America: 250 Years...but Will There be 250 More?
“A republic, if you can keep it.”
--Benjamin Franklin's response to Elizabeth Willing Powel's question: "Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?"
When I was a kid in school, I remember learning how America was "the big melting pot." It was explained to us that people of all different backgrounds, ethnicities, religions...they all came to this country for one purpose, and over time, created something unique. Then, some people got scared. They began to fear threatened. Some of the people who looked or sounded different than them were smarter, more gifted at certain careers, or worse, trying to work, or beat the system.
Of course, none of this was actually true. What WAS true is the people who felt threatened had generations of citizenship behind them; their sense of entitlement caused them to become lazy, or content. These people stopped trying as hard because for a long time, they had been used to a sense of privilege. When others who hadn't the deep roots in this country they had begun to succeed and surpass them here and there, they blamed it on everything else except the real reason, something they refused to believe, or face. So, they began to point fingers. They began to hate. And, they began to seek out "leaders" who would listen to their grievances and use it as a political platform. It gave these leaders power and provided an emotional salve to the rabble of malcontents. Instead of people looking in the mirror and asking, "What have I done to cause my situation?" they instead shouted, "YOU are the reason for everything!" And leaders listened, and encouraged, and stirred up the melting pot, bringing anger to the surface, like boiling bubbles.
Today, this country has reached a level of division unseen since before the Civil War. Oddly, or perhaps not, the reason is similar; freedom of people…or rather, the freedoms of people. The masses of malcontents feel many freedoms should only be granted to them. Others are pushed back on, targeted, and, with the assistance and long-reaching arm of the governmental administration that has enabled the malcontent, many citizens are finding their freedoms questioned and even revoked in some way. People no longer feel as safe; they no longer feel as if they are part of “We the People.” With their own safety and citizenship secure and even over-protected at times, the malcontents continue to bully…with no consequences…and never has this been the case before, but the biggest instigator and bully on the playground is the one at the center of government.
What will it take to change things for the better, to bring this country back to where it was generations ago, before the rampant divisiveness? At least, it’s going to take a major shift in thinking, coupled with a changing of government…but will that be enough? Will the country, as it did over 150 years ago, be driven into another civil war, in order to ensure the freedoms of all? When our forefathers crafted the documents on which our entire country and government was founded, fail safes were written into them to prevent tyranny…but when the government in power refuses to abide by the laws in those documents, who is left to uphold those laws? It seems all too clear many in power today have never read the Constitution. They seem to have forgotten some of the most important guarantees the Bill of Rights protects. They have forgotten what the Declaration of Independence stands for, and why. Or perhaps, they have just chosen to ignore them. Perhaps only another revolution will bring things back into focus. Perhaps they need reminding…in a very drastic way. Hopefully, it won’t come to that…but if it does, well…as history has taught us…not just American history, but world history…freedom is always born in blood and fire…
