Around a century ago, our country was nearing completion on one of, if not the greatest, civil engineering projects man has ever undertaken. The Panama canal was a marvel of engineering, a grand masterpiece, a tour-de-force of American will and ingenuity. Our dreams were melted in the furnaces of our strength and will, and cast into the shape of one of the greatest accomplishments man has ever made. We were the masters of our destiny, bending the very earth beneath our feet to our will. Great men said and did great things nearly a century ago.....
Fast forward a few years, and we were in the trenches in Europe, in one of the greatest wars man had ever seen. We sent our sons to die in the mud to secure freedoms for those who lived half a world away. We defeated evil the same way we had done every other great thing, with shear will and determination. And we won the great war, just as we had accomplished everything else we ever set our mind to. After all, it was the American way.
In 1929, we suffered the greatest economic downfall that we had ever seen. It certainly was one of America's darkest hours, seeming as though our great country had experienced something that we could not recover from. But, alas, recover we did. We rebuilt our economy, our pride, and our will. We were Americans, and nothing was impossible.We did things like build the Hoover Dam, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and brought electricity to nearly every home in the nation via the TVA and the hydroelectric projects in the west and mid west. We just decided to, and we did. It was that simple.
In 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, and we entered the Second World War. We assembled the largest army that has ever walked this earth, and we built more tools of war than has ever been created before or since. The United States was called on to send our sons to defend the world from tyranny, and we did, again. We fought a hellish war on two fronts, and just like everything else we set our minds to, we succeeded.
In the 1960's, we decided that we should put a man on the moon. And we did. In less than a decade, we went from having a nearly non-existent space program, to flying three men to the moon, walked (and drove) around a bit, put up a flag, and flew back. You know why? Because we could. Because we are Americans, and if we can dream, we can do it.
The year is now 2011, and I am 32 years old. The only way I know that America is capable of great things is because I read about them in books, or watch it on TV. I do not have any first hand knowledge of any of the great accomplishments that our country has achieved, because their haven't been any in my life time. No bending the very earth to our will, no great victories from tyranny. I believe that America has lost faith in herself, that unless you continue to do great things, you will forget that you are capable of doing them. And, I don't see any great things on the horizon for our country. What does that mean for our children? Will their generation be so eager to learn and remember the awe inspiring accomplishments that our nation is capable of? Or will they slowly lose faith in our country and her people, as so many have today? Are we ever going to have another moment like the final spike in the trans continental railroad, the first ship to pass through the locks on the Panama Canal, or watching Neil Armstrong descend the ladder and step foot on another world?
I look at the accomplishments that we as Americans have made, and I am proud. We are the greatest nation in the world. We have accomplished so much in our short 235 year history. We've done more than any other nation or people on earth, and many have been around for over a millennium. Is this not enough to instill American Pride in today's generation? To love their country, and to strive to overcome greater challenges than ever before? To build bigger, to fight harder, and to travel farther than we ever have? It used to be said that if the American people set their mind to something, no power in the world could stop them. But, now we know the one thing that can stop us............losing faith in ourselves as a nation. We owe it our future generations to get our faith back, our will and our mighty ingenuity. Now let's go build bigger, travel farther, and do it faster than ever before. Because,well, it's the American way!
Yours Truly,
Ian
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