Why us and not them?

It seems easy here in the United States to sit back and enjoy our Cable TV, cell phones, and ipods gleefully going along each day taking for granted the rights afforded to us by this country’s rule of law. Some may argue that the opportunities afforded citizens of the US has its’ many bias’s and not everyone overcomes the obstacles in front of them but as a famous radio talk show host says “Pick a Better Country”.

It is the rule of law or fear of it that makes this country and many other democratic societies, though there is doubt whether or not large portions of the population understand the difference between a representative republic and a democracy but that’s for another time, generally flourish as a society figures out what they can and cannot get away with as they trod thru life’s obstacles and the laws that guide us.

As open societies enjoy these basic freedoms, one has to wonder why we are here and they are there? The gift of our unique position, where we are born into a place where freedom from dictators, secret police and religious intolerance are taken for granted, has to be a call for us to help those less fortunate. Why is it that many of us do not feel that a free society has an obligation to intervene in countries controlled by such governments? Would we accept or tolerate it here? Most assuredly not but for some reason we feel it is alright for others to live under situations that by no choice of theirs they were born into. A nation’s sovereignty should not mean we stand by and watch as terrible things happen to good people. Is it the fear of losing what we have or exposing us for the hypocrites we are? As the voices within our society call to just let them be, the cries of the innocent and uneducated continue for they know of no other way having been born into the chaos they find to be their life. This is not to say that our way is the best but it is a way where at birth the slate is clean and the future bright.

Our ongoing interest in muslin societies and their need for enlightenment isn’t any different than the other emerging societies as they struggle with the issues of capitalism, freedom and poverty. The question seems to come down to why did we as a nation choose to interfere or act upon the goings on in one particular nation or another? In the particular case regarding the Islamic societies it might be about the oil (read my previous post here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1593017/posts). In others such South America it might be national security or the flow of drugs, yet in those countries that have very little economic impact on our lives we do very little except send money, which has been found to make matters worse.

It is the global impact on how we live our consumerist lives that drives a government to get involved in situations that everyone doesn’t always agree. What we should recognize is that our skewed perspective on issues, based how we live our lives in this country, is what causes us take a lot for granted. How would all this change if we were there and they were here? Would we be seeking outside help in getting rid of the system that keeps us held down or captive? Would we want outside help in solving the problem? With that said should we just stand by and do nothing? What will be your contribution to society be? It is difficult being here with all our comforts wondering how I would understand the world as I looked thru a different lens.

I remember, as a school child in the Boston public school system, many, many, many years ago .. being taught the concept of Noblesse Oblige in the attempted indoctrination of my mind that Boston politicians (I don't remember the Kennedy's being around then, but I'm sure they were) .. had an obligation to serve the public because they were the elite and privileged.

I never forgot the lesson .. and admittedly, over the years, I've re-analyzed what it might mean.

We in America .. even the poorest of us .. are privileged beyond what we can fathom, in comparison to the rest of the world, and I believe it is our duty, our obligation to at least attempt to bring individual liberty and freedom, with private property ownership and the right to keep and bear arms to a world that is largely oppressed and enslaved,

Everything we have and do in this country is built on the shoulders of people who have lived before us here.

Real patriotism is not waving a flag and saying "America is Great", it is the understanding, gratitude and recognition of the fact that the tenacity, preserverance, sagacity, passion and hard work of our founders (and everyone who has lived in this country since then) contributes directly to our standing today, and that it is not something to be taken for granted.

Liberals do not recognize that anyone else contributed to where they are today. Dead white people had nothing to do with it. Their country had nothing to do with it. And God most certainly had nothing to do with it.

THAT is why Liberals are not Patriots or patriotic.

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