The American Struggle
January 22, 2001
By J. Michael
For quite some time now, I've wanted to write something optimistic about the condition of this country. Not that good things don't happen in America anymore, but there comes a point when we need to be blunt and address the unpleasant. Life isn't smooth sailing, despite the fact that many are in denial and actually believe we can get through it by ignoring the problems. The fact is, we are a country of "United States". That means we are in this together and that includes collective correction and problem solving. I believe there are times for encouragement and times for corrective and preventative action. Certainly it's not my place to bring rebuke, however, I can do my share to provoke education and promote involvement! Having said that, it brings me great pleasure to finally have a promising reason to mingle a little optimism within some generally pessimistic thoughts. I warn you now, this may get lengthy and involved, but I anticipate great content.
The Bad News First
In the noble pursuit of the "American Dream", an increasingly liberal country has ushered us into the "American Struggle"...we just don't know it yet. The fact is, and it's historically
documented, that as a nation and as a society, we have a tendency to devolve. Every great nation starts with a new movement, a monumental turn of events, it rises to great power and
then rides that wave which eventually comes crashing down in defeat. America is riding that wave and as it seems, we are on top, rushing forward without knowing what lies ahead. We
do have the ability to extend the longevity of the wave, but the law of gravity eventually wins every time.
Again, looking historically (and biblically) you'll find that the moral decay of a society lead to it's demise. The problem is, again as a whole, people do not see this downward spiral. They are happy with their current position, they are happy to become more and more free from rules and morals. A nation simply can not be successful like this. If you want an in your face example of such things, look at the recent uproar in the technological industry the past few years. Every kid with a computer was able to start up a successful business by "riding the wave". But it was run in chaos, with no rules, no structure and that sector has fallen apart very quickly and continues to do so.
Folks, former President Clinton had the last 8 years to create quite a mess. Now, he didn't do it alone nor did this start 8 years ago. However, he was a crucial turning point in sending us in a downward spiral. The fact is, he has taken away the integrity and respect for the office of presidency. He has made it more acceptable to lower moral standards. He has allowed the economy to get out of hand for his personal gain. The reality is, we didn't and don't have a strong economy, it got out of hand and he let it "ride the wave". Instead of creating a strong, long lived wave of balance, he let it build on hype and weakness, so it will crash sooner and it will crash harder. I was hoping and planning to go more in depth on this specific issue, but will save it for another time. If you are interested, contact me.
The bottom line is, it's always much easier to break something down, than to build it back up. We have had 8 straight years of demolition, which was masked by false signs and short term gains, which are quickly turning into losses. We are facing recession, the markets have been down since early 2000, the economy faltering and the nation starting to crumble. It's not going to be easy, we are in for some difficult times. Thankfully we have a good man in office, who will certainly make mistakes as we all do, but will do his best to preserve what's left to preserve and attempt to rebuild that which is crumbling. I'll get to more of this in a moment.
Just keep in mind, every great nation collapses at some point and yes, it will happen to America. When? None of us knows, it may not be in my lifetime, but it will happen and it really could be sooner than you think. We need to do our best to extend it as long as possible. The largest problem we face right now, is we do have a heavy downward moving momentum. You see, many mistakes have been made in the past 8 years. These mistakes brought temporary glory to Mr. Clinton, taking our sight off of our creator. We will pay for these mistakes, as we are beginning to do now. Nothing Mr. Bush, or anyone else can do, will be able to save us from our consequences. So please understand such things as we now enter the American Struggle.
Optimism Anyone?
I promised a bit of cheer. I do believe there is hope yet. President Bush is not perfect. I've said this over and over. But I do believe as a whole, he does have the greater good of this
country in his best interest. I believe that as a relatively new Christian, he will continue to seek the will of God and surround himself with godly men. He has so much to do, and so little
time to do it, but I believe it's a new turning point for this country. We now have a President that realizes that our founding fathers formed this country on prayer. That separation of
church and state simply means that our government can't force any specific religion on it's people, it does NOT mean that God shouldn't be part of government. (Take a look at the first
congressional prayer in this country -
http://www.thinkingagain.com/html/firstcongpray.html )
There is hope in this humble man whose opponents claim as incompetent.
If, as a society, folks would force themselves to look at the bigger picture and make some attempts to educate themselves on life, I think they would find some very incredible revelations.
You see, wealth and power are blessings from God, the Giver of all good things. He is who we are to thank for everything that is good. Instead, as a whole, we turn our back on Him, and slowly we bend the rules, change the laws and degrade ourselves into nothing more than mere animals with no purpose, no rules and no responsibility. Eventually, we no longer allow God to abide with us. He takes His Mighty hand away, and the nation collapses. It's a spiritual battle we are in. We can not exist without God, without His presence, life ceases. Our leaders of the recent past (save for Ronald Reagan) have forgotten this. Our liberal groups and socialists have denied this. I thank Mr. Bush for standing up for what is right, rather than what "feels good" or what is easy. But in the end, it's all up to you, the individual. As a citizen of this country and an occupant of this planet, you are an important part of the bigger picture. You are responsible to do your part. The original American Dream wasn't just one of success and happiness, but also of unity and integrity. It's now each man for himself, with selfishness center stage. Without knowing it, we have entered into the American Struggle.
May we persist in re-building. May we turn our hearts back to our enabler. May we repent and may God Bless America, Again!
“The American Struggle Continues” - Published on September 26, 2001
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