I See An America

Link: http://www.iseeanamerica.com

I was talking with a friend the other day, oh boy. We were discussing impending retirement, stock portfolios, and the economic upheaval's impact on our lives. Five years ago, she had the world by an oyster and was making a decent six figures (out of decency, I've never asked her what she made). Five years ago, I had lost everything in a bad business deal, owed a fortune to my creditors and was unemployed. Today, I've just come off the best year of my life and she's unemployed for the first time in her life. Go figure.

As we were talking I came up with an analogy that's worth sharing. The United States has just gotten a new credit card. It's probably the last one America will ever get, so we need to make sure it's used wisely. If America does invest in it's future it will be ok. If it squanders this last opportunity I don't see much hope.

It's like the stock market it January. Some really great bargains existed--these were smart money investments. There were some real turkeys too (Chrysler and GM come to mind). Opportunities exist for those bold enough to take them.

I've always thought that America should offer its citizens free medicine, free education, free burial. If you worked a full time job you could afford a place to live, food to eat and a means of transportation. In other words, if you worked at McDonald's full time you should be able to afford a studio apartment, have money for groceries and a used car with necessary insurance. Right now, that isn't possible in much of the country. (And of course, if you worked in a more lucrative profession, you could afford a better place to live, eat out occasionally, and own a new car.)

You do this and you give hope to those who currently have none. You reduce crime when you offer hope. Maybe you get to the point where we become concerned about the important things in life. Maybe we get to the point where everyone is entitled to their faith, where we can agree that all sides of faith based questions can exist with demanding that those of other faiths agree with them.

We have a choice to make about the direction America should go. We can continue to act like the international bully, pushing our system of democracy on everyone for the short term. I don't see that we can do it long term...for in that direction we soon will run into the bigger kid on the block, China and I don't think we can survive the outcome.

However, if we were to live up to our potential, and do good in the world for the sake of doing good, rather than economic or political or proselytizing gain; if we stopped trying to export democracy and Christianity, and started exporting our core values--the belief in the rights of the individual, freedom of the press, a system of laws then America would gain the respect of the world. Internally we would grow and be able to offer the world much. Our protection would be the realization that only in America could such stuff take place.