America, The Not So Great.

A few days ago I watched a video clip ,that was sent to me by a friend, from you tube featuring Jeff Daniels on the HBO show "The News Room" I thought, at first any how, that it would be something that I would get really angry over until I actually stopped and really listened to what he said. For those who have not seen this clip,I have posted the link below and I should warn you that the language is a bit rough, Jeff Daniels character is basically asked ,by a college student, what makes America the greatest country in the world and while the other two people on the stage gave what I would like to call pat answers he was very blunt and definitely gave what I would say is one of the most truthful answers I have ever heard, which was simply that America is longer the greatest country in the world and he gives a very serious list of reasons why. After I got done listening to the clip I was a bit stunned because in about 3 minutes time he clearly articulated what has fallen apart in this nation and I had to agree with him that we are not the greatest country in the world any more. Please understand I love my country. I have served and defended it but while at one time we were the greatest country we have fallen along way from the top.
My only point of contention was not what he said, it is instead what he left out. We are a nation that has become divided against its self. We have career politicians that have made it their business to divide us into categories and have polarized this nation to the point of stagnation. We can't do great things because we are to busy fighting with each other. President Lincoln wisely said that a divided house cannot stand and this is exactly what we have going on here in America. We are divided by race and creed and color. We are divided by social class, religious status, sexual orientation or handicap. If their is anyway that they can split us into smaller and smaller camps then they do so and we go from being Americans to being a bunch of subcultures.This alone can explain our downfall from greatness but add this, all the division, to the rest of the mix and you have a lethal combination. No nation can stand if its people are busy fighting each other over stupid things with the politicians pushing all the buttons. Look at at what has happened over the last few elections, after dividing people, the politicians then have focused on what ever the core issue is of  each group promising them every thing. Once elected they do as they please, but in the fervor of focusing on one issue during the campaigns they successfully divide us more and nothing is accomplished. This strategy of divide and conquering and suggesting that the other guy has ill will for you and your group is classic military strategy and we, as a nation, have fallen victim to it.
Note though that the character, played by Daniels, doesn't suggest that we can't be great again, he only points out, rather bluntly , where our flaws lie, there is still hope for us.
What we need to is change our strategy. First get rid of all the divisions between us that the politicians put up. I am not suggesting that one ignores there ancestral lines or give up who they are but as long as we stay divided along those lines we will continue this down hill slide
Second we need to revamp our education system. There is no reason that we should be putting out sub par education. We should get rid of all the touchy feel good programs in our schools and get back to real education. I am not worried about little Johnnys self esteem, I am worried that when he gets out of school that he will be dumber than a rock with no hope of any kind of decent future. I was no brainiac when I graduated but I at least knew enough to read and write legibly. I member receiving letters ,while I was in Iraq, from high-school students who didn't know how to spell even the simplest words. This has got to change if we are ever going to get back on top. We need to get refocused on sciences and math, the things we used to excel in. We need to teach our children real history so that they don't repeat it. We need to bring back the arts, music, painting and dance. We need to invest in more trades schools and apprenticeship programs giving opportunity to those who aren't interested in college. The short end of this is that we have the capability to change things for the better, to bring us back up to a level that we once were at but we the people need to commit to it and see it done before another generation goes by. Yes, lets embrace our cultural differences, and celebrate the diversity in this nation, but let us do so united rather than divided.
That is just my  Simple Minded opinion. The link is below.



 www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM3nvATF-U8