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Who Are We?
Who are we, those of us in the world who define ourselves as Americans? What does that mean? The definition of who and what we are is as varied and different as there are people, but I think it really all boils down to a few things.
Over the years, our country and its people have become so divided, so angry and fearful that is it hard to see where our commalities lie. I believe this has become worse over the past ten years or so. Maybe it has always been this way and I just did not see it. Somehow, I do not think so.
So, the first question: Who are we? In America you will find people from all over the world who have come to seek the good life for themselves and for future generations. We have the First Americans, the Native Americans, who welcomed the pilgrims who came from across the pond and, later, my own ancestors who came from Scotland and Wales. There are many here of European heritage along with folks from Asia, the Middle East, Africa, South America, the Pacific Islands and so on.
We are Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hare Krisha, pagan, Buddhist, and many other religions. I believe all of the major religions of the world are represented in this country. We are atheist and agnostic.
The heritage of all of us is a world heritage, one based on different views and cultures, religious practices and personal beliefs.
BUT we are all Americans. And, as such, I think it is probably safe to say that most of us want our country, the place we call home, to be as safe as possible, as free as possible and as open as possible. We want a land of laws that are followed and we want a better life for our children than we, ourselves had.
We want our broken and battered warriors to be healed and cared for properly when they come home from the battlefield.
We want our government to be open and to follow the laws of the land.
We want our jobs to be secure and our homes not to be foreclosed on.
We want to send our children to college to better educate themselves because, as we all know, the better their education, the better their chances for the future are!
Lately I’ve been seeing so much anger and so much intolerance for the beliefs of others. Were we not a nation built on tolerance for others? Most of the people I personally know do not give a damn what anyone else’s religion is as long as it does not interfere with their own. Most of the people I know don’t care where you came from as long as you are a good person who pays his/her bills and pays taxes.
Most of the people I know fall in the "middle" of the polarizing political parties we have running this country today and find themselves more and more distressed.
The right is pulling so hard from their side. The left is pulling hard from their side. Those who are in the middle are being pulled to tight and will, eventually, snap.
You go worship your God in your way in your church and, if I believe in God, I will worship in my own way. Go vote for the party and the candidates you deem best suited for the job that needs to be done and I will do the same.
We may disagree but I hope that, someday, we can put aside those things we disagree on and get to the honest, hard work of righting the serious wrongs that are occurring in this country today. We are letting the little things distract us from the real issues.
Just my two cents. I’ll step off my soapbox now…
Peace!
Amy
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=5743
Posted by Veterans Today on Apr 6 2009, With 0 Reads, Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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Very good post, Amy,
At least it’s worth pondering, especially since I spent most of my time far right of center, got intelligent enough to move to the center, then spiritual enough to move to the left of center.
Desperation, frustration, or cynicism has yet to drive to permanently to the far left, but I promised God that I would never-ever again find myself on the far right.
Your post is also timely.
Example: I did a disservice by in the same breath endorsing a Blue Star
Families military family survey, and condemning Blue Star Families.
Come to find out that there have been so many Veterans and Military Family support and activists groups given birth since 911 and intensified since 2003 that it’s getting hard to tell one from another.
Anyway, I found out through TALKING (and that’s the key TALKING) to the public relations lady at Blue Star families that they are not the same Blue Star Mothers who have been exclusionary to mothers or military families in general who did not drink the red cool aid or even questioned the war(s). I’m not saying opposed or protested the wars, I’m saying this group along with many others that belonged to AmericaSupportsBush.mil black balled Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), Veterans for Peace, and so so based solely on political views.
Frankly, I’m a strong believer that any group or organization, including churches that have an IRS tax exempt status or worse yet Congressional charter should lose it IF they discriminate based on an applicant’s political views. That by definition makes any organization partisan in either supporting or opposing a political view or views.
Amy, I frankly have no beef with middle of the road thinkers, what I do have an ethical and moral problem with is/are groups that organized during the Bush administration to Bash Bush and oppose Iraq on a political basis not moral or ethical basis. MOVEON.org comes to mind. I was a member of MOVEON, and took part in fund raising and efforts to turn the American people against the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan of course Iraq was a priority for that was the war most potential voters could relate to economically if nothing else.
Leadership of MOVEON even drifted off to create American’s Against Escalation of War in Iraq to oppose the SURGE. I also was all for that. However, now that it is our champion Barrack Obama saber rattling and making plans to escalate war in Afghanistan and S.W. Asia these same so-called progressive and moderates remain hypocritically silent. I can live with that, but when they (VoteVets comes to mind) become defenders and apologists for military aggression on the part of Obama, because WE can do it better that’s shear BS.
Amy, that attitude and tact will only result in Americans being further torn apart and divided.
Hi, Bobby.
I, too, was a member of Moveon and an currently a member of MFSO. I was also, up until a couple of years ago, a member of Gold Star Families for Peace and Gold Star Families Speak Out. I have worked with Veterans for Peace and other groups simply for the purpose of ending the war in Iraq or, at the very least, getting people to wake up and smell the coffee!
I don’t like the escalation of war in Afghanistan and I want the war ended in Iraq. But it’s not political for me. It’s personal. I want my son-in-law home to be a father to his son that is due in a couple of months. I want the war in Iraq ended because we were lied to by Bush & Co.
We should question all authority, regardless of the party, and hold them accountable for their actions. I am neither republican or democrat. I am American. And that should be the point.
There was a time when I had great admiration and regard for the fact
that Americans seemed to stand out in the world for their shrewed
and calculating thinking ability.
But all of that is in the past and Americans are now -in my estimation-collectively a perverse deceived and ignorant people.
Since they are shallow of thought, poorly educated, seriously deprived of historical knowledge, have little in the way of sound moral values and- most importantly – have no spiritual discernment
they are receptive to lies and disposed to utter lies.
In fact if the way they gobble up lies uttered in our political campaigns is any indication, they love lies and esteem them above truths.
Though the boldest and most prolific liars are the politicians, no sector of society is devoid of liars.
They have most certainly condemned hundreds of thousands of people to misery and death and all of this to obtain the sole
object of their worship, money.
If you’ve had enough, and youre ready to send a message to your
legistlators that their days in office are numbered unless they
STOP THE SPENDING, STOP THE BORROWING, STOP THE TAXING,
STOP THE PORK PADDING, and STOP REGULATING OUR ECONOMY
INTO INSOLVENCY, find your nearest tax payer tea party and join me in protest on April 15.
Visit: http://www.taxdayteaparty.com
I think all of this is wistful thinking on your part. The average American is tired of being lead by the nose by a small group of northeast elitest left wingers who are both republicans and democrats. The United States is going the way of the Soviet Union. I believe that in the next few years, the US will splinter into several different countries. The vast majority of the people in the deep south, southwest and some of the western states have nothing in common with the rest of the country. I believe that Texas and California will lead the split with Texas as a conversative state and California as a liberal with the various states following either one or the other. I believe that the US government recognizes this and in the last few years has tried to diversity the state populations as much as posible through federal programs.