Let’s discuss dreams a little more. The American Dream is, generally, a good thing but it needs a bit of tweaking to fit into todays’ phraseology. So let’s expand it a bit so that it will resonate with the rest of today’s global village residents.
In the first place, we as Americans need to acknowledge a most prominent fact. I will bold this for greater emphasis. WE DID NOT INVENT THE DESIRE FOR A BETTER LIFE! “The American Dream” is an exclusive phrase which blots out the entire rest of civilization and it needs to be expanded. Everyone else on planet Earth has been dealing with issues of injustice and/or political oppression for several millenia at least and America has an obligation to recognize these efforts. The North American continent was resettled a very short time ago in relation to the history of the rest of the world. We ‘huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ have now had more than two centuries to readjust our thinking processes and it is time to show it in our communications with the rest of the world. Doesn’t matter if you are Democrat or Republican, Independent or Green party. We must make a point of acknowledging the history of others in our political pronouncements.
I am old enough to remember the protests and signs of the sixties in Europe that said “Yankees Go Home” and the resentment this generated in the american public. “We saved their butts in WWII and this is how they thank us'” was the prevailing attitude at that time. I remember thinking—“I really don’t blame them.”
America’s political verbiage after WWII showed not even the slightest recognition of any other country on this earth. We perceived ourselves as the saviour of the entire free world and had no hesitation in proclaiming it. Now I have had my issues with this country but I have never hated her. On the other hand neither have I swallowed her political infantilism whole and without chewing. We need to address this particular issue because the repercussions of this post-war self-centered arrogance remains a stumbling block in our foreign policy. America, for better or worse, is now a world leader and if we are to fulfill this position with any degree of competency We Must Change Our Political Syntax To Recognize The Historical Efforts Of Other Countries. If the British, French, Italians, Czech, Polish, Phillipino, Norwegian, and even German people had not made a concerted resistance effort the outcome of WWII would have been much different, America or no America. After all, we have been militarily immune from attack not because of our superior righteousness but because of the two or three thousand miles of ocean that guards both of our continental coastlines. It was only the advent of modern missile technology that made us seriously fear any sort of enemy attack and we, ourselves, invented and implemented that technology. The only nation on earth who has ever used nuclear weapons in an armed conflict is America. And according to the media we are the one people on earth who screech the loudest about WMD‘s. This gives the impression that America is a nation of certifiable cretins. It would behoove America to yell less about WMD’s since we are the ones that came up with the workable version and are the only ones who have ever used one on a perceived enemy. If we are to maintain credibility with our traditional allies and establish healthy relations with new ones we must publicly acknowledge these factors. Or at least stop soiling our political pants about them. The rest of the civilized world remembers very well who dropped the bombs on Japan. The bathroom humor of passing a loud fart and looking at the guy next to you and saying “Well!!!!” in a loud affronted voice is not going to deceive anyone here.
In conclusion, “The American Dream” is going to have to be revised to “The Planet Earth Dream”. And if we survive the next few decades this may even have to expand itself into “The Interplanetary Dream”. That’s the wonderful thing about dreaming, it has practically no limits. And it frequently happens that the dreams of today turn out to be the realities of tomorrow. So go ahead and dream a little. I guess we can all stand it.
Next post—we will continue to explore the dream world.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Read Full Post »
The Longest Journey Begins... 
Dream On
Posted in Single Steps, tagged conservative commentary,, Foreign policy, history, modern missile technology, politics, Single Steps, social issues, WMD, WWII on June 26, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Let’s discuss dreams a little more. The American Dream is, generally, a good thing but it needs a bit of tweaking to fit into todays’ phraseology. So let’s expand it a bit so that it will resonate with the rest of today’s global village residents.
In the first place, we as Americans need to acknowledge a most prominent fact. I will bold this for greater emphasis. WE DID NOT INVENT THE DESIRE FOR A BETTER LIFE! “The American Dream” is an exclusive phrase which blots out the entire rest of civilization and it needs to be expanded. Everyone else on planet Earth has been dealing with issues of injustice and/or political oppression for several millenia at least and America has an obligation to recognize these efforts. The North American continent was resettled a very short time ago in relation to the history of the rest of the world. We ‘huddled masses yearning to breathe free’ have now had more than two centuries to readjust our thinking processes and it is time to show it in our communications with the rest of the world. Doesn’t matter if you are Democrat or Republican, Independent or Green party. We must make a point of acknowledging the history of others in our political pronouncements.
I am old enough to remember the protests and signs of the sixties in Europe that said “Yankees Go Home” and the resentment this generated in the american public. “We saved their butts in WWII and this is how they thank us'” was the prevailing attitude at that time. I remember thinking—“I really don’t blame them.”
America’s political verbiage after WWII showed not even the slightest recognition of any other country on this earth. We perceived ourselves as the saviour of the entire free world and had no hesitation in proclaiming it. Now I have had my issues with this country but I have never hated her. On the other hand neither have I swallowed her political infantilism whole and without chewing. We need to address this particular issue because the repercussions of this post-war self-centered arrogance remains a stumbling block in our foreign policy. America, for better or worse, is now a world leader and if we are to fulfill this position with any degree of competency We Must Change Our Political Syntax To Recognize The Historical Efforts Of Other Countries. If the British, French, Italians, Czech, Polish, Phillipino, Norwegian, and even German people had not made a concerted resistance effort the outcome of WWII would have been much different, America or no America. After all, we have been militarily immune from attack not because of our superior righteousness but because of the two or three thousand miles of ocean that guards both of our continental coastlines. It was only the advent of modern missile technology that made us seriously fear any sort of enemy attack and we, ourselves, invented and implemented that technology. The only nation on earth who has ever used nuclear weapons in an armed conflict is America. And according to the media we are the one people on earth who screech the loudest about WMD‘s. This gives the impression that America is a nation of certifiable cretins. It would behoove America to yell less about WMD’s since we are the ones that came up with the workable version and are the only ones who have ever used one on a perceived enemy. If we are to maintain credibility with our traditional allies and establish healthy relations with new ones we must publicly acknowledge these factors. Or at least stop soiling our political pants about them. The rest of the civilized world remembers very well who dropped the bombs on Japan. The bathroom humor of passing a loud fart and looking at the guy next to you and saying “Well!!!!” in a loud affronted voice is not going to deceive anyone here.
In conclusion, “The American Dream” is going to have to be revised to “The Planet Earth Dream”. And if we survive the next few decades this may even have to expand itself into “The Interplanetary Dream”. That’s the wonderful thing about dreaming, it has practically no limits. And it frequently happens that the dreams of today turn out to be the realities of tomorrow. So go ahead and dream a little. I guess we can all stand it.
Next post—we will continue to explore the dream world.
Rate this:
Share this:
Like this:
Read Full Post »