America is "Advanced Citizenship"
Why is being a true American hard, well because it takes your personal responsibility to the next level. In many countries the citizens have turned over their mail key and told the government, 'hey you keep tabs on this, I'll pay for it". They did this for good reason. Being an active citizen is hard, it requires intellect, reading, knowledge, involvement and constant maintenance. Where as simply letting the 'government' work on its own requires nothing of you, offers you basic protection and simply requires you do something.
In the United States our basic backbone is setup to keep the government and citizenry at odds. It is as basic as a check and balance. The same way the government is divided into three branches with no branch having absolute power over the other two (think of the game 'rock-paper-scissors'), the government is kept in check by the citizens and states. This point is what makes the United States so special. It is the only country in history that doesn't allow one branch or one entity absolute power in some instance. There is always a possibility to get around or rework something. The glory of the Constitution of the United States is that it is an amendable document. It assures one thing, that nobody knows everything. The founding fathers in drafting the Constitution knew that they didn't know everything. So they left holes or doors to allow for changes in the future. The only items they knew for sure were cornerstones to success were contained in the bill of Rights or the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Citizens are usually quite familiar with the first few; right to free speech, right to assembly, freedom of the press, right to bear arms, but few, until recently understood the fourth amendment and the tenth amendment. Fewer citizens know about the sixteenth amendment, even thought they rant about taxes. The point is, advanced citizenship requires that you pay attention and ask questions.
As a US citizen it is your duty to understand your country and to understand why and how your country operates. Does the US have its downfalls? Of course, just like everything there is a good side and a bad side. However, the US has a multitude of accomplishments for every fault. For some reason, since Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement it seems, the US has take the liberal position of assuming it has erred and that it must make amends for something. And while it is true that to grow you must acknowledge your mistakes, you must not dwell in them. US Citizens need to ask themselves "have you apologized enough?" if your answer is no, then you must ask "what is enough?" if you can't answer that then your position has no merit.
Citizenship in America requires you to take an active role. There is no 'sideline' no bystander. You are involved.
With all of our advancements in technology, medicine and "life" we have stopped asking questions and really understanding the answers and the implications. We are a nation of sound bytes now, we like headlines and quick answers. We don't dig, we don't ask why or what will happen if? Instead, we take most things at face value and ask questions later when hindsight provides 20/20 clarity. This is really the down fall of the US. Some will say the US lost its moral compass or the US became too dominant in world affairs, or stretched itself too thin and while these have merit they are not the answer to why the US seems to be losing its collective vision.
The US has grown extremely fast. Consider this, the US was simply 13 colonies only 235 years ago. England, France, Spain, Italy, China *in some form* and nearly every nation in the Eastern Hemisphere has been around considerably longer. So why was the US so successful? Why did it excel so quickly to the top of the heap? Well the answer is of course complicated but one must assume that the standard by which the country was established had something to do with it. Currently you'll hear things in the news like the majority of industrial nations, or the majority of European, or some other sweeping argument made as a rationale for why the US should adopt some new process or practice. Whenever this is mentioned, pause, ask yourself this 'why does the US not have this in play already?' and then remember, the US even now is still the most dominant nation in the world.
It is truly critical that you understand what you are standing for in the US and why. Remember that the grass always seems greener on the other side and that everyone in the sandbox eventually throws sand. Nobody is without complication. This is the point at which I like to quote Macbeth "things without all remedy should be without regard".
The world is classroom and being a citizen of the United States is an honors course. It isn't easy, it isn't suppose to be. There is a reason Thomas Jefferson wrote "the pursuit of Happiness" and not "happiness". That is because this life is a journey and the course is not charted.
In the United States our basic backbone is setup to keep the government and citizenry at odds. It is as basic as a check and balance. The same way the government is divided into three branches with no branch having absolute power over the other two (think of the game 'rock-paper-scissors'), the government is kept in check by the citizens and states. This point is what makes the United States so special. It is the only country in history that doesn't allow one branch or one entity absolute power in some instance. There is always a possibility to get around or rework something. The glory of the Constitution of the United States is that it is an amendable document. It assures one thing, that nobody knows everything. The founding fathers in drafting the Constitution knew that they didn't know everything. So they left holes or doors to allow for changes in the future. The only items they knew for sure were cornerstones to success were contained in the bill of Rights or the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. Citizens are usually quite familiar with the first few; right to free speech, right to assembly, freedom of the press, right to bear arms, but few, until recently understood the fourth amendment and the tenth amendment. Fewer citizens know about the sixteenth amendment, even thought they rant about taxes. The point is, advanced citizenship requires that you pay attention and ask questions.
As a US citizen it is your duty to understand your country and to understand why and how your country operates. Does the US have its downfalls? Of course, just like everything there is a good side and a bad side. However, the US has a multitude of accomplishments for every fault. For some reason, since Vietnam and the Civil Rights Movement it seems, the US has take the liberal position of assuming it has erred and that it must make amends for something. And while it is true that to grow you must acknowledge your mistakes, you must not dwell in them. US Citizens need to ask themselves "have you apologized enough?" if your answer is no, then you must ask "what is enough?" if you can't answer that then your position has no merit.
Citizenship in America requires you to take an active role. There is no 'sideline' no bystander. You are involved.
With all of our advancements in technology, medicine and "life" we have stopped asking questions and really understanding the answers and the implications. We are a nation of sound bytes now, we like headlines and quick answers. We don't dig, we don't ask why or what will happen if? Instead, we take most things at face value and ask questions later when hindsight provides 20/20 clarity. This is really the down fall of the US. Some will say the US lost its moral compass or the US became too dominant in world affairs, or stretched itself too thin and while these have merit they are not the answer to why the US seems to be losing its collective vision.
The US has grown extremely fast. Consider this, the US was simply 13 colonies only 235 years ago. England, France, Spain, Italy, China *in some form* and nearly every nation in the Eastern Hemisphere has been around considerably longer. So why was the US so successful? Why did it excel so quickly to the top of the heap? Well the answer is of course complicated but one must assume that the standard by which the country was established had something to do with it. Currently you'll hear things in the news like the majority of industrial nations, or the majority of European, or some other sweeping argument made as a rationale for why the US should adopt some new process or practice. Whenever this is mentioned, pause, ask yourself this 'why does the US not have this in play already?' and then remember, the US even now is still the most dominant nation in the world.
It is truly critical that you understand what you are standing for in the US and why. Remember that the grass always seems greener on the other side and that everyone in the sandbox eventually throws sand. Nobody is without complication. This is the point at which I like to quote Macbeth "things without all remedy should be without regard".
The world is classroom and being a citizen of the United States is an honors course. It isn't easy, it isn't suppose to be. There is a reason Thomas Jefferson wrote "the pursuit of Happiness" and not "happiness". That is because this life is a journey and the course is not charted.
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