Be American

I posted this in response to a long lineup of comments on a 1948 cartoon that has been posted on FaceBook from YouTube. This is the link:

http://nationaljuggernaut.blogspot.com/2009/09/this-cartoon-seemed-far-fetched-in-1948.html (you'll have to copy and paste it into your browser's address bar)

People seemed to be going off on their own tangents so I decided to see if anyone would like mine. I wrote:

Okay, back to the cartoon. This was put out two years before the "golden age" of the 1950s. The middle class was beginning to really take the reigns of this society. The "average" American (meaning that portion of the population within one or two standard deviations of the mean in statistical terms) had a home, at least one car, food on the table and adequate clothing. Reasonable vacations could be taken and luxuries such as televisions and high fidelity players could be bought at a reasonable price. Most homes had a telephone, running hot and cold water, indoor lavatory, and electricity. Some had it better than others. Some had it worse. There were still the very poor and the very rich.

Please recall that this "utopia" did not last particularly long. The Korean "War" and then Vietnam were the catalysts for a great deal of social unrest...which could not have occurred if there had not been a thriving middle class in America who had the luxury of revolting or trying to maintain the status quo or trying to walk a middle line and every other point on the spectrum between radical liberals and radical conservatives. People in countries that don't grant individual rights and freedoms don't have the luxury of holding the kinds of relatively "peaceful" debates that we do here in America.

Folks, we still live in a great country. We have forgotten, however, that it IS great and that WE are great.

So, we have a high rate of unemployment right now. Okay. We just need to come together and decide how we are going to share our resources so that everyone has at least enough to subsist. Some of the greatest stories in our history are of people helping each other in time of need.

So, some people are losing their homes. WE have. We couldn't afford it. These things happen. We are renting a nice enough space and happy to have a roof over our heads. Just because we used to have something doesn't mean we should continue to have it. Some people are living on the streets or in their cars and I am amazed at the way some of these people, children in particular, can find the smallest and simplest things with which to be happy or contented.

Things come and go. Situations ebb and flow. Everything changes. It is the spirit with which we encounter those changes that has always made America a great nation of people.

I am making vast generalizations here but I think you may get the point. Let's stop bickering about who is to blame and who owes whom and who lost what and how much. You weren't going to be able to take it with you to the hereafter, anyway.

Part 2: We still have the greatest example of Democracy in action that has ever been attempted. It's something we practice, not something at which we will ever be fully proficient. The greatest masters of any art are those who know that they must practice their skills on a daily basis. The results of some of our decisions are turning out to be fairly unpleasant for more than a few but that does not mean that all is lost or that there is some conspiracy to "kill" America or that there isn't enough in this amazing land for all of us, just as there has always been.

When some try to take too much, reprimand them and take back the portion they have taken that is more than their fair share, but don't leave them destitute. When some try to oppress others, take a stand and tell them that you will not allow your sisters and brothers to be treated unfairly and that includes them. When a bully tries to make everyone agree with his opinion make sure that the voices of all can be heard. Stand up for what is right and good and true about America, ladies and gentlemen. Be just and clear-thinking. Stop judging and blaming and just be accountable for making sure your behavior is forthright and fair to all.

These are the values upon which this country was founded and whenever it was made clear that these values were not being applied equitably there was someone willing to push for the necessary changes. We have come so far, my friends, in such a relatively short time. We can weather this time of insecurity and unrest IF we make the commitment to do so, just as the cartoon narrator said, together. We have done so before. We can do so again. Put away your fear and be filled with hope and faith.

All will be as it will be. Only we can decide HOW we will be with everything. Be proud. Be brave. Be just and faithful. Be fair and true. Be American.