What does 4th of July mean to me...
Note: this was originally written for a writing contest -- then I read the instructions... oh, well it's still a relevant rant.
image source = pixabay
July 4th 1776, well it turned out to be a great day to start a Country! But, looking around on today’s Independence Day I wonder, “What Happened!?” How did we get from there to here?
How did we see corruption become a major part of every segment of our Country? We witness corruption from the banker, the CEO, and the government – from the dog catcher to the President and everyone in between, and we know of many more corruptions in our society. And, we know that the Fourth Estate that was so important to the Revolutionary Cause is corrupt, the Free Press is now a rotting, stinking shadow of that once proud and honorable calling.
Did the Propagandist really win? Are we so thoroughly programmed, that we willingly stay domesticated and docile, just waiting to be led to harvest? I wonder how our Forefathers would have responded to the message requiring total obedience from the tainted lips of the Propagandist? Wanna have a school bake sale, better check the law… wanna see your child make some money mowing the neighbor’s lawn? Better get a permit for that, or the lawman will hunt your child down… Is that the worst our Revolutionary Spirit can abide? No… not at all… it seems we can stomach a lot more than our predecessors… that’s not really a good thing?
Has our Revolutionary Spirit and bravery been replaced by the memes of the propagandist?
Is this freedom, or just free enough?
So, when I look at the doings of the people of July 4th 1776, and then to the people of today, I wonder, “What Happened!?”
a little side note: I'm a long way from ever calling for revolution, I feel that Americans first have to use the very effective tools our Constitution provides the citizen to address grievances with their government... tools such as votes, protests, strikes and boycotts... if applied within the law... those are the very tools we should be employing... That would be putting to good use, our Revolutionary Spirit... we might find we even like it...
Personally I think we should be using Common Law and education!
Of course that would be one way to go.
I'm not sure our system is wrong -- it's just the corruption within that makes it dysfunctional.
Would our elected Government work better if those that took oaths of office, honored those oaths?
Would our economic system function better if corruption was eliminated? Maybe if corporate officers were charged with the crimes they commit and imprisoned, rather than passing the crime off to the corporation, which then pays a 'price of doing business' fine... our economic system would begin to function better... it doesn't work as well as it should now, because some corporations are rewarded for breaking the law, while others are burdened with regulations that seem to only apply to them, especially under the watchful eye of the regulators.
I wonder how well our other public institutions would fare if the corruption was cut out? Maybe the health care system and secondary education system would be better for it's consumers, without the corporate greed?
What if the Justice system actually worked equally for all, regardless of how much of a legal team one could buy?
Corruption is holding back our Country's great potential... why are "we the people" letting it continue?
Is this part of the writing contest?
It was meant to be, but I figured it didn't really fit the format of the contest so I pulled it out...
If you think it's cool, I'll be glad to submit it again... either way it's cool...
It looks fine to me. I'll add it back in.
Sounds great to me... much appreciated... thank you... Krazy Uncle