The Elephant in the Room

John 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 December 6, 2010) See above link  to The Nation.

I agree with all three domains; we are losing our position as an economic powerhouse for perfectly understandable reasons. Modern technology has created a world-wide trade area in which we have to compete with rising economic centers in the East and in Europe. Patents are being created outside the U.S. at a rhythm never seen before, due mainly to a ridiculous logjam in our patent office (right Congress?). Even if we showed a tremendous productivity per worker, and we do, we will no longer be the main economic power within 10 years. Oh, we still have our geniuses (minus one with the death of Jobs) who occasionally come up with brilliant ideas. But how long will we be able to sustain our lead in technological innovation?

The dollar, notwithstanding what Mr. McCoy states, is still the currency of choice for China, India, and the rest of the developing world. It is, however, on the decline due mainly to our humongous national debt, a crime committed by all the presidents and Congresses after Bill Clinton. But the signs are clear: within 10 years we will be a second rate power with a weak currency and a weakened economy, unless..


Unless our federal government starts acting with common sense; the people want and demand fair treatment for all, the lowly employee and the mighty CEO alike. No more favored tax treatment for the big corporations, the billionaires, and the rich in general. No more immunity for the criminals who caused the Wall Street fracas with their phony values, hurting millions of IRA's in the process. No more backroom deals by industry barons (robber barons??) who cause massive lay-offs to favor the bottom line. No more union leaders who make secret deals with industry captains on the back of their workers. No more foreign wars and foreign nation building while thousands of government officials in those countries line their pockets with our tax dollars. No more discretionary powers to our federal police who can arrest whomever they want without DUE PROCESS, under the umbrella of counter-terrorism.

Let us regroup, let us lick our wounds, and let us work together as one nation to become, again, the safe haven for millions of oppressed people. Our enormous backlog in processing green card requests from legitimate foreigners is discouraging valuable human assets from coming here.

Our government is broken.. let's fix it