Changing America
Kevin Bryant
(Note: I know this is really long winded, but those under 30 that read this website were never taught any of this in school.)
When the American colonist got together to form the Declaration of Independence and prepare for war with Britain, they chose a humble man, a courageous man, one of moral and honorable character, one possessing passion and compassion, one who could lead and inspire men and one who both knew the strategies of war and despised war to lead the Continental Army into battle against the world’s most powerful nation. George Washington accepted the appointment not for glory or out of vanity. He accepted it with honor and humility.
When Washington became America’s first President, again he accepted the responsibility that came with the position with grace and dignity. He was humbled by the position and was driven to be a faithful servant to those of the new nation he represented. He was a man deep of faith and moral conviction. He was also smart enough to know that those the position called for only one man to be the President of the United States, it was imperative that he surround himself with men of equal moral character and wanting like him to be humble servants to those they represent. He knew he did not know everything so he surrounded himself with experts in various fields who like him, wanted nothing more than to serve and do their best for a new nation.
Some of those he surrounded himself with were John Adams, an honorable man whom knew the law and held strong to the lawful rights of man and spent his life pursuing equal justice for all. Thomas Jefferson, a man who was an expert on the ideology of freedom and liberty and the importance of guaranteeing those freedoms to the populous. Alexander Hamilton, a brilliant man who knew business and finance and would be a key person to rely on in these areas. Benjamin Franklin, a statesman of worldly recognition and reputation who knew the world stage and had foresight as to what America’s role in the world should be and how to make other nations see America as a legitimate and recognized independent country.
These are just some of the key players that molded America into the envy of the world. They created a country like no other. It was unheard of that the power of a nation be in the hands of its citizens and not with a single person of an elite group of people. For a short time after the Revolutionary War, America was the butt of jokes for no nation could stand for long with people holding power over themselves. It did not take long for Europe to recognize that this new country with its radical ideas and concepts was for real and their own country began to marvel at the freedoms and the opportunities this new world had to offer.
During the next 140 years, America grew by leaps and bounds. Boat loads and boat loads came to her shores full of people seeking freedoms and riches. America grew both agriculturally and industrially. All the while, her strength and resolve would be challenged by the great European powers of Britain again as well as France and Spain. Each were dealt fatal blows and ultimately defeated by this new world nation. America even survived its own internal Civil War.
In the 1910’s and 20’s, the seeds of liberalism and progressiveness took root in America. Rejected by the citizens of this nation, progressive agendas were soundly defeated and liberty and freedoms remained. During World War Two, under the guise of necessity of war and protection from another great depression, liberal policies were finally enacted and the federal government enacted the progressive ideas of entitlements and initiated new forms of taxes to pay for those entitlements as the central government had finally wrestled enough power away from the states to actually make themselves more powerful but not yet masters over the individual states because they were unable to circumvent the Constitution of the United States enough to do so.
Every decade after WWII, the federal government managed to chip away slowly but surely at the powers of individual states and gathered those powers into a central collective. It used every opportunity to do so under the pretense of wars, medical advances, liberal interpretations of the Constitution and every crisis real or fiction. The federal government used every tactic known to advance the centralization of power and stripping liberties from its citizenry. Mostly though, the central government lied to and hid the truth from the people they were elected to represent as to their true purpose of actions.
By the late 1970’s, America was nothing more than a glossed over shell of the country our forefathers fought for, bled for and died for. True conservatives recognized this in the middle to late 60’s, though it was too late to stop it from happening. Our country was divided by the ideas of both faith and family & laws and liberties. Though is may have been called The Age of Aquarius”, its true name should have been The Dawning of Socialism, for those seeds that were planted some 50 years earlier had finally took solid root and began to blossom.
A man named Ronald Wilson Reagan, a former Democrat and Governor of California saw what was happening. He too was a man of honor and conviction. Not allowing himself to abandon his own principals for the sake of a political party, he left the Democratic Party because they had abandoned the principals with which they stood for by for decades to embrace this new era of the coming of age of socialism. Those Democrats new to the party saw a large block of non voters and moved their agendas farther left to encompass those that were referred to as beatniks and hippies from the 60’s and 70’s. Some moderate Democrats stayed the old party line while others became independents. Republicans too shifted. Those that were conservatives either stayed the party line or became independents also while those of a more moderate nature moved left to embrace the moderate Democrats that had abandoned their own party.
President Ronald Reagan did the impossible. He was able to bring moderate Democrats and Republicans as well as independents and conservatives together and by working together, was able to move the powers and influence and intrusiveness of the federal government back to levels that had not been seen in over 20 years. He overcame a recession and restored the reputation of the nation throughout the world that had been tarnished by the last 4 administrations (Johnson, Nixon, Ford and Carter). He had put America back on a path of growth and economic stability. He reduced the size and power of the federal government, energized the free market through government deregulation and restored a neglected and unappreciated military back into a proud, well trained and equipped superpower.
Things remained this way until 1991 and then progress of reclaiming the powers of America by its citizens stopped. Through the last 1.5 years of the George H.W. Bush administration, through Bill Clinton’s time in office and during the 8 years of the George W. Bush administration, the individual states as well as the citizens of this country had once again surrendered its liberties and the powers it had regained and gave them back to the federal government.
From the early 1900’s through 2008, there has never been an all out assault on our freedoms, our powers, our state’s powers or our own Constitution.
George Washington, our first President was a man of honor. He was a humble servant who sat in awe of this nation and the people. Our current President, Barack Obama is a man of vanity. One who sees himself as being above the people. He believes his role as President requires him not to serve the people but to look down on them and manage their lives for them as he sees the populous as helpless and unable to think clearly as to what is best for them. He doesn’t surround himself as Washington did with well known, intelligent and highly respected leaders of the nation as his counsel. Washington believed that the Constitution was the guiding principal for this nation to follow. Obama has repeated stated over his career that the Constitution inhibits government from its job in the areas of social justice and the redistribution of wealth. Washington and his administration gave our nation legitimacy on the world stage. Obama and his administration have made us look weak, indecisive and we are laughed at on the world stage. Washington’s administration shaped our economy which helped America become a leading economic power in the world. The Obama administration has reduced us to begging China for financial help.
From the 1770’s to the 1920’s, America went from being nothing and having nothing to the envy of the world. The 1920’s through 2008 saw America predominately abandon the very principals it was founded on and reduce itself in stature but still stand tall and proud. This past year, we have seen a nation more divided than during the civil war or the civil rights movement. America is changing and it is not for the better. If we are to survive as a nation, we must once again adhere to the principals set forth in the constitution. The government must trust the people to do what is best for ourselves as individuals and families. We must follow the law of separation of church and state but not adopt the concept of separation of church from state and allow the principals we are taught in churches to guide us in government. The people must wrestle power from government and make government fear the people once more. We must put America before party and ideology. Otherwise, we will become the next Mexico.
