How do we correct an America that is
like a teen-aged girl?
As parents of daughters, especially teen-aged daughters, we
know the challenges that we have faced or, are facing. And if we are parents of boy(s) and girl(s), we know that there are
differences as they both come of age. My
point of reference here is to focus on raising a teen-aged girl. Why?
It would be relative as we discuss America and her continuing
development as a country. At an
approximate age of 237 years old, that should make America a teenager in comparison to
many of our earlier and older civilizations.
Therefore, America
can claim a very young status as a country that is still growing, and is still
in need of nurturing, and guidance. But
who is going to guide America? Who is going to tell America when
she is doing well, and when she is doing wrong?
And is America, like so many of our teenagers in general, so involved,
so obsessed with not being told what to do, that no one can tell her anything? Even her own citizens?
If we are citizens, particularly those of us who vote, we
have to appreciate our roles in America
to a greater degree. If we are cognizant
of the wrongs that our country is doing, and we would like to see America at her
best, then we have to take the same position as we would for our teen-aged
daughter, especially if we love
her. And I would like to believe that we
all do love America,
our country. And if we love her, we have
to be prepared to take measured, corrective steps equivalent to taking America
over our collective knee in order let America know that her attitude is
becoming her downfall. As parents, we sometimes have to take
pro-active steps to correct our children, who sometimes think that they are too
big to be corrected. So it seems with America.
The proverbial phrase that continues to haunt me, even as it
only applied to one point in time of American history is, “Too Big To
Fail!” We should never allow America to
believe that this applies to her. As
parents, we have to sometimes take steps to remind our children, that they are
not too big to be taken out to the woodshed.
We often have to remind our children that their behavior may sometimes
be counter-productive, and that if our children don’t straighten up and fly
right, that they could be headed down a very dangerous path.
And so the same has to be said for our country, our America. That if she (America) doesn’t straighten up
and fly right, that she is putting herself and all that she holds dear in grave
danger not only within her own borders, but also abroad. It is just as important to remind America,
the way that we might remind our children, that everyone is not supportive of who
they are, even if someone smiles in your face.
It is just as important to remind America, the way that we remind our
children, that someone is waiting for them to fail. And as quiet as it may be kept, they may be
aware of our children’s impending doom and will not dare say one word to save them
from themselves. Why wouldn’t someone
save them from themselves? Because of
arrogance; because one presents themselves as too full of oneself, or that our children present themselves as
having an attitude of superiority that is only self-serving, and
condescending. If this behavior would
apply to your daughter, whom we love so dearly, wouldn’t you tell her? Would you not risk the love between the two
of you and warn her that she carries herself precariously close to
self-destruction, and that if she wants to be the very best that she can be,
she needs to change her attitude soon, if not sooner. So it behoove us, as parents, the same way it
behoove us as citizens, to take America over our collective knee and give her a stern disciplinary talking to. Two questions:
- How do
we as citizens discipline our country?
- What
is it that is most critical at this time that we should take America
over our knee and remind her to change her attitude?
Question #2, first
I’ll take the second question first. There are any number of things that may jump
out at us as citizens of this great country.
But for the sake of time, I will only focus on these four things:
- National
Security
- Mental
Health
- Racism
and Discrimination
- Economic
empowerment.
National Security
With respect to National Security, that for an ordinary
citizen like myself, I should not have to worry about our nation’s
security. But here we are, as a lone
individual possesses extremely valuable information, that almost day-by-day,
information is being released, indicating that America has been spying on other
countries. Is that news in itself? No,
it isn’t. Should the spying stop? No, it shouldn’t. But the fact remains that this discovery
poses a tremendous threat to our national security and that if all indications
are correct, America
stands to loose her credibility with the world at large. America stands at a disadvantage
because whether guilty or not, she has been allegedly caught. But why did this happen in the first
place? It happened because of America’s
arrogance and attitude about the power that she possesses.
Edward Snowden
is
supposedly a lone American citizen, working as an independent
contractor for the NSA
. As we understand, it was job to handle
classified information. However, he
subsequently obtained, funneled and/or sought to disclose the classified information
under his control and began to reveal the information that he obtained,
supposedly with the intent of sharing this information illegally, that he
alleges was improper information for
America to have access to, or to be
conducting surveillance activity on American citizens and abroad. The end result is a continuing one.
Edward Snowden is a wanted man and maybe tried for treason,
even in absentia. Others may consider him
a hero. But that is neither here nor
there as to whether Edward Snowden is a hero or a federal criminal, in this
aspect. What is more important is that
there is an Edward Snowden. Are there more Edward Snowden’s? And if so, what is America doing to ensure that there
are no more Edward Snowden’s?
