I’m not completely sure when it began but to my recollection it was right around the late 1960′s. That was a time when Mom & Dad (read the Government) began to tolerate that which should have been addressed as poor behavior - but was successfully presented by the “precocious child of hippy-ism” as dissent – simply because of timing. After all, how could the U.S. Government possibly engage the stifling hand of Communism abroad while simultaneously refuting the voices of dissent here at home?
What happened was most likely an inadvertent - at least at first – collusion between the supposedly patriotic hippies and the forces we were fighting in South East Asia. The NVA did appreciate the help, whether inadvertant or not.
I made the analogy to prodigal children because in a sense, we are all children of America. We have always had the precious freedom to criticize our elected leaders, but we have historically done so sparingly, mostly out of respect for the flag and the sacrifices millions have made to honor that flag. But the Vietnam War changed that, and people began to develop what can only be interpreted as an utter disdain for their flag and country. Call it a permissable tantrum, if you will. We see it ever increasingly and the most astonishing thing of all is; the most affluent among us are also the most vociferous in their attacks. Much as the well-to-do child is spoiled rotten.
An endearing characteristic of the most successful is a strong sense of humility. Self deprecating humor has always been a quality that acts as a magnet between the masses and the elite. But Americans on an alarmingly increasing level have felt that superiority over the third world and have expressed their false humility ad-nauseum, perhaps out of shame, but most definitely at the peril of their country.
That shame is probably at the root of the apparent willingness of our own brethren to declare that they have more respect for totalitarian enclaves than they do for America. “Cuba has better health care than America”, they bleat, to which I reply, “Poppycock!” Cuba has free health care. That doesn’t equate to “better”, regardless of Michael Moore’s opinion. Most people still flock to our shores when quality matters most. Or Life.
Let’s move on to religion. Most of us have grown up singing Christmas carols in school pageants and then gathering for an exchange of trinkets around the big tree in the lobby. Perhaps the Jewish children felt somewhat slighted, but they never let on, and those with whom I attended elementary school have yet to show any signs of trauma.
But now we have this huge push to eliminate any signs of that which is inarguably the foundation of our [once] great country, and even as we struggle to maintain that heritage, we are scoffed at for seeing demons where “none exist”. Really? Then what is the battle about, and why are those who deny its very existence pushing back so hard?
From the Ten Commandments in courthouses to pre-game prayers in our schools, we are being beseeched to disavow all things to do with God, and yet in the very name of “tolerance”, (I prefer to call it by it’s real name; acquiesence) we are being force fed a steady diet of Islam in which we must install footbaths for muslim students and allow for five-times-a-day prayers. When do those who display such disregard for religion finally and, inadvertantly, side with America regarding the scourge of radical islamism? Or will they take self deprecation to tragic levels?
-Woody
