Lately, I have written several entries about the current economic situation besieging the USA. In the past few years, I’ve seen a literal transformation of this nation. The America I remember from my childhood years is not the same country I live in today. I don’t hate my country, or the people in it. Instead, I weep for my country.
Sure, there’s been corruption and politics since the dawn of time, but, I suppose it just seems to be different this go around. Perhaps, it is because I have matured or perhaps the rules of the game have changed. The steps of the dance have evolved.
I’ve always had a keen interest in history, and as such, studied it with vigor. One of my favorite topics to study is the American Revolution. This interest came about due to the indoctrination at a young, impressionable age that the USA is the “land of the free, home of the brave”. Do I still believe and defend that phrase with the same valor that I once did? Honestly, I don’t know. How can we be free when we’re choking on a financial mess of our own doing? How can we be brave when we’re fighting a war without a solid enemy?
As any history buff knows, the great Roman Empire had its time in the limelight. But, a society can only propel itself forward for so long, growing and growing before, ultimately, it collapses. Of course, standing at the precipice of a financial disaster, it is easy for me to say that the USA is going to fall from grace. Our fall, like that of the Roman Empire, will not be something sudden, but rather, a series of drawn out events. Alone, they would not be enough to undo the fabric of American society, but together, they slowly unravel the stitching. It is inherently American to fight for what we want and stop at nothing until we get it. This quality has propelled us to the forefront of global domination, but, will also be the reason for our ultimate demise.
During the American Revolution, in December of 1776, a young man named Thomas Paine was asked to write a few pieces of literature that would inspire hope and increase morale among the exhausted soldiers. His first piece in the series called “The Crisis”, he began, “these are the times that try men’s souls”. Once again, we find ourselves in this perilous position. But where is our Thomas Paine? In 1776, they were fighting for the American cause. In 2008, we may find ourselves fighting, once again, to be Americans.
