As the Glory of Christmas Beckons, Are We As A Nation Now Facing More Negatives Than Positives?
We seem to be struggling against a force-field of negative happenings, both those here at home and overseas. Over there, we pray for conflict resolution, preferably peaceful and lasting, in both Ukraine and amidst the brutal battle as Israeli forces fight back to eradicate the evil that is Hamas. Overseas, we also hope that China makes no hostile moves on Taiwan, and that South Korea and Iran keep their aggressive armaments holstered.
Meanwhile here at home, the negatives at present seem to overwhelm. We have a purposely open southern border, as illegal migrants in larger numbers continue to invade our nation, satisfying, we presume, the politically-driven whims of our Progressive administration. Most recently, during the first week of December alone, about 50,000 illegals were “apprehended” (registered/recorded) at the border, not including the “got-aways” who now wander our country unidentified. And it is from this latter, elusive group, that foreign terrorists have most certainly entered. And that’s the scariest issue at present. Terror-intending young men waiting for the signal from overseas to unleash significant mayhem, murder, and destruction on our homeland. Because Mr. Biden has apparently been instructed by his handlers (said to be) to leave the border open, inevitably triggering a major crisis, doubtless inflicting great harm on America and our citizenry. We pray that such an attack will not happen, but we are kidding ourselves to believe such attack(s) won’t occur at some point, likely sooner rather than later. Thanks to this administration’s absurd, anti-America border decision, do understand that the bad guys are now, most certainly, already here.
America is the enemy of those from the Middle East who may terrorize us, or in fact any peoples or nation, that chooses to live in freedom, given terrorism’s historic politics and religion. Most currently, their avowed desire to destroy the objectionable nation of Israel, which has spawned the fresh repulsive craze, here and elsewhere in the world, of antisemitism, with intent to ultimately drive out all those persons there of the Jewish faith. Using no-doubt paid activists to organize and lead the rampant anti-Jew demonstrations in our country and elsewhere, one is reminded of the Nazi-led World War II-era of political/religious eradication totaling in the end the reported murder of 6-million European citizens of the Jewish faith. May that comprehensive murderous effort never occur again, regardless of which religious faith or place of national origin may be targeted. Here at home, please pray, again, that no destructive terrorist act will be undertaken within our shores, now or sometime later.
Domestically, we face significant issues of administrative over-spending, as they choose to chase “green” issues in supposed defense against the so-called ‘climate change.’ The reality is that, regardless of any change in our climate, selected individuals and corporations are, directly or indirectly, the beneficiaries of those ‘green’ U.S. dollars, as our U.S. Treasury takes hit after hit siphoning America’s monetary security out of taxpayer hands and into the outstretched, too often greedy, hands of others only too happy to accept the current government mandate and initiate new green products or services, as dictated. And the spending continues. In just the first two months of FY2024 (October & November), our federal government has spent over $1-trillion!
Beyond the rampant overspending, as we print fresh money backed by nothing, this administration has gone on the warpath against any appliance or vehicle that either operates with gas/oil or is simply inefficient (in federal eyes) due to age and extended use. Leading to yet more “investments” made to manufacturers encouraging them to produce more electric or battery-only home appliances. Today we have administrative ‘suggestions.’ At some point, however, government may become more insistent, right here in what we remember from days past as the land of free choice. Among other things, Americans have voted with their wallets when it comes to EV’s, once heavily touted by D.C. and media servants from above, with heavy production subsidies to encourage manufacturers to get on the EV bandwagon. Speaking of remaining free choice, the American public, after an initial bite of the EV apple, has decided there is waning interest in electric cars and trucks (except for government agencies instructed to transition their fleets to electric), as the bottom dropped out from EV vehicle sales, and our citizens are choosing instead to purchase hybrids, if not just sticking with the known pure gasoline powered vehicles of old.
Along with government spending in great volumes, pointed out by economists as the major driver behind the rampant and stubborn inflation demon of the last few years, consumers complain of often significant price increases for food items at the grocery stores, with ripple effect that meals in restaurants have also gone up quite noticeably. The latter is the fault of commodity prices rising and employee hourly wages increasing, despite the inability to either find more employees or keep them once found. Bottom line: Americans are finding it tougher to stay ahead of the increasing costs, with a large percentage saying they are just living “paycheck to paycheck.” Need to buy stuff, right now, and that’s most likely to be Christmas presents? No problem, just put it on your credit card(s). Well, that’s a serious home economic problem waiting to burst. Consumer credit card debt has reportedly now reached a new high. Trouble coming in the months ahead, with added interest due for less than full repayment. The household money squeeze will likely continue.
Of real concern here at home, as well, are the continuing difficulties that our military branches face in meeting their recruiting goals. As we enter 2024, our military (active-duty) now has the smallest number of men and women in uniform in over 80-years (1941)! With the traditional draft ending in 1970, the military must depend on an all-volunteer force. Generation Z recruiting is proving to be the toughest sign-up challenge. Those young people are said to have a “low trust in institutions and have decreasingly followed traditional life and career paths.” In addition, “they have fewer relatives who served in the military leading to less inclination to serve.” Overall, the Army, Navy, and Air Force failed to reach their FY2023 recruiting goals, while reportedly the Marines and the newest branch, the Space Force, both made their numbers. Due to the three DoD branches listed that fell short, overall active-duty troop strength numbers have had to be reduced. And this at a time when potential and actual enemy challenges have intensified. The branches will all need to be much more creative in ‘selling’ military service and benefits (e.g., medical & college paid for) to our younger generations and their parents!
