“Americans are not a perfect people, but we are called to a perfect mission.”

“No dream is too big. No challenge is too great. Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach.”

“American ideals do not require to be changed so much as they require to be understood and applied.”

Another year has passed and we once again celebrated the acknowledged birth date of this Nation.  There are many different dates and occurrences that could be considered but the Fourth of July was chosen, so be it.  Every year that passes we are that much closer to the end.  America is exceptional but I do not believe that it is so exceptional that it can escape what history has taught us – all nations pass away.  Some last for many centuries while some only decades but they all pass.  America will pass away also.  Some would argue that it’s greatness has already passed and we are now in the downward slope and I count myself among this group.  This does not mean that all has gone bad and there is no hope for us.  America and Americans still do more good in this world than the rest of the world combined.  We are still envied by the rest of the world for what we have achieved and the possibilities that will become probabilities that will become realities.  People from other Nations still come here to live because of opportunity to live free and prosper.  This has and will always be the strength of America.

So, how and why do I believe that America is on that downward slope gathering momentum as we head to the bottom?  I see that within our strength are the seeds of our demise.   America is a Nation comprised of immigrants and within each immigrant group there is a culture that they bring and with it a certain pride.  That pride is a good thing too because it shows a character that is strong but what has changed is the attitude.  It is an attitude that is held by immigrants that are newly arrived and descendants of immigrants that have been here since it’s inception.  That their culture supersedes the American culture. The American culture has been eroding at a quickening pace.  Some profess that there is no such thing as an “American Culture” – that our culture is not one but many etc.  These people are fools who do not believe that tripe but use it to mislead the soft minded, too lazy to think members of our society (they use to be called hippies).   At the base of the American culture is the rule of law.  Everywhere you look in our society the rule of law is disappearing.  Do not confuse the number of laws passed by every legislator who believes that they will “fix” a problem or correct an injustice.  Part of the cause of the erosion of the rule of law is the sheer number of laws that Americans are inflicted with by their government.  American rule of law is based on a moral and ethical code of conduct that is based on the Ten Commandments.  Whether you like it or not does not matter.  We are a Nation founded on Judeo-Christian morality and ethics.  At the core of the rule of law is respect.  Respect for yourself and respect of others.  As a Nation we have been going through a transformation away from the Judeo-Christian beliefs and separating ourselves from the source of our strength.  And the results are coming in and they are not pretty.

Look at any large metropolitan area and the people who are unfortunate enough to live within their borders.  The seeds of third world nation status have taken root there.  That is not a slam on immigrants either as most of the inhabitants are homegrown.  The violence, the poverty and the general lack of care towards others are the hallmarks and legacy of liberalism as practiced currently and it is spreading.  We can look anywhere and the erosion of American values is plainly recognized.  We see it every weekend in Chicago with body counts in the double digits.  In the suburbs of Philadelphia where road rage over merging results in a young person shot and killed.  We saw it in rural South Carolina where an armed attack on a church group resulted in several deaths.  The violence towards others stem from the lack of respect.  It isn’t guns, knives or automobiles. It is lack of respect.  Our liberal society does not respect individuals; their property rights, their freedom of association, their freedom of speech and the list goes on and on.   We have become a people divided up into groups and are used against one another for the political agendas by either political party.

Our Founding Fathers were not anarchist.  The rebellion by America was a rebellion against England, a nation that did not respect the rights of it’s citizens and the result was the start of the slow but steady decline of a European empire.  Our Nation was blessed to have true liberals as leaders.  They devised a form of government within a set of guidelines that has yet been rivaled.  Those guidelines; the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are to protect the people from the government.  They knew what governments are capable of and wished for Americans to be free from governmental tyranny.  Every now and then a President comes along in the attempt to bring government back under control.  Andrew Jackson was the first;  Calvin Coolidge was second and now we have Donald Trump.

Coolidge became President after the death of Warren Harding whose administration was one of the most corrupt known in Washington.  Coolidge cleaned it up and led by example.  He believed in minimal government and in the American people.  America was entering a depression stemming from World War I and the resulting economic turmoil it caused.  His leadership and policies led the country out of the depression and into a period of economic prosperity that was unrivaled in our history.  His approach was quiet and mannerly unlike the other two and perhaps that is why he was treated with more deference by the Washington elites and establishment.  Jackson was detested by the Washington establishment and was derided in the press in a very nasty campaign to oust him.  It was unfortunate for the Washington establishment that the people loved him.  His in your face attitude and anti-establishment policies swept him into office.  Sounds much like the current holder of the Office.

Jackson was the first President to have an assassination attempt against his life while it can be accurately stated that Trump has one everyday in the main stream media.  Like many Americans who voted for Trump I did so with some reservation.  Not that Clinton or any current democrat would have received my vote and the Libertarian Party proved that it was a front for the establishment by nominating a pot head who was unelectable and an unrepentant big government proponent as his running mate.  Rand Paul and Ted Cruz were my choices in that order but as Trump won the nomination and the only viable option to the party of corruption he got my vote.  And I haven’t been sorry.  His ability to anger the establishment in Washington (and that includes both parties) is enough to tell me that he is on the right track.  Unfortunately for us there are too many against him and it will be interesting how long he can withstand the daily bombardment.  In a sense Trump is the last best hope for the “common people” in America.  Being a multi-millionaire does not disqualify him from being for the common folk.

One of the hallmarks of our slide into history’s bin of has been nations is our acceptance of the “progressive’s” view of wealth and the vilification of successful people.  Envy is the tool they use and as a people it seems that it has become our national identity.  The accumulation of wealth is something that we all should aspire for and we should acknowledge the success of others not bemoan the fact that “they” have it and we don’t.  I don’t for a second believe that Trump does not want others to succeed and become wealthy nor is he envious of those who are wealthier then himself.  On the other hand look at the Washington establishment.  The surrounding counties of Washington DC are the wealthiest counties in the nation.  Why is that?  It wasn’t always that way but it is now.  The government elites that inhabit those counties have been draining the wealth and the life from the middle class of this country.  It has been our middle class that developed this Nation.  We have fought the wars, built the infrastructure, worked the factories, farmed the fields that feed the world only to have our wealth be drained from us.  Slowly but steadily but with more force as time goes on.  The election of Trump shows that there is still a heartbeat in middle America.  The election of Trump is only a speed bump in the downward slide of America.

For the “Game Of Thrones” enthusiast the phrase “winter is coming” has a particular meaning.  Well my friends, winter is coming and it has nothing to do with global warming.  What followed the fall of Rome is known as the Dark Ages.  Much of the world today is mired in a similar Age.  It starts with the closing of the minds and the loss of personal freedoms for the “good” of society.  Europe has for the most part succumbed and the poison has taken hold here in America.  Is it reversible?  I doubt it but I also believe that anything is possible.  After all, that is the American way.