musings of a lost American

Now, maybe its because I grew up romanticizing everything in the world, making it out to be grander than it is.  Then again, I've been through my own personal hell and back, so it could be a coping mechanism to keep me sane.  Or maybe its because I grew up dreaming, wanting a better America for my own future, and the other futures to come.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we need a new Congress.
 
So, I have become disenchanted with our current America.  Maybe its because I grew up in a small town in Iowa, where I was encouraged to chase my dreams, and that the only person that can stop me is myself.  I grew up believing that if everyone worked hard, we could make a better world.

Some would argue this is just a part of growing up.  Having to deal with an imperfect world.  And I can believe that and rationalize it.  But honestly, I don't want to.  Sure, we are all cogs in a machine, but what if the machine isn't running at optimum strength?  What if that machine was wasting away potential energy?  In the black and white of economics, if the machine operates inefficiently, either fix the problem or build a new machine that runs better.  Now, building a new machine would be difficult because you still have all the same parts.  But fixing the machine really only will be a temporary fix that will require fixing again in the near future.  So what should we do?  Innovate.  All the little cogs in America need a retooling.  We've been fixing the cogs for way too long, and the result is that we have fewer and fewer American products as a result.  Many jobs are overseas.  New jobs are being created, and I witness that locally with a fast growing tech industry in Silicon Valley, but they are for a particular subset of our college educated.  The tech industry is creating more tech jobs, which in turn should generate more industry and manufacturing jobs.  But they don't.  They ship their work overseas.  Now, I know not EVERYONE does this, but there is a large enough portion of not only the tech industry, but the general American corporations that participate in this.

Now I grew up hearing my parents talk about where they were when President Kennedy was shot, and where they were when Neil Armstrong took his first step on the moon.  I grew up on Star Wars, I grew up dreaming of going to space and finding other civilizations.  I dreamed of the world becoming a unified place, not divided factions.  I dreamed about a lot of things.  Now I look around, and all I see are people talking about this next video game or having their face glued to their phone.  I am just as guilty as the other person.  It has resulted in a society that is paralyzed.  In all honesty, I feel silly chastising technology as I will use it to get this message out.  Call me a hypocrite.  But this is about being rational, not fanatical.

I remember an America where one was proud to own a Chevy, or a Ford or GM vehicle.  Now you're considered a hick by some if you prefer to only buy American automobiles.  I remember an America when people were proud to have a factory job.  Now it seems society looks down upon that, encouraging companies to ship the jobs overseas to a cheaper work force, all in the name of saving a buck or two, while most likely still polluting the world further, and in an unsafe work environment.  And most of that saved money is not going back to the workers, its going back to the upper management, who pat themselves on the back for earning more money so they can keep traveling the world.  I remember an America where children played outside all day.  Now they sit inside playing video games, or worse doing all sorts of extra curricular activities so they can go to Harvard.  I grew up on playing outside, and I can still hold a conversation with people, and also apply critical thinking to various topics.

So where is America?  We have an economic crisis.  The new, young workforce that is having what could be one of the hardest starts in the workforce for new college graduates.  Not to mention the every growing pile of college debt either...

I hate to admit it, but Obama hasn't done a great job instilling a sense of America in me.  Sure, he got bin Laden.  That's pretty cool.  Yes, he bailed out the auto industries, which I am thankful for now.  But that's about it.  Everything else is lots of political deadlock.  All I see is a Congress hell bent on making sure a president isn't re-elected.  A Congress NOT LOOKING OUT FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE.  A do nothing Congress that has resulted in some manner the down grade of United States credit.  A Congress that has stood still on every issue possible.  And both parties are guilty.  No I don't have evidence, but I am sure as hell going to start digging.  I watch as politicians are more worried about their selves, not their constituents.  Many politicians have been in their seats for several terms now (I politely look toward the two senior senators in Iowa).  I believe its time we removed incumbents who are not looking towards helping the public.  I say we vote in fresh blood.  Sure, lots of freshmen politicians running around will result in tons of unwanted mistakes, but it could forge a new core group of politicians who have their best interests in America.

Get rid of Beohner and Pelosi and all the other higher ups.  But please keep John McCain.  I like him.  He says what he thinks and doesn't play games that often.  Plus he's an actual veteran, serious kudos for that.

But above all, I want an America to be proud of, and America that will inspire future generations to work towards even happier times, where we can move away from the corruption of this generation in power, and move towards an America we all can participate in again.

Also, thank you for reading all the way through this.  I'm sorry that a meme doesn't provide a concise statement of my thoughts and feelings.