Why Is America Great?

Last week, leading up to the negotiations over the Continuing Resolution for the last year’s budget, President Obama went out to give a “big speech” with his ideas. From those that are familiar with such things, his speech was more of a campaign speech than a Presidential speech. And, as he did in chastising the members of the Supreme Court in his first State of the Union Speech, he invited Paul Ryan and others to the speech at the university and then chastised them as well.

He went on to talk of the greatness of America, but in his words, it wasn’t until the New Deal of Roosevelt, the War on Poverty of Lyndon Johnson, and their own socialist agenda in his current administration that America became great.

After hearing of those words, and hearing some of the speech itself, I have to take exception to President Obama. There has long been an effort on the part of the left to demonize everyone from the Founding Fathers and up to today that isn’t socialist in nature and to praise those that are “progressives” and socialists. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Roosevelt gave us Social Security and the notion that government spending is what leads to economic recovery. However, historians have proven that Roosevelt’s works actually lengthened the Great Depression by seven years. While many want to claim otherwise, it was actually WWII and its increased levels of production and manufacturing that led to additional jobs and an end to the Depression.

Johnson promised a “set” amount of welfare for the poorest of our nation and that that amount would raise those in the poverty levels up to better conditions. In reality, the U.S. government far surpassed that “set” amount but has never decreased the percentage of those in poverty. In fact, that “free” money from the government led to increased poverty because so many decided a free handout was worth being enslaved to the power of government.

Over the years, welfare payments were increased to mothers who had more children and they were told that they could get even more if there was no father in the family. Instead of men stepping up to take care of their responsibilities towards families of their causing, they were encouraged to just “have a fling” and move on, leaving the mother with full responsibility. Then those women were then encouraged by the circumstances to have more children out of wedlock, just to get more money.

There have been a number of black leaders that have come forward and claimed that the action of the government has led to a destruction of a lot of black families. Those same men have also spoken out about the preponderance of abortion facilities being located in black neighborhoods, thus leading to the death of many black babies through abortion.

Oddly enough, it is the liberal women in the country that probably are most likely to have abortions. That of course will lead to the decline of future children being taught values by their liberal mothers. So, are the liberals committing cultural suicide by their insistence on having abortion as a legal method of birth control by other liberals?

Forgotten by many on the left is the greatness of America brought about by the influx of immigrants to our shores. They first came to America seeking religious freedom, and then they came for the promise of a better life, with abundant land and opportunity. Even to this day, they come and improve our country.

While many want to blame those on the right as being racists in regards to illegal immigrants, it is far from the truth. Many blacks from Puerto Rico and other nations come here and many work two or three jobs to put themselves ahead. But, at the same time, we have blacks who were born in this country who would rather have a government handout than a job. So, the fact that many blacks in America are in poverty is more a case of cultural differences than racial differences.

Immigrants and slaves and free men fought a great Civil War to make things better for those that were indentured to slavery. While freedom didn’t mean an end to racism, it did lead to better lives for former slaves.

Johnson’s fight to pass Civil Rights in America could not come about because the Congress at that time was Democratic Party controlled. A larger percentage of Republicans voted for the Civil Rights, even though they were the minority party. Johnson knew that he could not pass the Civil Rights Act without the help of those in the opposing party.

Does anyone remember the names of those unsung heroes? Do we remember those of our nation who have fought in foreign wars just so that other countries can experience freedom? While many want to blame George W. Bush and the Republicans for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, it was actually those actions that led to another 50 million people being free to vote in their own elections. It was those brave men and women going to “hell-holes” of countries to fight and free those people. And, they have taken great pride in their achievements, as well they should.

For all that they may try to influence it is not Presidents and their “programs” that have led to the greatness of this country. It has been the single minded purpose of individuals who have grown to desire a major change in their own lives, their neighborhoods, and their country that make it great.

It is sad that those on the left wish to discourage others in this country to try to make the best of themselves for themselves. They would prefer that men come to rely on government for their advancement, but sadly, government has never advanced their lives. Instead, progressives and liberals both have done much to enslave people to government.

Instead of freeing people to strive for the opportunity to do better for themselves, they encourage them to be lazy and take a handout. That has led to the idea that many hold that American owes “reparations” to those that are the descendants of slaves. Many black men have spoken out against the idea of reparations, claiming that the blacks in America should be thankful for slavery, as it was the institution of slavery that brought the ancestors of today’s blacks to America, thus giving them the blessing of citizenship in the greatest country of opportunity ever known.

Instead of looking to Presidents and programs for the greatness of America, we only need to look around us at the normal, hard-working, hard-dreaming individuals of America’s neighborhoods and streets. Even children selling lemonade on the corner is the beginning of a dream and a goal and a promise of more greatness to come.