The original colonies were created for economic gain, religious freedom and a method to deal with criminals. America was founded as a result of tyrannical rule of the King of England. Pioneers and homesteaders spread across the continent for many of the same reasons, displacing/killing native Americans and others along the way. The Civil War came about, again, for many of the same reasons. The North and South had economic and political differences that forced a wedge between the nation. Slavery was important, but not the driving force. African Americans fought for the right to vote after the Civil War and received it as part of the 15th Amendment. The Industrial Revolution describes a period of technological advancement that gave people an opportunity to improve their lot in life while creating an upper economic “class”. Women fought for their right to vote and received it in 1919. The US was relatively an isolationist nation until WW1. It takes 3 years before President Wilson brings America into the war and only after Germany offers Mexico the SouthWest US in exchange. While supporting Britain, it still takes 2 years and Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor before the US enters WW2. In the ’50s & ’60s, citizens fight for civil rights while a President focuses us to go to the moon and play a calculated part in the Cold War fighting communism on a world scale. This results in building successful and failed democracies, establishing strong and less than effective allies, tying ourselves to oil rich nations. The ’70s bring about great disollutionment with goverment due to Vietnam, Watergate, Iran, terrorism and hostages, energy shortages and failed economic plans.
Let’s stop there before we get into too much current politics…
I’m not a historian and what I laid out is riddled with holes and fallacies. But there is a theme there… The American Dream. A struggle for improvement. Our progress is wrought with tragic mistakes, but filled with hope.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
- Declaration of Independence
Our founding fathers were onto something. They established a nation where the basic idea is that everyone has the right to work hard and improve their lot in life. They promised an equal playing field and built the foundations to make it more equal. It’s a constantly evolving struggle.
What was never promised was wealth, farm, house, property… Citizens have the right to pursuit these without discrimination based on race, sex, age or other physical characteristic, but that just leveled the playing field. Individuals have to fight, struggle, work, earn these trappings.
The government has lost it’s way by trying to guarantee “inexpensive, affordable” housing for everyone. Yes, everyone should have a place to live. Should everyone have a house? if they can afford one, sure. Should everyone have a huge salary? if they can earn one, sure.
People have gotten complacent. My brother and I were raised by a single mother. At one point, she went on welfare. We lived in apartments and spent our summers and school breaks with our grandparents while our mother worked whatever jobs she could get. When I graduated high school, I knew better jobs would only come through a degree. I joined the Army Reserve and worked my way through college at a minimum wage job. There were no real jobs where I lived, so I moved several states away. I started at the bottom in a company and worked my way up, gaining experience along the way. My wife and I bought a starter house we could afford. We made improvements and upgraded when we had equity, again, to something we could afford (not just now, but in 10 years) with an eye towards paying it off someday. We worked and paid cash for cars, not always buying new, but what we could afford and needed. Now that our kids are in school, my wife is back pursuing her degree so she can get a decent job. We are slowly putting money away for our kids’ education, weddings and retirement.
I understand that I am a white male and do not suffer from racial, sexist prejudice. But I also know that those prejudice do not exist everywhere in the United States. I am not an automotive worker who put in 25 years in a plant only to be laid off while jobs went overseas. Well, I am an IT manager who lost his job when it went overseas. There are other jobs in this country. Maybe not where you live, but you can move. I don’t doubt that the prejudice you face everyday is real, but you can move to a place it doesn’t exist or isn’t so prevalent.
You have choices. You can stay where you are at and fight/create opportunity where there wasn’t any or you can move to a place with more opportunity. I respect either choice. There are even times when it’s good to rely on the government to help you through a bad spot. I respect the courage to ask for help.
The government was not founded to guarantee property or economic status to people. It is not a crutch to prop people up. The government creates the situation for citizens to pursue the American dream, but can not guarantee it to you. That’s up to you.
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