I was writing a diary about how Hollywood has moved toward the Hero in Troubled Times storyline over the past few years, and yet another underlying theme gets lost in it - the people's sense of pride.
While the Bible makes pride to be costly, not all pride is bad, and it can be a driving force to do good. But what happens when even the slightest good of pride is nonexistant? Overwhelming cynicism and apathy are the result. But the great tragedy that is about to befall our nation is not just the loss of pride. I mean, think about it - what can you be prideful about in your country if all that is there to protect you or guide your lives are in the hands of other nations?
PortGate, job outsourcing, our enormous debt - all are a part of a major, impending crisis that will befall our children and our children's children. We are increasingly at the point where every American will be at the mercy of other outside nations. Think about that. Our life, our liberty, and our pursuit of happiness may be determined, for example, economically by the communist Chinese and the Hindu/Buddhist/Muslim Indians, and the security to ensure that those three things are protect may be done by Arabs.
Americans are losing control over vital interests and infrastructure in this country. This has nothing to do with isolationist rhetoric. It is about simply asking ourselves, "what do we own or control that can make us feel proud to be an American?" Recent events alone have made it hard for us to be proud these days:
-More Abu Gharib photos have surfaced further shaming us;
-Pat Roberts is looking to whitewash the whole NSA wiretapping scandal thereby making our Constitution exactly like a "damn piece of paper";
-The Patriot Act is going to be renewed further eliminating more civil liberties;
-We have been exposed to trying to buy propaganda to persuade the population of another country to vote how we see fit;
-And in addition to being accused of leaking classified information that not only damages national security but can be considered treasonous, our Vice President just shot a 78 year-old man in the face, and not only did not get charged for any mishap but was given an apology by the man he shot.
And on and on. But at least there are certain things that we own and control that we can be proud about, right? Right? Well, it's kind of hard to answer in the affirmative when a lot of what you are using and wearing has been made in Asia.
But we are at least making it possible for our children to develop the skills needed to control the vital components that make this country drive on its own, right? Well, college is transforming from an institution and chance for higher learning and skills into a debt trap that will enslave your children to debters for many, many years. In addition, the skills they need to compete in this now global job market are being thwarted by certain religious, and cultist segments of the American population.
Hell, even Americans are being forced to consider other countries to get the care they need, all the while Americans today become some of the sickliest people in the world.
But at least there is the great Constitution, the hallmark of American society, that ensures us the freedoms that make us the greatest country in the world, right? Right?
Well lately, all the things we were taught - in school, in our beds at night by our parents, in television programs, in songs, in movies - about what made America great and made us proud to be American are slowly being torn away by simple politicians whose only desire is to hold on to the money and power they have at their disposal. Greed has no national characteristic, and it kills countries over and over again.
So, with all that we are losing, well, there's got to be someone to blame for all of this. We can blame the Bush Administration and the Republican Congress as much as we want over all the ills their policies have brought upon us, but we cannot escape the blame ourselves for our lost pride in this country.
It is we who vote these politicians into our positions of power, and as a result we get what we deserve.
It is we who allow the folks in charge of our voting machines and mechanisms of voting in this country to be put in those positions of power, and as a result we get what we deserve.
It is we who allow simple wedge issues that do nothing but harm those around us and eventually ourselves to dictate how we choose our elected officials and policies, and as a result we get what we deserve.
It is we who turn a blind eye to the poverty that is stricken across the land, to those lost in the hurricanes, and those who cannot get the treatment they need to either live, survive or both, and as a result we get what we deserve.
It is we who cheapen the legacy and actions of our army with simple Support the Troop logos and yet prevent the very care they need if they get hurt in combat, not to mention giving them all sorts of reasons not to join up in the forces that are designed to protect this country against foreign and domestic enemies, and as a result we get what we deserve.
It is we who choose to pay more attention to American Idol, the Apprentice, the NFL, Nascar, the NBA, rather than to the policies and actions our government commits in our name in Iraq, Afghanistan, the UN, Africa, and elsewhere around the world, and as a result we get what we deserve.
And it is we who sit at home on Election Day and think that what we say won't matter a bit anyway, and as a result we get what we deserve.
The rude awakening is just beginning to dawn for many American citizens. Our country has not only been hijacked by corrupt, greedy, unAmerican politicians, committing unAmerican acts, and making unAmerican decisions, but it has also been hijacked, through our own dubiousness, by other nations around the world. By the time your toddler (if you have one) reaches the age to vote, he or she may be forced to ask permission from a foreign nation we are indebted to - economically, militarily, or domestically - for the rights that we as Americans currently have and are rapidly taking for granted.
This PortGate scandal should be the straw that breaks the camel's back for America, and make its citizenry wake up to the crisis that has been ongoing for quite some time. If people want to have pride in this country again, then some serious work must be done to begin moving ourselves away from the reliance of foreign nations. George Bush, Dick Cheney, the Republican Congress and the majority of the Republican Party have sold this nation out to the highest bidder, and it is going to be up to American citizens to buy back what these guys lost. It's not going to be easy, but America needs a new direction if we ever want to feel proud of our country again.