One day before a historic presidential election. Our country has suffered through very difficult economic times as our national debt has grown exponentially and we borrow from China (with billions in interest due) only to loan that money to despots and terrorist-supporting states who hate us. The worst thing is, that as a country, we are being selfish. The massive debt we are accumulating will create a burden on our children and grandchildren that will reduce their quality of life.
How many people around the country, who have been jobless, have thrown up their hands in defeat? How many baby-boomers, expecting to retire soon, have found that re-entering the job market is impossible because nobody wants to hire anyone over 40? How many millions more are now under-employed, earning a fraction of the wage they did five years ago? This sorry state of affairs has affected consumerism, retirement savings and quality of life. Many have become complacent and regard this as the “new normal.” When factoring in under-employment and those who have left the job market altogether, the real unemployment rate in the U.S. is over 14 percent today. Many have accepted this as the fault of any number of external factors ranging from the crisis in Europe to the outsourcing of American jobs. When employers are afraid to hire because of burdensome and costly over-regulation, they retain capital and don’t hire.
America is Exceptional
America is the country that prevented Hitler from taking control of much of the world, we are the country that has gone to bat against tyrants (without making a land grab in the process) and we are the country that has donated millions to those in need the world over. America was founded by brave people who knew what would make a free and open society that allowed for the representation of the people through a democratic process. The idea was to empower the citizens and the states and not the federal government. Somewhere we have conveniently lost sight of the wisdom of those founders and the historic rise in importance of America as a beacon of freedom. In recent years, we have put people in power who don’t see American as exceptional (despite our history) and they have gone so far as to treat America as subservient and in need of apologizing, even to those who we have unselfishly helped in the past.
This election tomorrow is extra important in light of the changes in our culture, the perception of our nation and our economy. We have to restore America to the rightful place it deserves through the kindness and bravery and selflessness our country has shown through it’s history. America has a chance to be the light upon the hill, an economic success story as socialist economies struggle and a place where all people who want to work can find a great job, or we can have more of the same. Will we add even more people to the food stamp rolls? Will we continue unemployment rates that are twice what economists consider healthy? Will we continue to bow to other countries that have not made the sacrifice that our country has made? Will we second-guess the founders and pick away at the fabric that holds the core of America together?
Are we better off than 4 years ago?
Other elections have been characterized as historic in terms of being the fork in the road that the country chooses, but this election really is historic in that sense. Those countries that chose socialism are falling apart as their governments pass the breaking point in sustaining a nanny state. America has always been a representative republic that embraced capitalism with the promise of success and prosperity for every person. Now, we may choose the path that ignores the condition of those socialist states, and we may decide to continue down the same path. Will informed minds prevail? Are we better off than we were four years ago?
