Posted on 07/20/2008 7:59:24 PM PDT by Gordon Greene
“We have sort of become a nation of whiners. You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline," Phil Gramm told the Washington Times in an interview last week. "You've heard of mental depression; this is a mental recession."
And then he walked away from the microphone.
You know what else could be said? We also have a bunch of leaders who thrive on image and political correctness to guide their words and decision making.
Since when is it not alright to say what you think or tell the truth? Since now!
What was wrong with what Phil Gramm said? Nothing! He was dead on.
We do have a nation of whiners with the occasional conservative exception, and if we don’t start raising children who can make their own way, this nation is doomed to fail. If we keep on waiting for the public schools to stuff the right thing into the minds of our kids we don’t stand a chance.
We might as well line up Jefferson, Washington, Franklin, Addams and all the rest of the men who sowed the seeds out of which this great country grew and start offering our apologies for letting their Grand Experiment fail. Why? Because we hold the power of change in our hands and refuse to exercise it.
We’ve gone this far down in just a couple of generations and it will take a couple more to come back around. But we have at least three things on our side: Our voices, our votes and our children. Yet, more often than not, we leave all three to the government. Bad choice! Government is not and never will be a good custodian of our children or our freedom. Our liberties were fought and won by the zeal of individuals and will be lost by the complacent.
When it's all said and done, our lives are our responsibility.
It's hard to imagine the settlers of this country complaining about the government not providing their horses with hay or horse-shoes. They didn't believe it was the government's responsibility to provide for their retirement or give them health-care or to educate their children... it was up to them whether they even lived or died, for cryin' out loud!
In our tiny worlds, we have to curb our spending a bit or miss a vacation or have to pass on a double latte and our lives fall apart.
Phil Gramm was exactly right that this nation is filled with a bunch of whiners.
We have moved far away from the rugged individualism that made this country great and I'm not sure we left enough clues on the trail to find our way back.
It’s definitely time we start taking responsibility for ourselves and our children…
And for our country.
Or learn to speak a new language. You decide.
We will not find our way back by continuing to accept poor or no performance from our elected officials, nor should we continue to support candidates solely because they are the lesser of two evils. We will only get more by demanding more.
“You just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline,” Phil Gramm told the Washington Times in an interview last week.”
Loss of competitiveness? America in decline? Those phrases sound pretty egg headed, and are not the phrases very many Americans would use to do their whining, if that is how one wants to term current complaining. But the remarks were ill advised because Americans have several very legitimate reasons to complain recently. Is it okay complain about $4.00+ gasoline? What about the mortgage loan scandal and enormous losses the tax payers will have to make good? Who’s responsible, the average citizen? What about more auto company closings?
Americans do whine at times, but this just wasn’t the time to say it because there are justifiable reasons to complain, and government screw ups are responsible for the energy crisis and the mortgage industry crisis.l
Bad timing by Gramm, and poor examples.
I agree. Your comment is dead on another post I did a couple of weeks ago...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2045281/posts
My life and my families lives depend on my understanding I am responsible and not the government. Glad to know there are some folks fighting the same fight!
If you take him at his word in his explanation, he was talking about our leaders, not Americans in general.
Either way, I can’t put my faith in the government to solve my problems. They are the ones who created most of the problems our country, as a whole faces. We are the ones with the power to change it. No amount of complaining will fix it... Remember: we put them in there.
Now we just need to work to throw the bums out.
You can’t ge much more simplistic than that.
I thought the wisdom of Gene Autry in the Cowboy Code was appropriate here:
1. The Cowboy must never shoot first, hit a smaller man, or take unfair advantage.
2. He must never go back on his word, or a trust confided in him.
3. He must always tell the truth.
4. He must be gentle with children, the elderly, and animals.
5. He must not advocate or possess racially or religiously intolerant ideas.
6. He must help people in distress.
7. He must be a good worker.
8. He must keep himself clean in thought, speech, action, and personal habits.
9. He must respect women, parents, and his nation’s laws.
10. The Cowboy is a patriot.
Interesting short essay; I have some briefer observations:
1. From the sentiments of the founders, I'm sure they were not interested in America once again succombing to the intersts of foreign traders as we are currently suffering. (And really suffering of.)
2. I don't think they had in mind becoming overwhelmingly indebted (and losing our control, i.e., "the power to change.") due to "medical industry" profiteers taking advantage of illness or accident to furnish their stockholders' exhorbitant lifestyles. Or, through insurance, so profiteering from even the threat of harm, effectively asking the typical racketeer's question, "Well, what is your life worth to you?"
3. We were not founded upon the philosophy of "rugged individualism," but upon a recognition that we each were ruggedly responsible to God and thereby to our neighbor. Lose track of that and "conservatives" lose much, much more than their elections. For just one example, individuals who contribute to the rugged deaths of 1,2000,000 other, innocent individuals per year are somewhat divergent from constituting a nation holding to America's Creator endowed rights.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights, dear brother in Christ!
I must say that I accepted "rugged individualism" for a time until I understood how we are supposed to pursue happiness..
Quote:
The Founders' definition of "happiness" came from Sir William Blackstone's 1765 biblically based definition: "[God] has so intimately connected, so inseparably interwoven the laws of eternal justice with the happiness of each individual, that the latter cannot be attained but by observing the former; and, if the former be punctually obeyed, it can not but induce the latter."
- Rob Regier
Indeed (1) the founders knew america threatening to become a DEMOCRACY was a vicious THREAT to freedom.. (2) and that the accountants would evenually fall to parasitism and invent... “insurance”.. and that (3) sexual sin would make murdering people(babies) seem “logical”...
I agree with most everything you say...
1. The founders were definitely not interested in getting tied up with other countries. The fact we are beholden to countries like Saudi Arabia and China are, without doubt one of the biggest dangers our Democracy faces.
2. Health care is great, but it is not a right. The only answer to the problems that you suggest here is that the government take over and regulate the health care industry even more. Hasn’t worked so far. I believe if the government walked away from Healthcare and education tomorrow, the free market would correct it in a decade or two... that is, unless it was opened to the global market like everything else.
3. I absolutely concede this point to you... I know this and put it in writing often. If you leave God out of the equation the rest means nothing. If nothing else, I should be utterly ashamed for not stating that. And only the Godless are alright with killing children or the defenseless.
Thank you for your points and for making me think.
“2. I don’t think they had in mind becoming overwhelmingly indebted (and losing our control, i.e., “the power to change.”) due to “medical industry” profiteers taking advantage of illness or accident to furnish their stockholders’ exhorbitant lifestyles. Or, through insurance, so profiteering from even the threat of harm, effectively asking the typical racketeer’s question, “Well, what is your life worth to you?”
3. We were not founded upon the philosophy of “rugged individualism,” but upon a recognition that we each were ruggedly responsible to God and thereby to our neighbor. Lose track of that and “conservatives” lose much, much more than their elections. For just one example, individuals who contribute to the rugged deaths of 1,2000,000 other, innocent individuals per year are somewhat divergent from constituting a nation holding to America’s Creator endowed rights. “
Got any solutions? Or just complaints?
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