Our National Security, as we all know, does not rely on, nor
is it just limited to the men and women in our various military branches. It is each of us, taking a progressive and
pro-active role in ensuring that
America’s interests are never
compromised for personal gain. The fact
that it has been, when there are supposedly safeguards in place to prevent an
Edward Snowden from acting alone, or in accord with any other rogue figures,
suggests that safeguards were disregarded; that standards were lowered, and
that the well-being of every American citizens was put out for the lowest
bidder. This is the suggestion, and
America, if she is not taking note, that this
seemingly lone agent, in the form of Edward Snowden, should cause
America to
realize that she is not so powerful, that her own internal safeguards can be
compromised from within. And of course,
we can’t forget 9/11
.
America cannot take for granted the
safety of her American citizens, or her allies abroad.
Mental Illness
Texas Republican Congressman and Tea Party favorite, Ted
Cruz
,
lead a 21 hour filibuster to prevent the Affordable Health Care Act (AHCA) from
being implemented. So much so, that his
goal(s) were to have the AHCA defunded, delayed, or repealed, if possible. Congressman Cruz’s efforts failed, but he
fought vigorously to see his goals realized even leading the way for a 15 day
Government shutdown. Some believe that
he had a personal agenda, but not a real plan before having a role in shutting
down the government of the
United
States, and perhaps, putting the nation’s
economy at risk, locally and abroad.
Others may consider him a hero.
Perhaps there is no correlation between Edward Snowden and
Representative Cruz. But they are both
one individual, who in today’s America,
represent a new kind of perceived hero.
Both of these men represent two extremes in American history. Together, they represent how easy it is to
gain the attention and perhaps, the control of this country. Whether one is trying to tackle an issue on
the floor of the House of Representatives, or the other is trying to gain the
attention of the world by revealing classified national secrets, there is
evidence, however slight, that we, as American citizens don’t take our
leadership seriously. The issue of
Mental Health is important here because as much as Representative Cruz leads
the issue on repealing or delaying healthcare across the board, an issue that
hardly gets the needed attention is the mental well-being of America’s
citizens. It can be readily presumed that if
Representative stands so firmly in the way of American citizens having an
opportunity at general health care, that he perhaps stands just as steadfast in
preventing need healthcare for those who suffer from mental illness.
It is unfortunate that I have to do this, but I have to
state that I am not a psychiatrist and therefore cannot speak on mental health
in terms of treatment, or what is actually mental illness from a medical
standpoint. The upside, if I may so, is
that my adopted mother suffered from mental illness, therefore, I have a personal
point of reference, and if the perception of mental illness today was present
when I was adopted, then I wouldn’t have been adopted by a family member. This is not to say that the stigma of mental
illness didn’t exist, but the facilities were more plentiful, and willing to
provide care for those in need.
Today, mental health facilities are being closed. And as I referenced Representative Ted Cruz
and his leadership earlier, I am convinced that mental illness will be one of
the fallouts of programs that the Affordable Healthcare program is designed to
help if the good representative ever gets his way. It is my contention that Representative Cruz
will continue to work to ensure that those who need help of every kind, will
target mental illness because the state budgets have already begun the initial
cuts to programs that help those in need of mental health care.
If mental illness continues to be the target of budget cuts
across this nation, and eventually be denied because the Affordable Healthcare
Act is eventually repealed, we will have seen nothing compared to the many mass
shootings and killings that are going on throughout our nation. As a country, we can’t begin, or continue to
take for granted those whose lives depend on mental health, while placing an
undue burden on police officers whose apparent response to mental health
patients acting out is to arrest if possible, or to shoot them as a last
alternative-case solved.
America
has to do better. She cannot continue to reach out to the world with millions
of dollars to help other nations to rebuild their various communities while
disregarding her own citizens’ mental well-being.
Racism and Discrimination
Many may contend that
America is now post-racial. It is a cutsy term, but it is a fallacy even
as
America
has her first Person of Color as Commander in Chief. It is my contention that despite being
elected for 2 terms, that
America
is on a non-stop mission to ensure that not one more Person of Color ever sets
foot, or sits in the Oval Office who is not a white male. This perceived attitude by
America opens the door to whether
America is
going to open her mind to allowing any other sex into the Office of President,
i.e. a woman. But I have already addressed
the idea of a woman for president in an earlier blog post:
Formula
for Selecting A Female Presidential Candidate © 2012 by Wayne D. Lewis, Sr. Today, it is about racism and America’s
refusal to acknowledge that she is as racist today as she was 200 years
ago. It is about the racism that
America
believes is under control despite her highest incarceration rate includes
predominantly African America males. It
is about
America’s
quickness to keep People of Color out of employment with limited, if any DBE
contracts, and condemning those same people who are by and large are denied
working opportunities. It is about
racism and discrimination in
America
because she acts with total abandonment in throwing drugs and guns in
economically-created depressed areas and building jails for the impending
aftermath.
