There comes a time when average citizens must stand up for the rights that are inalienable to every human being. The rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are at risk of being relegated to the annals of history. Friends; that time is not coming, it is here, and it is now. We face a crafty adversary, one that sneaks in the shadows, masquerading as the will of the people when it is the will of the few. Never before in our country have we seen such degradation in morality, of values, of the family unit. This is happening at an alarming rate, and it will, if we let it, tear down our great nation. Gone are the social and moral blockades that kept the family unit together, that raised our children in a loving environment. Our families used to teach our children to respect one another, and treat others how they want to be treated. Now we as a society teach apathy, love of money, and respect for material belongings. This very thing will lead to our nations undoing.
History has proven that America has always been a nation of can-do people. We fought and won two world wars. We put a man on the moon. We invented the computer. We have the brightest minds on the planet. We were the last stand for liberty in a dark world. And we were this great nation because of men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, and the thousands upon thousands of farmers, tradesman, and bankers, down to the poorest of the poor, who at the birth of our nation decided they weren’t going to live under tyranny any longer. They spat in the eye of the powers that be, and paying with blood and treasure, bought the freedoms we enjoy this very day. But we are losing those freedoms at an alarming rate, handing them over to the tyranny that our forefathers fought and died to free us from. These great men realized that freedom is not given; it is pried from those who seek to oppress us. We have, up until recently, known the dangers of the abuse of power. We fought the greatest war ever fought to free the world from tyranny, yet we are allowing ourselves to succumb to the very government that is supposed to protect us.
We are not facing a political problem. Changing the guard in government will not prevent the collapse of our nation. Our problems run much deeper than that. We face something much worse. A loss of morality and value, and a loss of will. No longer are the men and women of this country willing to shed blood for freedom. We think that it’s the governments’ job to preserve our rights, to take care of those pesky battles for freedom. We live in an age where able voters can’t even be bothered to take the time to go cast a ballot to shape our nations’ future. Voting rates keep falling, and our rights and freedoms keep getting taken away. Am I the only one who sees this? We take for granted our rights guaranteed to us in the documents that formed our nation. We don’t fight for them, hell, we don’t even vote for them very much anymore. We plod through our lives, oblivious to the true nature of the problems we face.
We allow our elected officials to tell us what to do, how to do it, and when it’s okay to do it. We are letting them run our largest industries. We are letting them decide how best to take care of our healthcare needs. We are allowing them to grab power that belongs rightfully in the peoples’ hands, at an alarming rate mind you. Yet we lie down like dogs, reciting rhetoric and talking points.
When will we as a people realize that the time to fix our problems is now? Not at the next election cycle, but now. To change the very way we think, the way we raise our children. To really look at ourselves and say enough is enough, no longer will I stand idly by and watch our children be faced with a failing nation, a debt that will crush them, and a moral crisis that will be their undoing. When will we stand up and take responsibility for our actions, and find a way to right the wrongs that are so prevalent today? Do we not fear the tyranny anymore? Do we think that it can’t happen to us? I assure you, it can and it will. History has shown over and over that when a people lose their will to keep their freedoms, they will be taken away by those who have the power. We have the power to stop it, but I fear we do not have the will anymore.
I have fallen victim as well, saying numerous times that our government is taking our freedoms, and spitting on the Constitution. It dawned on me today that it is because they can, and they will. We have not stopped them. We have allowed this to happen. It isn’t Bush’s fault, it isn’t Obama’s, or Congresses fault. It is ours and ours alone. We let them do it, over and over. They weren’t a thief in the night, or a military dictator forcibly stealing our freedoms and rights. We handed them over on a platter of apathy and stupidity, in broad daylight no less. We just threw up our hands, much like in the song, and prayed for someone to take the wheel. Take the wheel they did, and they will not easily give it back. We must pry it from their grip and regain our control as we were meant to have it.
I beg you to look inside yourself, and ask if you are ready to go silently into that dark night. Ready to let the powers that be take control of you and your loved ones. Are you ready to face your children and answer to them when they ask you why you stood, or rather sat, by and let these things happen? More often than not in history the children have had to pay for the sins of the parents, and this time our children will pay dearly for our sins. They will read about the great things our people did, the awe inspiring feats that were accomplished by our sheer will and want to succeed. They will not remember a time when they weren’t saddled with failing government, with minimal freedoms, and the right to succeed or fail as they so desire. They will not know the sweet taste of free choice, the right to do as you please, for they will be burdened with a heavy handed government and an apathetic nature handed down to them from their parents.
We have the power to stop this before it turns to reality, before it takes those final steps from rhetoric and talking points to becoming a real problem that our children must deal with. I for one, choose the other path. I choose to do something about it. We must choose to be active in our pursuit of a greater society, a society that will guarantee that the generations to come will be better than off than we are. We have to get back to our roots, to the innate senses of right and wrong, the things that made us different from the rest of the world. We have to usher in the era of self reliance, of the can and will do attitude. We have to remember the price paid for our freedoms and morals, and not dishonor that memory because we were too lazy to do anything about the loss of them. We have lost sight of the prize, and our government and those with power are counting on the belief that we can’t see it anymore. I can, and you can too. This isn’t about politics, race, gender, or whether you’re gay or straight. This is about our future, our legacy that we will leave our most precious commodity, our children. It is not too late to fix these problems, to secure a free future for our children, and the generations of children to come. But let us not succumb to apathy, or for one second believe that
Someone else will take up this fight for us, because they won’t. There is no one else left to take up this cause. We are the last stand, the last few brave men at the front lines of this battle that will condemn our future to world less secure, more dangerous, and chock full of strife should this be a battle we lose. We cannot lose this fight.
So this is my proposal to you; my request to those of you reading this who believe in the power given to us by our founding fathers. Look at yourself in the mirror, and say”Not on my watch!” I won’t be apathetic; I won’t be disconnected from the reality that my generation faces. I won’t shirk my duty, as a free person in America, to stand up for my rights, to spread the word that we are facing dangerous times, to rally under the flag of our fathers and secure our children’s rights to a free and great nation. Now is the time, now is the place to stand up and shout as loudly, as passionately as you can, “Not on my watch!”
Yours truly,
Ian
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