The Softening Potbelly of Society

The Softening Potbelly of Society

by Michol Mae
March 19, 2013

While society de-evolves we sit in wonder and awe at the lack of +compassion, and common sense. We witness this devolution that waltzes hand and hand with the decline of accountability and very few act upon what they witness. We allow our legislation to pass more bills to control and manage us, instead of managing our own lives and those of our family. ( Click to Tweet)  We allow ourselves to be manipulated by our governments, our media, and our own fears. We have become a gluttonous country in every aspect; excess has become the standard, while our means depreciate. We are the school yard bully and gossip queen rolled into one;( Click to Tweet) we gossip about other countries inserting ourselves in their affairs and then scoff when they retaliate.

This country boast’s freedom but is quick to take that freedom away. This country boasts both religious freedom and being founded on Christianity in the same breath, all the while relegating the original inhabitants to small reservations of land treating them as outcasts, not to mention the many persecutions throughout the years of any religious difference, yet we are a land of religious freedom. Nay, this country is a land of hypocrites and gluttonous masses that seek conformity and not freedom. We are a country of under and over reacting a country that cannot seem to balance in the middle ground. We lie cheat and steal, we enslave, impoverish, and control, but we are America the great.

Now that I have your attention, as you seethe with anger that I could write such things about this beloved country, you might even go so far as to call me unpatriotic, which would be incorrect. The truth is I am a patriot, I love this country, I support our troops, but as an individual I do not always agree with the authority of the country, and I am worried for our future. Many a great revolution were started by individuals with strength of character and presence of mind, that questioned the authority. If not for these people we may have never come to this country, never fought against Britain for our freedom, never fought against slavery; more than the major changes brought about by war, without people who question, people who think, people who do not accept the norm, we would not have a great many inventions. Greatness does not come from following the crowd it comes from thinking and believing in yourself, it comes from having fortitude and strength of character, it comes from determination and perseverance, and at times it comes from questioning authority when pertinent.

Today as I write this my sources tell me about the patriot act, which allows the government to keep prisoners for a undetermined period of time under the guise of terrorism, they tell me of legislation being passed in New York City regulating soda and other consumption, they tell me of the corruption of media and the push to take away our right to bear arms, and with all of this information I must speak up, not because I am not a patriot, but because I am, because I love this country and I do not like the direction it is taking. Are you so willing to let the government tell you what you can and cannot put in your body, will you let them take away your freedom, your constitutional right to bear arms, your right to freedom of speech? How many are afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation, and thus remain silent? It seems the ignorant have no fear of retaliation, they spread hate and lies, while the more educated people worried for their safety and security put their heads down and keep droning away. Well as Benjamin Franklin said “those that would trade their liberty for a small measure of security deserve neither” well said Mr. Franklin.

This country reacts out of fear, it is not proactive, it is reactive, and worst of all it is fear driven. ( Click to Tweet)  People bombed the trade centers, out of fear we lock down airports and add security, we give into the terror. We traded our liberty for a small measure of security, and I can tell you it is a false sense of security.(Click to Tweet)  If we are honest with ourselves we would recognize that if someone really wants to hijack a plane they will attempt it, our best defense is to be ready to defend ourselves, not to rely on machines or security personnel to catch someone that has been trained not to be caught. Not once did we stop to question why we have such a larger target on our backs, why do other countries hate us so much, more than that what is the root of the issue.

Then we have a tragic shooting, actually we have had several throughout the years, and we react once again from fear, the government attacks gun owners, the media joins the frenzy and again we are trading our liberty for a small about of security and again it is a false sense of security. Are you naïve enough to believe that the criminals of the world will turn their guns in? Instead you force honest law abiding citizens to turn in their guns, you are hardly leveling the playing field, and the criminals most certainly will keep theirs. What’s more is this kneejerk overreaction, even if it were necessary to regulate gun sales according type, why immediately push to eliminate, why not seek to add regulations to obtaining, you could easily have applied the same regulations for hand guns to assault rifles. Still all the regulations in the world will not save you from the thug or psycho that has the illegal weapon but having one of your own quite possibly could, provided you are educated in the use of it. Don’t get me wrong guns are not for everyone, by all means if you are afraid of them you should not have one, and education is the key to successful use, but taking them away from people who are of good caliber is a great injustice.

The media ads to the entire debacle news stations funded by political parties skew the fact, and at times seem to make up the facts as they go along, they persecute entire groups of people with blatant disregard and don’t seem to check their facts. Once upon a time we trusted our media and our journalist to give us the truth, we can no longer believe this, and in this day and age we have the wonderful World Wide Web which is riddled with half-truths and mistruths. Those not educated in how to find information would find it difficult to find the core truth to a story, and each story has many different sides.

We now have to find our own truths; we have to adjust our own moral compass, find our own values, and discover our own fortitude. We have to question, and we have to have courage to face our fears. We have to stand up for what we believe is right, and face our fears so that we do not trade our liberties for small measures of security, a security that is often false. We have to take a stand and demand the truth as best as it can be presented, the truth about what is in our foods, and medications, the truth about our involvement in other countries affairs, and we must stand and demand our liberty not be sacrificed, that we remain in control of our own bodies, that we preserve the fundamental rights for those that are law abiding citizens. We must decide not travel the gluttonous road of a search for domination and power, where even excess and extremes fail to be enough. Instead let us choose a path of tolerance, education and I dare say moderation. Let this country find that middle ground, and focus on our people and country.

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