As I observe the events occurring in our nation and around the world, I cannot help but to worry that something is very much amiss. I have lived long enough to have seen times when doors were seldom locked, church bells rang on Sunday morning, people watched out for each other’s children, children were taught to respect their elders, teachers read scripture and had morning prayer in classrooms, and the pledge of allegiance was recited by students with hand over heart, including the words Under God.
Under president Theodore Roosevelt and then Harry S. Truman, I was witness to a nation, whose citizens sacrificed their time, money, sons and daughters to a world war on foreign soil for the freedom that united we stand, stands for. Allied with England, France and Russia we went to battle against Nazi Germany, Italy and Japan. We gave aid to England and Russia under the Lend Lease Plan and allied together we liberated France, Belgium and Holland, soundly defeating Germany, Italy and Japan.
Then again, under the presidency of Harry S. Truman, I saw men and women go, not to war but a “police action”, to save the small country of South Korea from the threat of communist North Korea. China got into that fray by pouring thousands of their military across their borders into North Korea and raising havoc on our military there. When General Douglas MacArthur wanted to take on China with nuclear weapons if necessary, he was fired by president Truman fearing he might escalate the war and bring communist Russia in on the side of China. The war rocked on for years before we were finally able to get North Korea to the peace table. Thousands gave the last full measure of their life to this cause but the reward was great. Now, South Korea is a free nation with a thriving economy while North Korea is a poor retched place with only a strong military and filled with poor, starving citizens.
In the early 1960’s, president John F. Kennedy gave us reason to be proud when he faced down Castro and Kruschev during the Cuban missile crisis. Nuclear armed Russian submarines and missiles ninety miles from Florida were threatening the US. Kennedy stood firm while our navy ships and submarines chased and captured one of the Russian submarines while the other fled back to Russia. Kruschev backed down and withdrew his missiles and the threat was over.
Then came, possibly our histories most unpopular conflict, Vietnam. France had already been there and was soundly defeated, so the USA decided to take up the task. At first, under president Richard Nixon, we were only going in as advisors to the South Vietnam military and supply them with weapons to defend themselves. North Vietnam refused to meet at a peace conference in France so Nixon started severely bombing North Korea, especially Hanoi. The North Koreans came to the peace conference and a treaty was signed. The results of that treaty was a promise that we would keep the South Vietnam military supplied to a level that it could defend itself.
Under president Jerald Ford, democrats became the majority party in both the house and senate and the promise to South Vietnam was disregarded. Without support from the US, North Vietnam began their assault on South Vietnam again.
Under President Lyndon Johnson, US military involvement kept being escalated until there were 536,100 American soldiers involved by 1968. The rules of don’t fire unless fired on seriously hampered our military. For some unknown reason, our political leaders were afraid to win this “conflict” because it might offend our other enemies, namely the USSR and China. If memory serves me correctly, again they were afraid that it might escalate into a nuclear conflict.
There was also a anti-war movement on our college campuses across the nation fueled primarily by media coverage and the high death toll the conflict was creating. The word peaceniks was coined to identify those who were opposed to the war.
Our returning soldiers, who had endured the “don’t fire unless fired upon” rule that clawed their way through mud and jungle and survived, were jeered and spat upon as they disembarked their ships. They were exhausted and demoralized from having lost, and yet they were treated like the “evil bad guys” when they finally made it safely back to the land of the free and the home of the brave. It was a sad thing to see.
The Jane Fonda type “peaceniks” bravely mistreated our returning soldiers with impunity. Only in America could they have gotten away with such atrocious behavior, protected by the same men who were offering their lives for freedom around the world. Only in America are people free to be as obnoxious and belligerent as they please.
Now there are terrorists, both foreign and domestic thinking a bomb placed here or there every now and then to kill a few innocent civilians will make all the difference in the world. What kind of difference do they really want? America is the greatest nation in the world where every citizen has the freedom to speak his peace, practice his religion, and make his life pretty much what he wants it to be without any interference from anyone. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is guaranteed under the Constitution.
America’s war against terrorism is far from over and yet our citizens tire of it. It is beginning to look like another Vietnam. No real ambition to be winners again. Pogo author, Walt Kelly said it best in 1970 when he wrote: “I have seen the enemy and he is us.”
We have no leadership in Washington; congress, the senate, the president, all seem to have their heads in the sand thinking things will eventually get better. Things won’t get better unless we decide to be a world super power again, the defender of freedom, the greatest nation on earth. At the rate we’re going it won’t be long before we’re a third world nation and there will be no one to give us aid as we have done for so many.
This nation was once the bright shining light on a hill that all other nations looked up to. We gave and are still giving aid and support to and our allies and even non deserving countries because of our wealth. Many people migrated here to become part of this greatness and to have liberty and freedom. There are many still coming but not because of liberty and freedom but because of our social welfare system. They see great opportunity in our welfare system where they can live off the wealth of others.
What are we and them going to do when the wealth of others runs out. The nation’s debt now is at $17 trillion and climbing daily due to interest and government out of control spending. How much longer can we continue being a super power in the world when our credit rating has dropped from AAA to AA+.
Most of my adult years I have heard a pleas from a small number of politicians as well as citizens calling for a balanced budget. Yet it never happens. It is really our fault, we the voters. “The enemy is really us.” We the people…yes, we. We are too busy to pay attention and vote as though our very freedom and liberty depend on it and yet it really does. The very people we elect to govern our country are the problem with all that is going on in Washington. Freedom loving Americans had better start paying attention to the really important matters at hand. I hope it is not too late, some people think it is.
The value of the dollar for years has been based on the price of oil. Oil purchases by every country in the world who relied on foreign oil, paid in US currency, the almighty dollar. Behind the world scene at this time, Russia, Iran and China are plotting to do away with the dollar system mostly due to the dollar being devalued by inflation and they see a way to finally defeat America. Breaking the greatest nation in the free world’s economy would certainly bring us to our knees.
In my judgment, there is was conspiracy afoot when Muammar Gaddafi set about returning his country to the gold standard. He was minting gold dinars and doing away with paper money altogether. Other world leaders could not allow that to happen because it would upset the current system of buying oil with paper money. Gaddafi was overthrown and Libya is back on a paper money system.
United States, at one time, was backed by the gold standard. The price of gold was set at $35 an ounce and every dollar could be exchanged for an equivalent amount of gold. The Gold Standard Act, passed in 1900 was An Act To define and fix the standard of value, to maintain the parity of all forms of money issued or coined by the United States. The gold standard was blamed for the 1929 stock market crash because it was not flexible enough to allow the Federal Reserve Bank to print money to support the economy.
Now with a 17 trillion dollar debt the Federal Reserve is printing money faster than ever. Inflation is rampant and the cost of living is bringing down the middle class citizens of this country rapidly. With the Green thing, taxes on coal and fossil fuels are driving up the cost of everything needed for our survival. We the people of this sovereign Republic are in trouble. Our children and grand children and generations on down the timeline will be paying for our disregard for our right to vote. “I have seen the enemy and he is us”. By the way, how much is your Federal Reserve Notes in your pocket worth?
