America the Beautiful

I spent my day yesterday in the sun with some friends trying to help them sell some food at the Farmer’s Market, but really just chatting. It bugs me now when I use the word chatting because it seems to have too much of a computer connotation now, but people still do chat in person. Anyway, at one point I mentioned to one of them that he was not looking very 4thish because he was wearing an olive shirt and olive shorts and hiking shoes of some kind, as opposed to my choice of very red t-shirt, khaki shorts, and running shoes that were white with navy blue trim and logos.

His response to this joke about the difference in our red, white and blue attire, or lack thereof, was “patriotism is dead.” What? I thought it was just seriously wounded but expected to make a full recovery. As Robin Williams put it “the George W is gone…America is officially out of re-hab.” Again, I am not a democrat, I am not a republican, I am an American, and as an American I find what Mr. Williams said to be funny, and was crushed to hear that patriotism is dead.

Patriotism is not dead, it has just been drowned out by all the noise being made by the “Y generation,” which I am hereby renaming the me generation, but wait, because I need to point out that much of this generations focus on themselves, and instant gratification, and no one ever saying no to them, began with their parents. Some of those parents are as bad in this sense, or worse, than their children, and they have, without a question, enabled this behavior at every turn.

This piece is not about “Gen Y,” however, it is a simple declaration that patriotism is not dead, and that simply because things are as bad now as they have ever been, at least for the majority of today’s population, “baby boomers” and younger, does not mean that we give up, quite the opposite, it means we get loud, we dig deep, and we find a way to take back this country. This is not about whether it is possible or not, it is a simple matter of making it happen.

My friend continued to make a number of valid points about what we have done, or are doing as a country, and the problems we are having, and the financial hole we are in, and my response was the same all the way through, “so what.” Anything that anyone can say about how bad things are right now, anything anyone can say about what is wrong, or what we are doing now that does not make sense, we just need to keep saying “so what,” or perhaps “it is what it is,” and then move on and find a way to make it better. We, as a people, as a country, cannot do anything about where we are right now, we are where we are, but we can all do something about where we are going and the more we can work together to find solutions, and to be heard at the highest level, the better chance we have of taking back this country.

We have gotten fat, lazy, complacent, spoiled, pick your word, that is us, or the big us, the US. However, just as with anyone who has become lazy, fat, complacent, the answer is simple, get up, get moving, change the behaviors that are inherently bad, and take action in a direction that is inherently good. Basically, be a patriot. Now is not the time to wear less red, white and blue, it is the time to wear more. It is not the time for those that are feeling as though we are less than we once were as a country to back away, accept it as fact, and live their own lives as best they can, it is time that everyone in the country wear any red, white, and blue that they can, to show the rest of the country, our leaders, and the rest of the world that we are still here, we are still one, we are still the Red, White and Blue, the US of A. It is just simply time for a revolution befitting the times, a revolution that is not fought, but rather shared, not one of bloodshed, but of hard work, and sweat, not one of physical strength and brawn, but one of mental strength, discipline, determination, hard work and sacrifice.

We in this country have sacrificed an awful lot in the past decade, and especially the past few years, and some, much more than others, but it is time for everyone to do what is necessary to put this country first, and their fellow countrymen first, to take back this country. Enough is enough. This is not complicated, it is not being the grasp of the people in this country, this is something we can all do, but first, everyone needs to decide to do so together, from the poorest of the poor, to the richest of the rich, and everyone in between, those that can do the most should do the most, and those cannot afford to do as much need to do what they can, and all those that can help others should.

This is simple, it starts by reaching out to someone today and making their life a little better, then tomorrow everyone does a little more, and a little more, and soon we would be at a place where people are looking out for themselves far less and each other far more and then the bigger changes we need to make will be that much simpler.

Thank you again for getting this far with me.