As an older American, I find myself ashamed at what this nation has become. While many people mindlessly continue to repeat the mantra that America is the greatest nation in the world, it is hard for me to understand why they still believe this. I love my country, but my husband and I now experience sadness instead of the pride when we hear the National Anthem.Many Americans claim to be Christians, but I see little of Christ's teaching of love, humility, compassion and tolerance in the way they live their lives. Instead, they speak of individual self-reliance, which is little more than a doctrine based on survival of the fittest.
Do those who believe in dismantling the social safety nets they refer to so contemptuously as “entitlement programs” really have so little compassion for others less fortunate than themselves? Do they really care so little about whether all people have a roof over their heads, food to eat and access to health care when they are sick? Do they really think all of America’s children start from the same starting line? How are they able to justify no longer caring about the fate of the children of the poor as soon as they have left the womb? Do they actually believe that accumulating wealth is a sign of God’s love and approval?
How do they bear the knowledge of the horrific human suffering we have caused the people of Iraq? How can they not see what is so flawed about the American way of life and our culture of wasteful consumption and willful degradation of the planet.The divide between rich and poor continues to widen while the government remains determined to cater only to the whims of the rich and the powerful special interests. Capitalism is running amok. America’s one true God has become the dollar—a fallen idol at best.
In my frustration, I wrote The Founding Five as a warning of what may lie ahead for America. I worry about what kind of country our grandchildren will inherit. What kind of world will they be forced to live in? My husband and I sometimes speak of leaving, but where can we go? Sometimes I feel Americans are lost in a conscienceless wilderness of their own making.
But perhaps those who continue to believe that America should serve as a role model for the rest of the world are right. Perhaps my husband and I are the ones who are not seeing things clearly. Perhaps we are just two aging Chicken Little’s and the sky is not really falling at all. Perhaps…
