Americans don’t want to be Europeans.
If our ancestors wanted to live like Europeans then why did they come here? There are many reasons: freedom of religion, freedom from tyranny, freedom to pursue a new life. There were other motivations too, but the notion of freedom was the driving force behind much of the migration from Europe.
Today, people come from around the globe in search of the American dream, but most of us pre-boomers can trace our roots back to old world Europe. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland along with Germany and Holland produced many of our early settlers. Later, Italy and other western as well as eastern European countries contributed to the enrichment of the growing melting pot of the grand experiment in democracy known as the United States of America.
The founding fathers fought and many of them died for the kind of liberty they could only dream possible. The ideal was perfect; but since men were responsible for making it work, it took a long time to round off the rough edges of this admirable concept. We, born between 1930 and 1945, saw our share of change. And, we are still experiencing it.
In the minds of some, both abroad and at home, we’ve gone too far. As the leader of free world, the USA is subjected to scrutiny and envy. But there are forces who would allow us to fall back into the ranks of the rest of the industrialized world and have us become like all the others. Do individual countries in Europe have what we want? Things like government control over ones life from the cradle to the grave. This translates to a lack of incentives thereby discouraging people from achieving their best. And, there is the further disincentive for those who must spend a lifetime working for nationalized businesses overseen by unqualified bureaucrats. Europeans have accepted having the government run their lives, but in America the government is supposed to work for us.
Recently we had a number of disconcerting events take place – a long-lasting war, a financial meltdown, and fear about the future. This is not a time to give in to those using scare tactics. No, it’s the time to reinsert ourselves into our local communities, the state legislature and particularly the goings on in Washington, DC. Even if we did not voice opinions before, we must be heard now. If not for ourselves then we must do it for our children, grandchildren and beyond.
There are 40 million pre-boomers, enough to make a difference. Our legacy to those coming behind can be to get the attention of our elected representatives. This is not a political action rather it’s a suggestion that we engage in a common sense effort to exercise our individual rights, while demonstrating our collective power. Remember what we learned in American History and Civics classes back in the ‘50s? We can tell these civil servants what we expect from them. And if that don’t deliver, we’ll fire them by casting our votes for someone else. It worked before, and it’ll work again. That’s the American way.
There is a major difference between democracy and a republic my friend. Unless the pledge to our flag is wrong, “and to the republic for which it stands”.
Correct me if I’m wrong but in a democracy, it’s mob rule with no regard for personal rights. In a republic, no vote is legal if it goes against the rights of an individual. That’s why our European ancestors came here so that they could have this freedom.
So which is it? Republic or Democracy? It most certainly isn’t a democratic republic is it. That would seem a contradiction in terms.