Another real concern or definite negative is the seeming “destruction” of some of America’s largest cities, those metropolitan areas led by Democrat politicians who have often espoused or echoed calls to defund their police departments, impose lighter or no sentences for convicted criminals, inconceivably consider shutting down their jails, effectively ignoring the ever-larger numbers of citizens living on their streets, and the increasing number of criminals committing offenses, from the impactfully serious, like murders, to the nuisance but costly crimes like shoplifting, causing retailers large and small to pack up and move to safer cities or simply shut down and go out of business. Often past symbols of success and glitz, as viewed by our citizens and foreigners alike, many of today’s large, Democrat-run, cities might one day collapse from within without strong, no-nonsense, hands-on conservative leadership. Oh, and by increasing, not debilitating, law enforcement.
And then there’s the concerning direction being taken by public education in America, in certain cities and regions of the country, beginning with primary & secondary schools and continuing on into the college & university level. In elementary schools, rather than concentrating on critical academic subjects like reading and arithmetic, there is apparently too much attention being directed toward sex, gender, and transsexual choices, too often without notifying and involving the parents (defaulting to ‘it takes a village’). At the college & university level, we learn that more emphasis is being given to purely political subjects like racial separation, climate change, and other non-academic, anti-issues, such as Israel and the related heightened attention to antisemitism, rather than the intended primary focus on academic subjects in preparation for real-world post-graduation employment. And it is likely within our colleges and universities where the disturbing trend among some students to either dislike or even hate America is taking hold. With the emphasis, then, most often, it seems, on hard-left instruction and classroom atmosphere, especially among the liberal arts majors, since hard science students typically have no time for this or other nonsense. And let me emphasize again that the degree to which primary, secondary, and university levels have veered off the normal and expected learning track depends and differs on section of the country and within certain metropolitan areas, and is definitely not the case in anywhere near all of our schools. But parental concern around the nation has led to a definite increase in preferred attendance at private schools, charter schools, and schooling at home, with generally more positive learning results. And at the higher levels, more careful evaluation and selection among colleges & universities these days is no doubt going on among students and their parents (e.g., most recently, Harvard, MIT & U.Penn) regarding overwhelmingly hard-left atmospheres and instructors.
Due to the citizen prevalence of concern over these issues and others, negative feelings within the country, at present, are tending to prevail, with the Christmas holiday(s) thankfully helping to at least temporarily mask the more negative thoughts. Some have written about our very real concerns. Fox’s Greg Gutfeld, known more for his late-night humor, hits the serious button when reflecting on our country at present, as he speculates that “Western civilization is on the brink of collapse under Biden’s divided nation.” Gutfeld continues: “Do we still think we’re capable of safeguarding the system that has cured more diseases, created more wealth, and lifted more people out of poverty than any other in human history? Or do you see a system obsessed with dividing us based on grievances and pronouns?” Throughout history “the West has come through before, but it’s going to take effort.” Right now, “we’re pretty short on Churchills and Reagans as we overdose on AOCs.”
Then columnist Star Parker explores why the left hates Israel and America, by starting her article with the truth that “the left-wing agenda (favors) expanding the welfare state, tilting at climate change windmills, and supporting values like abortion that contribute to the breakdown of the traditional family. Those are also the values that are bankrupting our country, as government spending now sucks up 25% of our GDP and we drown in debt.” Ms. Parker continues with this truth: “Those on the left (reject) values that rest on personal responsibility. They embrace only a culture of victimhood and blame, and their only explanation for achievement is exploitation.” So very true when we look back to activist and/or criminal activities over the past couple of years where those accused of mayhem during public protests, etc. play the ‘victim’ role, with sympathetic liberal prosecutors too often agreeing and failing to justly prosecute. Concludes Ms. Parker: “The culture of blame and victimhood has captured the left and our youth. Those values are incompatible with the values of a free country, which can only exist when individuals take personal responsibility.” She feels that personal responsibility on the part of citizens is the basic key to a free society. The lack of universal acceptance and application of that core belief is one of the reasons why the likelihood of on-going stability in our society here in America is questioned by some.
Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) has also voiced concerns about the continuation of America as we’ve known it, in an article suggesting that “Democrats Are Destroying America on Purpose.” How could it not be, says Senator Johnson, with “open borders, the 40-year high inflation, the war on fossil fuels, the embarrassing and dangerous surrender in Afghanistan, which has emboldened Putin. That’s why Putin is in Ukraine, because we surrendered in Afghanistan. He saw the weakness.” That’s an important point, tying the administration’s totally unconscionable and politically motivated, ‘instant’ abandonment of millions of dollars of facilities and equipment (now in Talban hands and likely other hostile groups) signaling not only to Putin, but to the world, that the U.S. president’s hands were not firmly on America’s steering wheel. That under this new leader, we were indeed weaker than we had been under Mr. Trump’s solid international leadership. And the weakness, sadly, continues as debilitating ‘woki-ness’ has infiltrated too many of our schools, impacting the nation’s future workforce. Overall, in too many sectors, we seem to be increasingly under the spell of what’s now termed ‘cultural Marxism.’
