideal” of the United States of America rests its case as the “Greatest Nation on earth.” However, the standards by which we measure ourselves as a nation and the platitudes espoused in our foundational documents have been eroding at an alarming rate as the politics of the moment, so-called Fake News and false facts take over the American narrative and begin to define us as a “new nation” no longer interested in being that “city on a hill.” To the global community we are no longer interested in being a refuge for those fleeing violence and persecution, or a safe haven for those who are in need. Right now, we appear to be uninterested in continuing alliances and partnerships with our former friends and allies throughout the world leaving them both mystified and alarmed. Who are we becoming as a nation? Because, “actions speak much louder than words!”
As we begin 2019, our government is in complete dysfunction. Over 800,000 government employees are not being paid as we enter the 3rd week of a government shutdown. Government offices, National Parks and museums are all closed. We STILL have thousands of children separated from their parents being held in detention centers that call up the horrors of the Internment Camps that imprisoned 120,000 Japanese American citizens during WWII. We are definitely in a moment of National Crisis. The crisis we face is one of identity. We are in an “Identity Crisis” that has nothing to do with our southern borders or the false narrative about an immigrant invasion, or the debate on “national security” versus the Wall that “Mexico was going to pay for!” No. It has everything to do with the question of “Who we ARE as a nation.”
The scale of corruption, self-dealing, incompetence within our Administration is unprecedented and the number of convicted felons at the highest levels of our government continues to mount up like a laundry list. All of this while “regular” Americans seem to be held hostage by the government that they elected. Unless “We the People” begin to speak up and stand up to the “powers that be,” we will continue, as a nation, to be defined by the “character” and “lack of character” of those who claim to represent US. Who are we as a country? It certainly seems that we are sliding backwards….returning to a time and a place where history tells us we DO NOT want to go. We MUST not allow ourselves to go Backwards. We are better than that!
