Attitude

We live in interesting times, times of great issues and controversies. Our nation is in a peculiar state; caught between politics, policy and people-not only within our own borders, but throughout the world as well.  What I feel we are left with is a form of stagnation brought on by the timidity of fear. 

Fear of what? Where to begin? We all know our country's internal problems; fiscally, politically, inter-personally and some say morally...we are bankrupt. There are enough boogie-men running around in those arenas to guarantee a sell-out crowd every night-if we were talking World Wide Wrestling!
But we're not.

We're talking a very simple thing here-beneath all the rhetoric and platitudes...we're talking our survival. Not just the survival of us as a nation, but us as a world...a people-and a planet.

It is possible to be American and be proud of it. We've done some pretty incredible things in our very short history; some of these things aren't given the brevity and respect they deserve presently but this temporary amnesia only requires a few moments' research to find that the United States had an incredibly rich history.


As with all countries, the United States has blood on its' hands.  To deny the violence, genocide, racial, gender and ethnic persecution, religious and sexual prejudices is impossible. Anyone wishing to do so has either been living on some far off planet or asleep for a very long time!

But is that any reason to shit-can the whole she-bang?

I don't think so! For we are also a country of ingenuity and discovery....we know how to think our way out of a paper bag. In the case of our present day problems, that bag is pretty big-but it's just a bag none the less!

We have to recognize that there is a point where political correctness turns into stagnation. I'm not saying we should go around acting like a bunch of boorish brutes, acting out our frustrations on each others' throats!

......Then again, it kind of feels like that right now!

Political correctness does NOT mean lack of controversy!  To the contrary, political correctness should be part of the process-as in being mannerly, not using the "n" word or any of the other "letter " words
that would be offensive.

It does NOT mean censoring discourse.  It does NOT mean agree with so-and-so's ideas or shut up.
Contrary to what some members of the many political parties out there would have perspective members believe, you don't need to be in a political party to vote.

Some have even gone so far as to ask the following question:
                    What if they gave an election and nobody came?

Present day politics is no longer a machine, it is a monster that we ourselves have breathed into life.  Only we can change things.  But that requires a great deal of re-evaluation both personally and nationally. We have to figure out what exactly it is we want as our future, and we have to be thinking in real-time....because the clock is ticking.

Which is more important-a political party retaining power or true leadership where our nation's representatives and citizenry work together to improve the quality of life in our own country and be a positive force in the world at large?

I am tired of all the ads and phone calls about donating to help keep the Democratic Edge or Republicans taking back the House.  I'm equally tired of other political parties who scramble around, presenting ineffectual or baggage-encumbered candidates as healthy competition for the Good Old Boys and their OG back-room ways.

The most important thing should be what is right for the country; and quite frankly my vote is still out on the current batch of folks in power.  In the Actions-Speak-Louder-Than-Words department, I am caught somewhere between mystified and appalling. 

And my patriotism should not be questioned because I say these things.

Anyway, for today Fifty Five means the New Attitude-one of TRUE liberation based on freedom of thought and responsibility in action...and with a prayer that we find a way through this trying time.
I believe that we will.....if we work together.

Oh! P.S.

If the Mosque at Ground Zero is such a problem for families of the victims, why is it being supported by our President? True Muslims understand that it is an offense against the Koran to cause pain or offense to anyone of any nationality or creed.