America’s is repeating her role, as she did with Native Americans,
of ensuring that anyone who is non-white, or a non-white male is no longer a
threat to the future white domination.
If this is not true, then let anyone deny it. But there is a reason why it should be
true. It is true because this is a
country built on a dream. And that dream
did not include having anyone whose ancestry was anywhere other than Great Britain, Spain,
France, or even Germany. All others, step off.
This perception that I have of America,
is that the White Elephant in the room (racism and discrimination) needs to be
addressed, if America
is going to move forward. It is not
personal, it is reality. If this is a
misperception held by someone as simple as me, I can only imagine greater minds
who are reading the writing on the wall, that this America cannot continue
moving forward as long as the perception is that White America believes that in
the 237 years of this country’s existence, that everything will remain as it
has always has been, and that everyone is going to roll over and play
dead. America can be better than the
racist and discriminatory behavior that it continues exhibit towards black and
brown people. America can’t
continue to move forward as long as she discriminates against those who are of
different religions other than Christian.
America
can’t continue to move forward as long as she discriminates against those with
mixed sexual orientation. American can’t
move forward along as she continues to discriminate against those whose party
affiliations is other than Democrat or Republican. This is not the America
that the founding fathers envisioned when they left Great Britain, according to the
Constitution that is the guiding force for this country. Correct me, if I am wrong. But don’t bother to correct me if being wrong,
being racist, or being discriminatory is the best that America would
rather be.
This maybe this country’s teenage years, but it is time for
it to mature and allow everyone, regardless of race, regardless of religion,
regardless of nationality, creed or color, who are in effect, America citizens,
to be the best that they can be.
Economic Empowerment
This is a great country.
Everything that a country can be, America has the potential to
achieve. Potential is the key word here.
It is amazing that there are so many systems in place in this country
for people to save, invest, or to perhaps just spend day in and day out, and
still not need to fall behind on their bills.
This country is built on the premise that if jobs are created, people
can work. This country is built on the
premise that there is no need for anyone not to be able to lift a bale of hay;
pick up trash along the side of the road, or to work on a scaffold 30 to 100 floors
above the ground.
The United
States of America holds the promise, that
for each and every person who wants to, they can feed every set of mouths in
their household. It holds the promise
that whatever we want to be, we can be that because each and everyone, from the
President of the United
States down to the City Representative/Councilmember
will be doing everything possible and necessary to help us achieve our Global
Dream. Note, our Global Dream. We can no longer have an American Dream, we
must dream globally. But know that America is our
base of operation. Know that as we
strive to achieve that which we seek to accomplish, America is going to put everything
in place for us to be scientists, educators, doctors, engineers, fast food
workers, entrepreneurs, mechanics, or linemen.
America
has failed when it puts systems in place that allows those who can work to
collect checks and not work for all they are worth. America has failed when those who
can work can sit on their behinds and live at the expense of those who do work. America will continue to fail
however, if she seeks to cut off those whom she has enslaved to welfare, but
fails to provide training to prepare those recipients for a transition to
financial independence. But America can
redeem herself, if she wants to. She can
open doors to educational institutions, if she wants to.
America
can, if she wants to, open doors to training institutions that prepare those
who desire to be medical technologists, phlebotomists’, nurses and x-ray
techs. American can, if she wants to,
open the doors to training institutions that train auto mechanics, carpenters,
electricians, HVAC technicians, welders, or aerospace engineers, for whomever
has the aptitude and the attitude to achieve their Global Dreams, in addition
to the American Dream.
Her mission, should she decide to accept it, is for America to open
the doors of prosperity to every American citizen. Her mission, should she decide to accept it,
is for America to cease and desist in making any American feel like they are
worth so much less than they are. Her
mission, should she decide to accept it, is for America to focus on the
prosperity that is the basis for every person’s dream who crosses the Atlantic Ocean; who crosses the Caribbean
Sea; who crosses the Mexican Border; who crosses the Pacific Ocean; or who crosses
the Canadian Border, and do legally in every case. America
is capable of accepting that mission and then some, if she wants to, but first,
America
has to loose the attitude. America has to
loose the arrogance.
