American Economics of Progress

Can our country recover from our current economic woes? For some, they are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. For others, life is still a struggle. Either way, the constant fear remains forefront on the hearts of so many people: what if something else happens to our economy?

Let’s take a step back. How did we get here in the first place? We gave our jobs and our industries away. We literally outsourced our wealth. For the sake of “progress,” we closed down factories and shipped commerce overseas. We provided customer service by hiring people to answer phones in distant lands. We improved efficiency by lowering standards of quality. Having a job became a privilege rather than an American right, and those that succeeded in life were seen as having the means to “share” their wealth. We created colleges that taught our young people to fall in line rather than to ask questions, and we built up a work atmosphere of mediocrity. Harsh words, perhaps, but tell me, are they not true?

The simple truth is that if we want a strong economy, we must build one. There is no easy way out. Americans must start rebuilding what “progress” has destroyed. We need factories, we need small business, we need local banks, and we need local communities to stand together and to pull our American work ethic out of the ground where it is buried. Remember when being polite was mandatory and you did not have to teach customer service? Remember when hard work equaled efficiency? Remember when raises were given based on merit rather than government mandate?

What happened to our America? Who took it from us and how do we get it back? In reality, we gave it away. As our freedoms, commerce, and communities were taken from us –for progress- we did nothing. We bowed our heads and hoped that the changes would not affect us. Now, years later, we are reaping the rewards of our silence.

Yet, there can be hope, but hope takes action. It takes you believing in America. Are you willing to step up and be counted? We can rebuild our country. We can make America strong again. We can stop being progressive long enough to create real progress, the kind of progress that creates jobs, creates community, and will bring back a sense of pride in a day’s hard work. We must stop thinking that the Government and bailouts to large corporations will fix anything. Did the bailout help you? Did it save your neighbor’s house from foreclosure? In the end, we must learn to hold ourselves accountable for our own success or failure. We have been lazy for too long; now, we must go back to work. We must move to rebuild both our broken political system and our devastated economy. It will be hard, it will be stressful, and yes, you will have to sacrifice. But is it worth it to you? Can you look into the eyes of your children and tell them that you will do nothing to save their country and to protect their future? Your inaction says it all. So get up and challenge yourself to protect and to serve. Show your kids that America is still a country for the people and by the people. Teach them by example that hard work and sacrifice creates more progress then outsourcing and government handouts. Be a shining light, a beacon of hope, for your lost countryman. If you don’t who will?

What’s that Word Again…?

Do you remember that word? You know the one I am talking about. We use to it describe the benefits of being American. What is it called? Remember, it was used to represent opportunity, progress, and American Greatness…I think our Country was founded on the concept. If I recall, thousands have died over the last 200 years to protect the word…oh well…what does it matter anyway? It is just a word; after all we are still American, right?

That forgotten word is “freedom!” Perhaps it is not yet completely eliminated from our vocabulary. We still throw it out there from time to time, but it has turned into more rhetoric than an actual belief and way of life. Is it too much of an extreme to believe that we could forget the word all together? For those that do not care about the power of the word, the above illustration probably has little effect. They simply go about their lives, everyday giving little thought to their rights and freedoms. The problem is that those people are all of us. Sure, we claim that we have freedoms, but try taking a water bottle onto a plane. Try opening a personal checking account without giving out your social security number. Try taking a new job (in the private sector, mind you) without filling out at least two government-issued forms. Try driving to the grocery store without your driver’s license, car registration, and proof of insurance. Try purchasing those groceries without paying a tax for the privilege of being able to provide food for your family. Now what was that word again? Right, as Americans we are FREE. Free do to whatever we please as long as we have the proper documentation, follow the proper procedures, and pay the proper taxes. But, if we dare decide that we want to take our own bottled water onto a plane, we no longer have the freedom to travel. If we forget our proof of insurance or are a day late in registering our car, we are criminals. If we don’t fill out our government forms, we can’t get paid. If we can’t afford taxes on our groceries, we can’t buy food. These are not extreme examples; these are every day issues that each of us FREE Americans have to deal with just to complete a day of life in a country founded on limited government.

The real issue, the reason why I think that soon we will completely forget the word “freedom,” is that we don’t care. We eagerly throw our water bottle away before we get on that plane simply to insure that we don’t miss out on our vacation or business meeting. We say that we must conform to society in order to insure our protection and our way of life. Yet, the very measures put in place to insure our protection jeopardize our way of life. In the end, we are left no safer, but less free. However, we continually excuse the rules, regulations, and laws as being there for a reason and being set in place by people wiser than ourselves. This is foolishness. Our government was set up for the people and by the people. Stop and think for one second; do you truly believe that your congressman, that your president, is smarter and wiser than you? Don’t get me wrong: I strongly believe that we should respect our elected officials. They are doing a job that we are not willing to do. But, I also believe that we must work hard to elect officials worthy of our respect. American Freedom is not a slogan: it is our way of life! Freedom is not a privilege awarded to us for good behavior; it is our birth right as citizens of the United States of America. Freedom is your inheritance passed on to you by great people who sacrificed much to acquire the great wealth that we squander to purchase the idea of safety and security.

Freedom is a dangerous word. It has killed many people who were willing to fight for it. Our generation has been given this gift freely and without personal sacrifice. Let us not forsake the gift by keeping it locked in the closet or by trading it in for temporary wealth, let us instead work hard to pass that same gift on to our children and grandchildren.

Too busy for the good life.

As Americans, we are some of the busiest people in the world. We rush through our days, passing by all the people around us simply so that we can end the day with more on our to-do-list than when we started. We think that busyness is equal to productivity. We sincerely think that the busier we are, the more important we are, and the more that we will have to show for our lives.

Terms like neighbors, community, and Sunday dinner have been replaced with meetings, network groups, and luncheons. I admit that up until this Sunday, I had no problem with America being busy. Over the three day weekend, my wife and I decided to go grocery shopping Sunday afternoon. I figured that we would have the market all to ourselves, as people would be spending time with friends and family, picnicking and barbequing. To our surprise, the market was packed with people piling up their carts like they had not been to the store in months. Once we finally made it to the checkout stand, the cashier looked at me and stated that she was surprised that people were not with friends and family. She said that they were telling her they were all too busy and needed the three day weekend to catch up on things. The statement got me thinking. Are we really too busy and what does that statement mean for the future of our country?

As I pondered the question, it dawned on me that if America loses its sense of community, working ourselves out of friends and family, this one error could be more devastating to America than any politician or political movement. In fact, the realization that America is too busy answered a much deeper question that I had been asking myself. How did America get to this point, the point where freedom is an afterthought or a tagline rather than an actual state of being? The problem is that we are simply too busy to care. We don’t converse about issues. We don’t have time to care about what is important to those around us, and we don’t share a community bond or identity. We simply go about our lives believing that if we are busy enough, all our problems will go away. Let us stop, just for a moment, and think about what is really important. America’s structure and success is built on a foundation of local ties, local government, and local involvement. If we become too busy, then the state and federal governments have to step in and take charge. Ask yourself: do you want D.C. deciding what is best for you? Do you believe that they will have your best interests at heart? If not, then your only option is to slow down and care about what is around you. Your community, your friends, and your family should be your responsibility. Some have argued that America is simply lazy and that is why we do not care, but I do not see this being the problem. We are not lazy enough. We need time to sit back and relax, to build relationships, and to create local bonds that can tie this county back together. What are we working for, if not to build a good life? How can we assume to have a good life without the protection of a strong community to insure our local freedoms and ways of life are preserved?