Hopefully, everyone had a wonderful July 4th. Our Monday was quiet but the weekend was filled with family which always makes for good days.
But as I pondered the meaning of the fourth and all that it entails, I was saddened that we don’t take as much pride in our country as we used to do. I understand why but it is sad that we have sunk so far down. Perhaps if our attitudes had not changed things would be different. Some of the changes that have come about, we only have ourselves to blame.
Too many think they are owed something just for existing and they turn their noses up at the thought of working hard to get somewhere. Parents made the mistake of thinking they needed to give their children better than what they had when in reality, what they had was much better.
America is now so diverse that we are struggling to even define ourselves. We find ourselves almost being forced to adapt to those who were not born here instead of them having to adapt to our culture which should be the case.
Lately, we have become a battleground between competing and opposite ideologies. The mainstream media as well as the powers to be, have helped in this isolation.
True, we have always been a diverse nation, a melting pot, but attitudes have changed in how we view them and how they integrate themselves into our society.
Because of our becoming a spoiled nation, other nations view us differently as well. We are no longer the country they respect the most and want to model and we are not seen as the liberator for oppressed people. The increasing tensions in the political arena and religious conflicts has served to fragment us. Technology, though great in many areas, has also helped cripple us with the invention of social media. Yes, it has its perks but the negative aspects far outweigh the positive on many levels.
Outside influences with completely different morals and values have infiltrated our communities and homes. These days, America’s character is questioned; something that never would have happened years ago. Kids are faced with many more dangerous options than we were growing up and that has helped change our attitudes. Many children are allowed to function as adults, making decisions they shouldn’t be saddled with and not really experiencing what it means to be a child. A two-year old child who is still in diapers should not be making decisions about what to eat and where to go. Parents no longer are in control and because they have access to more money and things than their parents, they can get into more trouble without parental intervention. They are overloaded with information and allowed to grow up sooner than later.
We haven’t passed down to our younger generations the commitment of civic responsibility and that honesty is supremely important and that we are personally responsible for our actions, not someone else.
A democratic society cannot survive without an educated citizenry and today, many schools fail to provide the proper education. We can blame it on shrinking government subsidies and programs which not only bring more and more paperwork, but that also doesn’t allow teachers to truly teach.
Our forefathers wanted national unity. If you research history, they did not really want political parties, but they emerged into two factions. Today, our own parties are divided. Our leaders even perpetrate race baiting. We are it seems on many factions, a house divided and we know that once divided it cannot stand. No one is born racist, it is learned and taught by actions and words.
But look deeper, forget about the negativity portrayed by the mainstream media for a minute. Think about how people come together during tragedy. We stand together firm, we offer help, we pray. That is not division.
Americans can still be unified if we all work at getting it back on track and stand for the things which made our nation great in the first place. We should not idly watch our constitution be trampled and we need term limits in Congress to do away with the career politician power structure which sucks the life from us with unnecessary laws and programs such as Obamacare.
You cannot legislate every possible scenario but they try, I think because they have nothing better to do.
Can we take our country back? Maybe only partially, as many things have changed which we cannot undo. But we can stand together in unity and fight together for the common good and for values and decency and making hard work a priority once again.
It begins by joining together on our knees in fervent prayer. There is unity in prayer and prayer does change things. Have you prayed today?©2016

VICTORIA SIMMONS is an author, columnist, motivational speaker, minister and publisher of The Georgia Post/Byron Buzz. Contact her at: vsimmons54@gmail.com