Confronting reality - Taking Inventory First | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Perhaps our biggest challenge as a country is to come to some agreement on our current situation in the world and formulate a plan to deal with the realities of the current environment rather than re-fight a war long since lost or won depending on your heritage. Below are some of the challenges that I see facing our country. Some would ask why are they so many negative assertions? Well, positives things done't need much change and there are still plenty of positive things about our great country.

1. We have strong opposition on the world stage.
2. We have a piss-ant communist country trying to assert itself on the world stage with provocative and bravado actions and pronouncements. That country is also within 35 miles of 30 Million South Koreans in Metro-Seoul who would certainly pay the price for any offensive action on our part.---For those Super Armchair Hawks among us Move to Seoul Quickly-They will need your help when the fighting starts..(North Korea)
3. We have a dedicated leader of a failed communist country also trying to recover its former dominance on a portion of the globe. Its leader is willing to do anything that will disrupt the influence of the free countries of the world.(Russia)
4. We have a series of countries driven by a religious ideology that does not even recognize our or other's right to exist or any deviation from their own view of Allah's wishes.(Arab states)
5. We have a guilt-ridden populace that is convinced we became the most dominant country on the face of the earth by abusing the poor and minorities within our population without acknowledging that every society has had the same abuses. It is a shameful facet of human nature that is not limited to United States citizens. (Far Left Progressives)
6. We have a whole segment of our population born after World War II who never thought they would need to plan for retirement and are now reaching the age of retirement without benefit of any reservoir of savings or investments. (Baby Boomers)
7. We have an elected leadership whose sole purpose is to get re-elected regardless of the means or lies that they must tell the voting populace. (Congress -Rep and Dem)
8. We have conditioned ourselves to buy the cheapest possible product without regard to the country of manufacture or the conditions under which it is manufactured, while at the same time hamstringing our own manufacturing capability with high taxes and admirable environmental and safety goals.(Most Consumers)
9. We have a whole generation of young people who cannot find a job either due to improper education, lack of skills need in the work place, or a sense of entitlement on what they are owed by society.(Millennials)
10. Our manufacturing base which used to be the main stay of a middle class income has greatly deteriorated over the years as companies transferred production overseas. (Over taxed and over-regulated by government)
11. We have a conservative class more intent on increasing their personal wealth than allowing our former capitalist system to function normally and thus raising the standard of living for all citizens.(Crony Capitalist)
12. We have a conditioned welfare class of people who believe they cannot survive without government assistance perpetrated by class envy and political rhetoric. (Don't jump to the conclusion that this is a race based observation. Welfare recipient does not equal Race recipient)
13. We claim to be a country that believes in the Rule of Law except when it refers to immigrants who broke out antiquated immigration laws when they entered this country illegally.(Selective Obedience)
14. We have an giant communist country that we have subsidized because of our quest for cheaper goods. It is a problem of our own making and we are surprised that is supporting number two on this list. We act as though they are the same as our democratically elected allies of Germany, France and England. They are not. Communism has not changed its goal. Khrushchev may have been correct in his " We will bury you and you " remark.(China)

Khrushchev - We will Bury You-1956
   As I said in the first paragraph to this post, our biggest challenge is to debate all the points listed above (feel free to add others to your list) and come to an agreement on a path forward. This will require that we as a people get our head out of our own self-interested arse and put every effort into rebuilding an optimistic citizenship that understands (to use the flood metaphor) that we are all under water when the flood hits.

    Our basic character as a country is usually evident in our reaction to a natural disaster either here or abroad. We seem to be able to find the cooperation needed to help those who are affected by natures assertion of its power regardless of political or personal differences. It may be time for us to address the current man-made disasters with that same resolution. Our man-made disaster rest on overburdened debt, false economies, finger pointing at the other fellow, general envy of anyone better off than we are and allowing our elected officials to remain in office when it is clear they are not following our founding principles. Nero Fiddled

    See Page two for answers