Question #1, secondly
In discussing any problems, it is not enough to say what the
problem is. There must be
solutions. Anyone can complain. So our first question was: How do we as
citizens discipline our country?
Theoretically, any solution should be given every
consideration in that the solution itself does not lead to another problem, or
a greater problem than what is currently on the table. Additionally, the comparison between a
teenaged girl, may serve well as an analogy, but America, despite her youth,
comparatively, and as often referred to as “she” possesses few qualities of a
human. But that doesn’t stop her from
being humane and/or compassionate.
Despite not being a human in any form, it does not stop America from
reaching out to her citizens for the guidance that she needs to be a greater
nation. So how does we correct our
country?
I think that first and foremost, it is important that America opens
herself to being corrected. But, it is
also important that we offer constructive, corrective action that America is
able to digest, and see not only the errors of her ways, but also buys into
what is best for her citizens within her shores, and for her allies
abroad. The corrective action can best
be measured in the way that we change our attitudes towards voting. Essentially, we should all vote. For America’s part, do not work to
suppress or deny any one citizen’s right to vote.
Additionally, as citizens, we must change our attitudes
about voting that we don’t continue to vote the same way, for the same people,
for the same dynasties that work to build an America built on divisiveness and
poverty-based programs. Look for and
demand of our leaders that business as usual is no longer the order of the
day. While we can’t speak face to face
with America, our voting speaks volumes when we show up at the voting booths,
ready to vote for new leadership, that is ready to fulfill America’s original
promise of prosperity for all who are willing to earn and work for it.
In Conclusion
Many a teen-aged girl is perhaps wondering about who she is
going to the prom. Perhaps, she is
worried about the pimples coming on her face at the worst possible time, just
when she is about to meet someone very special. To be truthful, a pretty teen girl rarely has
little to worry about with whom she is going to go the prom. It is practically a foregone conclusion that
she is either going with the Captain of the football team, or the most popular
guy in school. For the very attractive,
yet tomboyish girl, she will most likely wear under that pretty, frilly gown that
makes her look like a daddy’s little girl, a pair of tattered blue jeans, a
tank-top or t-shirt, and have at the ready, a pair of high ankle sneakers for
after an event that she is only using as a means to an end for the night of her
life. Well, America is no different.
America
is still young, growing, and beautiful.
She possess so much to give to not only her citizens, but to the world
at large. But with the gifts that she
possess, America cannot be allowed to be self-serving to the point that only a
select few can benefit from her natural and economic gifts. America cannot afford to grow in a destructive
manner where she disregards her safety by ignoring the standards that she put
in place to keep her borders safe from outside attacks, whether by air, land,
sea, and now technologically. America must be
reminded that her gifts can be retained, if not doubled when she looks after
those who cannot look out for themselves, such as our citizens who suffer from
Mental Illness. Our approach to voting,
can change that.
It is up to us as citizens, to remind America as a
whole, that her continued obsession with Racism and Discrimination is on full
display, and that the world is watching.
That if America
continues to exercise the high level of racism and discrimination through
incarceration, employment and voter suppression, that she can no longer hold
herself out as a epitome or beacon for human rights. The world is watching, and the world will no
longer honor America
as the leader that she claims herself to be.
Our approach to voting, can change that.
Last, but not least, Economic Prosperity. It is what we all desire. It is what we all deserve. The fact that America’s homelessness exists at so
high a rate is ludicrous. It is ridiculous. We are better than this! America is better than this! We could reduce our homeless population
tomorrow, if we brought back the jobs from China,
India,
or any other population that superimposes “American Made” on imported
goods. We could shorten employment lines
for which businesses say that there is no one who is willing to work. America is better than the
unemployment rate of 7.2%. We can change
that tomorrow if training facilities opened on the borders of bankrupt or
nearly bankrupt cities and towns. We can
change all of this, with out approach to voting.
Correcting a country is a tremendous risk, especially when
that country is ours. Especially, when
that country is the United
States of America. But if we love our country, we will risk correcting
and pointing out areas where she needs to improve. If we love America,
and we want to see her prosper, the same way that we would want your teenaged
daughter to succeed in her life, we will lovingly, and thoughtfully, take America over
our collective knee. We will send her a message
at the ballot box, that among the things we would like to see improvement on
is:
v
not closing our country down like it’s a corner
grocery store and putting our national security at risk;
v
treating our mentally ill with compassion and
providing them needed help;
v
putting aside racist and discriminatory behavior
and,
v
making sure our country is the best that it can possibly
be by ensuring prosperity for all.
We can change all of this, with our approach to voting. That is how I propose we correct our country,
this teenager who has the greatest potential to be the best country in the
world.
