I Cry Language Revolution!

Dear America,

I hate to be the one who must tells you this, but Barak Obama is not going to fix the economy. I know that you are excited about change, but it isn’t going to happen like you seem to think that it will.

I’m excited about change too, to be honest. I’m excited that we as a nation seem to be rallying behind our leadership. I was excited to hear an inaugural address that was delivered in plain English, but I feel obligated to let you know President Obama will not be able to undo the damage that has been done to our economic system.

Understand, I’m not an economist, but it doesn’t really require one to understand how debt happens. We are in recession because “The American Dream” is not a sustainable lifestyle for every American. For many of us, debt is a lifestyle. It’s certainly become the accepted norm for our government. Debts cannot be forgotten or ignored. Debts must be paid. It’s a fact of life. If we (as individuals and as a country) do not pay our debts, the lenders cannot survive. The problem with our economy right now is that we owe money to ourselves.  The fact for many of us is that we cannot sustain our current standard of living. There is nothing that Barak Obama can do to change that. He can delay the inevitable, sure but sooner or later we will have to pay our debts.

Many of our debts these days are war debts. Regardless of when our troops come home, President Obama cannot change the fact that we used a whole lot of expensive bullets and bombs last year. It doesn’t matter what we do from here, we have to pay our debts. The opinions, vast and various as they are, about why we entered Iraq in the first place will never pay of our debts.

I guess the bottom line is that as excited as most of us are to follow someone new, we’re still deep in debt. Unless Mr. Obama has a few hundred billion dollars stashed away that no one seems to know about, our debt is not going to be changing anytime soon.

The Change that I believe in can only come from the grass roots. I believe in Americans, not only taking personal responsibility for themselves and their families, but stepping up to help others beyond our borders. I could believe in an America that didn’t wait for the government to bail them out, but lived within its means. I could believe in an America that conserved resources in order to help other nations. THAT is change that I could believe in.

America, I hope you know that I love you. I always will. You are my country, and it hurts me to see you broken and indebted. It hurts me to see you divided, but you are still my country. I will love you, and support your leaders, even if I don’t exactly see eye to eye with them. I will not mock. I will not berate, and I will not tolerate others who do. I love this country, but…

We’re in rough shape right now. Barak Obama can help, I’m sure but the future of this country rests where it always has, in the hands of its people. If this nation is going to survive to see its Tricentennial, it will be because of the American people. Just as Mr. Lincoln said, the United States Government is by, of and for the the people. It will be the people who cause the change.

We can’t expect Barak Obama to change our nation. We have to do it.

Loyal as Always,

Ray