Destroying America on purpose, Senator Johnson openly suggests. Leading to the ultimate forced choice, suggests and warns distinguished scholar Victor Davis Hanson: “The old politics of right vs. left, and Republican opposed to Democrat has now given way to a new existential struggle. Americans must choose between civilization – or its destroyers.”
As illustrated, there are a whole lot of negatives that surround and concern us, some abroad, but mostly here at home. But historic positives do exist, and the clear-eyed among us realize that. We live in the greatest nation that has ever existed on this earth. And regardless of occasional warts, we remain the greatest. We retain the fairest and most productive economic system on the planet. Capitalism is an equal opportunity provider. Socialism has never worked anywhere for very long and has never been fair to all living and laboring under it. It encourages only a land of chosen, financially well-off, elites.
Our brilliant Constitution, created by incredibly smart colonial men with foresight, and too often seemingly ignored by those at the top of our current government, laid out the guidelines, amended as needed through succeeding decades, for constructing our nation’s legal and governing structure. We’re blessed to have it, as many of the world’s nations have no need for such when governed by a dictator. And that leads us to freedom as perhaps the greatest among our national positives. Freedom to elect those chosen to govern us. Freedom to seek work in one’s chosen field. Freedom to have families and the means to provide for them. The freedom to enjoy clean air and safe water. Freedom to travel around as we wish. Freedom to become educated, all the way from elementary school through the university level, and very often the opportunity to become initially educated via public, private, and charter schools, and even schooling at home. And we have the freedom to worship with a religion of our choice. Although spirituality numbers are in a current decline, hopefully they will come back and increase, as we move through this passing phase among some of self-importance, and return to individual faith in God’s guidance and goodness.
Radio host and entrepreneur, Clay Travis, speaks to some of the issues we face and what might be done, when a major concern is that “there are a lot of people out there that believe America is evil and capitalism is a failure,” concepts seeping into the minds of children through some schools and peers every day. Continues Travis: “The American story is not one of eternal success…but the progress of American society leans toward overall success. Granted that we are an imperfect nation, but we are the greatest nation that has ever existed in the history of the world.” The job, then, that we all share is convincing our young students and teens of that fact, and the opportunities we all have as Americans.” Opportunities that exist for all of our citizens because we are a land based on freedom. And it’s that basic freedom that is the cornerstone of our constitutional republic. Beyond the current chaos created by our open border rampage of illegal migrants, historically via legal immigration, there are always more individuals seeking to come to America, than depart from it. Like and understand it or not, America is a magnet for legal learned people from around the world who seek the kind of freedom and opportunity that only American can offer. The ‘hate’ for America that far too many of our young people have sadly absorbed is simply not merited in any way given our history of innovation, prosperity, generosity, and sacrifice (e.g., World Wars I & II) for freedom that is unmatched elsewhere. Let our nation’s many basic and historic positives overshadow the negatives. After the rain comes the sunshine. We are the land of the free, home of the brave. We are America.
ADDENDUM: Remarked David Hookstead in a recent article (Outkick.com): “America certainly has its issues, but it’s still the best shot we have at a free society on this planet. An that’s worth celebrating and fighting for.” And so despite the ‘hate’ America stance of a spoiled, delusional, mis-educated, media-hyped slice of our young people, the majority of America’s patriots remain ever loyal to America. With but just one example of our bedrock common values: By means of our annual special national days of tribute, we continue to acknowledge and salute our military members, past and present, for their vital and dedicated commitment, courage, and sacrifice on our behalf, and that of our nation. America’s dominate common language, traditions, values, and solid character will continue to provide us with a sense of unity (despite temporary headwinds to the contrary) that will guide the thoughts and actions of our loyal citizenry, those who always remember and treasure the many positives of our nation. Among them, in part, freedom (the ultimate national unifier), pride in nation, and the countless opportunities to work hard, innovate, and achieve. With those important shared realities in mind, may God Almighty continue to guide, bless, keep safe and secure, our unique and magnificent United States of America!
(Fact Sources: Over $1-trillion spent by the feds during October & November via dailycaller.com, Terence P. Jeffrey, 12-15-23; Military recruiting numbers falling below need via dailymail.com, Nick Allen, 12-16-23; Civilization is on the brink of collapse via foxnews.com, Greg Gutfeld, 11-24-23; Personal responsibility by our citizenry is the key to a healthy society via frontpagemag.com, Star Parker, 11-15-23; Destroying American on Purpose via dailycaller.com, Hailey Gomez, 12-12-23; Civilization vs. its destroyers via jewishworldreview.com, Victor Davis Hanson, 12-8-23; Clay Travis thoughts via frontpagemag.com, Editors, 12-14-23).