Everyone that calls themselves an American shares the idea they have the privilege of living in the land of opportunity. It is a lofty notion; one of which translates objectively for some and subjectively for others.
America, the beautiful, is a romantic ideal. Songs and anthems have been composed and orchestrated to eternally herald the abounding pride and praises of what many believe is the greatest nation on earth. Citizens pledge their allegiance to its flag, with an often absolute and total commitment to the protection of the tenets that have made our country so great.
Our nation’s pledge specifically speaks to a personal commitment, in earnest, to not only the flag, which merely serves as a representation of our nation, but to the republic proper. Interestingly, out of the many years I recited this pledge, I ashamedly must admit, I never really understood what my daily participation in this mass ritual was all about. I admittedly must confess; I believe I simply droned along, innocently but ignorantly conforming to the social expectations of my teachers, school administrators, and politicos in absentia.
As I’ve grown a little older, and my childhood innocence is not so pure and unassuming, I’ve discovered many unanswered questions about the systems governing the country I still embrace as the greatest nation on planet earth. I honestly struggle a bit to recognize the historical, perceived beauty of our great nation. I’m not overwhelmed with unconditional pride in our country, its government, and some of its citizens.
By my estimation, we live in a new America, vastly different from the nation we knew just a few decades ago. Our great nation’s citizens used to have confidence that they would have gainful employment, and that they could rely upon their companies being solvent for the entirety of their working lives. In times past, workers never fathomed their employers would squander their pensions or retirement funds in servicing their own greed. Now all these realities are the accepted norms.
Additionally, I believe the country is in its next ideological and philosophical shift. The old work paradigms are evolving by requirement. America is known as the land of opportunity. Unfortunately, far too many Americans have interpreted that statement to mean the land of employment, wherein its people earn wages for the hours of labor they provide. Parenthetically, I struggle to see the difference between indentured servitude and the linear income paradigm. But, I digress.
Ironically, the American dream eludes many American citizens because of the soft and hard programming of our social, collective mindsets, our educational institutionalization, and the self-sabotaging cycles of debt we create in pursuit of our piece of the pie. Then, to remain afloat many are forced to take on multiple jobs, meant for multiple people, and our dreams quickly morph into horrible nightmares.
In the new America, we are being challenged to become innovators, creators, and seekers of opportunities instead of employment. We’re being challenged to revive the powerful and timeless sentiments of once great president John F. Kennedy when he said: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”
Amazingly, many complaining about government being too big criticize the government for not creating more jobs. Here’s the very harsh reality. In the name of greed, American jobs have, are being, and will be shipped abroad for corporate executives to increase profits by cutting expenses. In America, the greatest costs in production are wages and benefits. So, unless Americans will develop a willingness to work unreasonably long hours, for as little as $1.00 a day, there’s no way we can compete for these jobs any longer. This is going to sting a little, so brace yourself! Most of the jobs lost to America are never coming back as they were. We’re either going to accept this fact and roll with the tide or be crushed beneath its merciless power.
Then, there’s technology to consider in this equation. Machines are now doing increasingly more in the production process. They don’t need breaks, days off, compensation, or health benefits. Machines don’t have emotions, life concerns, family issues, self-destructive vices, prejudices, biases or free will. They do exactly what they’re programmed to do, and they can do it around the clock. Nor do they unionize, dissent, and require fair or ethical treatment.
So, in the new America we’re going to have to make ourselves ready to redefine how we’ll create value that results in compensation. We’re being required to create wealth, not wages. We can certainly resist this natural order of evolution, but it most times ends in mere frustration, which leads to catastrophic unrest, that ultimately ends in violent conflict and the results of that violence.
In the old America we pledged to be one nation, under God, indivisible. In the new America, we’ve spiraled downward, in an out-of-control descent into increased division. No, none of the manifestations we presently see are different or radical, new institutions. Racism is nothing new, nor is classism. But, it appears the blatant disregard of our neighbors is on the rise. It appears, in the new America, we’re drawing lines in the sand and distinguishing ourselves as predator or prey, as superior or inferior. Those with spiritual beliefs and values are being vilified and mocked for what they believe, as those who believe in God use their beliefs to uphold the same lines of division, judgment, hostility and intolerance.
In the new America, it appears we don’t know how to disagree. Instead of creating open dialogue about real issues, we’re now choosing to seek secession from the union we declared we patriotically believed in because we don’t appreciate the nation’s choice for presidential leadership.
In the new America, its political leadership broadly characterizes the citizens they’ve sworn to serve as beneath them, leeches on society, whiners, and victims. This isn’t specific to one person, or a small group of people. It speaks to a pervasive social disposition that drives deeper and wider divides between the classes of people.
In fairness to those that live under the illusions of this elitist mentality, there is a growing, troublesome sense of entitlement in our country that must be adequately addressed. However, we can’t provide provisions and sustenance to people, without requiring them to provide some value to the world community, and expect them to arrive at that conclusion all on their own. So, until we’ve determined to get back to these entitlement propositions’ original intent, to assist those that temporarily fall on hard times, or cannot, for matters of disability, provide for themselves, then we cannot paint groups of people with a broad, dark stroke.
In the new America it will be most important to refine our historical beliefs regarding formal education and future employment. The old model is not in keeping with the evolution or devolution of the American market place and its correlation to the educational system.
Going to school, getting good grades, and seeking security aren’t the winning formula they used to be. Going on to college to attain a Bachelor’s Degree doesn’t assure anyone gainful employment anymore, evidenced by the over 50% of college graduates that are unemployed or underemployed. So, it’s no longer a given to get a secure government job, work for thirty or forty years, and retire to collect a secure pension.
In the new America, we have to be creators of personal wealth. We must begin to answer the call of entrepreneurship and do something to build for the future. We must refuse to accept less than we’re worth, allowing our dreams to dwindle and die within us. We must resist the temptation to accept the limitations of the rat race and dare to walk away from the mediocrity common to approximately 97% of the world’s population.
It is needful for a greater number of us to rekindle the flames of passion for the things and people we deem most important. We must reclaim a personal responsibility for the country in which we live, the land we call our home. We must revive our national commitment to be; “One Nation, under God, indivisible.” We must uphold the glorious idea of liberty and justice for all.
The nation is going the way of its citizens, and there’s absolutely no escaping this truth. We are America! The country is the sum of its parts. We are not separate and disconnected. The problems of the few are the problems of the many and vice versa. No one is exempt from the reach of calamity, challenge, or loss.
Poverty, crime, addictions, discrimination, prejudice, social unrest, classism, sexism, inadequate education, and oppression are not just bad for some; it’s bad for us all. The results of this hit list are far reaching, even generational, and none of the inevitable scenarios track well for the whole of the country and its future.
Therefore, in the new America, we must build on the firm foundation laid by the august body of great Americans that came before us. We must become thinkers again, conscious of our neighbors, working towards the good of the whole. We must engage our world more creatively, proactively, and with the innocence of an imaginative child. It’s time for us to find our spirits of exploration once again, to discover new paths to greatness, abundance, and overall wellness. Maintenance of what is or was is a recipe for disaster.
The new America doesn’t need to be a totally new model throwing the baby out with the bath water. The new America will simply be one in which we live by the precepts and principles that made us the greatest nation on earth. The new America will thrive because of actualized equality for all and in every regard. The new America will resurge to find its place as the irrefutable, greatest nation on earth. Are you ready for the new America?
