Thoughts for the 4th of July

I am convinced our country will never be conquered by a foreign power in my or your lifetime.  I am concerned, however, that hypocrisy, greed and callousness will erode many ideals which have caused our country to become the greatest nation on earth.  To continue our greatness, we need to return to the attitude that we are all Americans who love freedom and should concentrate more on our American heritage than our political preferences. 

As a young person I was taught to respect our president even though I might disagree with his policies.  Today too many Americans are quick to demean our elected leaders by describing them as not real Americans, idiots, weak, uncaring, dishonest, and then lament our leaders are not respected around the world.  One good example of how sometimes good Americans miss the mark-- Vietnam vets should be among the most honored of our veterans.  Many of them chose to obey the law even though they were strongly against us being in the war.  They went and did their duty, even disagreeing with the politics which put them in harm's way.  Yet, many of them, when returning to America, were treated like ex-convicts rather than the heroes they were. 

America probably creates more and more millionaires via our economic system while more and more working poor suffer without adequate income, medical care--and some even basic sustenance--because of our current economic system. 

Voter participation appears to be at an all-time low, even in local elections, while too many of our politicians work to limit voting rather than encourage.  The influence of money in our elections is at an all-time high.  Money, according to our Supreme Court, is speech--and real speech seems to have become only TV entertainment.  Debates are no longer real debates, but sound bytes prompted by trite questioning by some TV personality.

One of the worst examples of national hypocrisy relates to action or inaction on the part of our United States Congress.  It seems many of our congressmen are hawkish, ready to go to war at the drop of a hat.  I've noticed most of them are individuals who never faced real combat.  Too many of our Congressional leaders are quick to want to go to war yet very reluctant to pay the cost or clean up the mess left by the aftermath.  Too often, it seems, our military veterans who have returned to America in body bags or seriously damaged are not adequately revered or cared for. 

A recent news article pointed out that even though Congress is well aware of the condition and status of our VA hospitals, the waiting line for our veterans to be accepted for medical treatment is 50% greater than it was only a year ago.  While making great speeches about how we love our veterans, our Congress lets the VA hospitals go three billion dollars in the hole.  All of this while many of our veterans wait for months to be afforded treatment for injuries or treatment they suffered in our defense. 

For this 4^th of July, I suggest that we, as American citizens, resolve to contact our leaders to put our country’s money where the politicians’ mouths are in their 4^th of July speeches.  

God bless America!