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Saturday, October 8, 2011

The Elephant in the Room

File:Lt. John F. Kennedy aboard the PT-109.jpgJohn F. Kennedy on his PT boat
"For no government is better than the men who compose it, and I want the best, and we need the best, and we deserve the best." (Senator John F. Kennedy, speech at Wittenberg College, Oct. 17, 1960)
"Elephant": Everybody knows about it but nobody wants to touch the topic. In this case, the "elephant" is the constant erosion of a wonderful and unique experiment: the United States of America. Politicians often cite the Founding Fathers in their speeches and interviews as if they alone knew what these illustrious and daring men would do nowadays to stop the clear decline of what represented then an audacious social experiment. Imagine that! "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.."

These unalienable rights, i.e. that cannot be changed, eliminated, or diminished, have in fact been seriously affected by recent legislation under the guise of "protecting us." What we need is protection from the present batch of politicians in Washington who are only interested in their reelection chances. John Kennedy would be aghast at the spectacle offered almost daily by both houses. He would also be pained by the current President who has tried indeed, but who has not presented a clear vision of what the role of the mighty United States should be in the 2lst century.

"Today, three main threats exist to America’s dominant position in the global economy: loss of economic clout thanks to a shrinking share of world trade, the decline of American technological innovation, and the end of the dollar's privileged status as the global reserve currency." (Alfred W. McCoy

















1 comment:

Elena said...

Amen to this article and kudos to the author! Have we all forgotten how teamwork equals success? How about joining hands across this great nation and refusing to be second best and in turn demanding more of those in the position of power? How about instilling in the minds of our children the importance of math, science and innotiative creative ideas. Did we forget along the way to Lead by Example?