Yesterday an article by two Associated Press writers, Alan Fram and Eileen Putman was posted titled,
Everything seemingly is spinning out of control. É
I began reading this article thinking it was going to be some usual lefty spin that would set me off. But I found it to be oh, so much more than that. I found it to be an article of interest to all Americans; no matter what political viewpoint you have. I found it to be of interest to all Americans who have pride in themselves and their country. You see, I find Fram and Putman to have written an article that is on the verge of being un-American.
The can-do, bootstrap approach embedded in the American psyche is under assault. Eroding it is a dour powerlessness that is chipping away at the country's sturdy conviction that destiny can be commanded with sheer courage and perseverance.
[…]
Why the vulnerability? After all, this is the 21st century, not a more primitive past when little in life was assured. Surely people know how to fix problems now. Maybe. And maybe this is what the 21st century will be about — a great unraveling of some things long taken for granted.
Oh, please, Fram and Putman, don’t tell us, the American people, that we have lost the spirit that we have had as American people since the first foot touched soil here. We are a compassionate country and we will come to the aide of each other when we are down. We are a country of democracy, we can vote for whomever we choose. We are always able to improve are lives if we choose to do so…it’s our choice…we still live in the land of opportunity, don’t we? That has not changed.
These authors can only see in front of them and do not really know the people of America. They could not have lived during the Great Depression, or fought during World War I or II. They could not have "Gone West, young man," or traveled here as an immigrant all alone back in the 1800s, or broke their backs working hard as slaves on a plantation in the South.
What do they know about Americans?
They think we have lost our spirit.
They are wrong.
