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The United States of America has fallen and many fear its inability to pull itself back up. Finally the USA, which has been perched for some time on the wall teetering between socialism and capitalism has now fallen, some say, irreparably on the cold hard ground of socialism. Who is going to put her back together again?
Over the last few months we have witnessed the ride of Obama, his Cabinet and his many, many Czars trying to make repairs. Obama took office with the US economy taking a nose dive second only to the 30's depression. The Congress then began a frenzy of buying and bailing. In February, the House approved the Obama economic stimulus plan with a vote of 246 to 183, followed by the Senate with a vote of 60 to 38. The appropriations section of the bill details spending in excess of $311 billion for programs ranging from Pell grants for college students to clean water in central Utah to nearly $100 billion in new transportation and infrastructure projects.
Totaling $787 billion the final bill allotting only around $37 billion to actually aid people affected by economic downturn and a mere $870 million of the $787 billion specified in the small business category. U.S. Small businesses provide nearly two-thirds of new private sector jobs, employ more than half of all workers, and account for more than half of the output of the economy . . . yet they received only .001% of the stimulus budget. This only further solidified the consensus that the government is out of touch and has become an Oligarchy of environmentalist, socialists, and political opportunists.
The Cap and Trade bill, which places limits on emissions, taxing and even fines according to the discretion of the government in power, passed soon after, further threatening businesses. The environmental benefits of this bill have been severely questioned by some leading environmentalist who voiced their concerns that unless the entire industrial world follows suit it is a mute bill which will only further destroy our economy.
Recently, Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, casting all bipartisanship aside, called for a vote of the House on a 1200 page highly controversial Healthcare Reform bill which if passed would cost at least an additional $900 billion over the next 10 years. While there has been across the board agreement that the healthcare system is failing, there is extreme discontent and disagreement as to the extent the government should play in our healthcare decisions.
A chasm in ideology of the two Americas, one being the liberal metropolitan America vs. the rural conservative America, has widened, with polarization growing in each camp at an alarming rate. As the liberals embrace and rush with break-neck speed to legislate into laws all of their ideologies, their opposition is incredulous and mortified at the speed in which their countries' financial landscape and personality are changing.
Rural America is seeing the changes as an eroding of their liberties and theft by taxation of their sweat and labor as an affront to the ideals and work ethic instilled on them by their parents and forefathers. These flag flying, patriotic, self- sacrificing people, making up the back bone of the United States in work, ethics, and contributions ,are severely disillusioned. Parents hoping to see their children enjoy a better life than they, see only the hamster-wheel future. A future in which you work
harder and run faster, but do not get ahead and if you should, then you would be forced, if the current administration has their way, to share your gain whether you wished to or not.
Thomas Jefferson summed up how our forefathers viewed this mentality when he said, "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not." Rural America see their way of life being ridiculed and any opposition being downplayed and attributed to ignorance. Their opinions are being marginalized by the Pelosi's, Reid's, and National news networks feeding the flames of their concerns of declining freedoms. Even after all the tea parties, rambunctious town hall meetings, and open opposition to a government takeover of our healthcare, House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, proudly had this to say after her introduction of the 1990 pg. Bill to the House, "The Affordable Health Care for America Act is founded on key principles of American success: opportunity, choice, competition and innovation. We have listened to the American people. We are putting forth a bill that reflects our best values and addresses our greatest challenges".
Metropolitan America is elated that the Bush regime is gone and they are finally in power. A power they have gloated to the point of intoxication. Finally, they have someone who shares their extreme left views with conviction and the charisma to push it into law. The Metro America does not relate to the rural America or understand their way of life or understand how they could possibly have the belief system so prevalent in middle America. A growing number of Americans are very socialistic in
their views with many going even further with their Marxist bent beliefs that the wealthy should share their wealth with the poor.
The Metro-Americans are proud of the fact that they are not afraid of change, but embrace it, whereas, they view the rurals as intolerant, unmovable, and out to increase the wealth of big business, and having no conscience regarding environmental issues. They feel strongly in the separation of church and state to the degree of keeping church out of the state, whereas, the rural Americans also believe in separation but that the state (government) stay out of their homes and their churches.
The distinctive contrast between these two factions of America was summed up as follows by The Barna Group in a study done on liberalism vs. conservatism. The study indicated that those differences are related to substantially different spiritual beliefs, behaviors and alignments. Overall, the research showed that nearly one-third of all adults (32%) consider themselves to be "mostly conservative" on social and political matters. Half as many (17%) claimed to be "mostly liberal" on such matters. The other 50% of the adult population generally takes a position somewhere in between those opposing viewpoints." Yet in the last few months, the "somewhere-in-betweens" have slid rapidly more to the conservative side of the scale especially regarding the issue of less government involvement. The left-wingers seem to have swung far more radical in their beliefs placing a considerable rift between the two positions. It seems that instead of either liberal or conservative, it is becoming more about "big government" vs. "individual freedoms".
The majority of conservatives and now, an ever growing number of the independents and democrats, see the hand writing on the wall and fear that unless the government stops and turns itself around soon it may be too late. The confidence of Americans in their government has been broken. In talking with rural Americans, many feel the need for a return of the government to its proper place in their lives. The metros feel that drastic measures must be taken and the government needs to be involved to regulate and administer this radical change. Today the United States of America may be better described as the Divided States of America. What is the answer for a country so divided and broken? Who can fix it and how can we come together again and be once more a United nation?
Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the kings horses and all the kings men
couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again.
