The United States of America officially turned 236 years old yesterday and I think that in light of everything that is going on in the world today, perhaps we should take some time to consider where we came from, where we are today, and where we are going. I know that I can't possibly take on the task of delving in and exploring every aspect of our country, but I can touch on a few areas that I feel are important. So to get started, it is important that we look back to our founding fathers. There are a few main reasons that our country was founded and became what it is today. Two of the biggest were to gain religious freedom and to escape the burden of excessive taxes (taxation without representation). To put it even more simply, our founding fathers wanted more freedom than they had across the pond. That freedom was essential to them, to create a new life for themselves based upon their ideals and morals, and to allow others the freedom to pursue their own interests. Perhaps the other main reason this country was founded was to keep others from meddling in our affairs, to keep control of our lives to ourselves; which I guess all boils down to freedom regardless of how you look at it. So taking that into consideration, how have we faired in keeping with the original ideals of our founding fathers? Have we kept our spirit in line with theirs that they embodied in one of the greatest works in history, the Constitution and its partner the Bill of Rights? Personally, I think we have come a long way in realizing freedom for many different people in this country, from the slaves who gained equal rights, to women, to offshoot religious groups, to homosexuals, and beyond. Freedom has been a work in progress almost since our country came into being, and on that note, we have come a long way. Have we come to afford freedom for everyone in every walk of life? No, but we are inching closer every year.
Yet despite our gains in personal freedom for different groups of people, our record in other areas is not where it should be in my mind. One of the other reasons that our founding fathers created this wonderful country was to free themselves from the burden of excessive taxes and overbearing governments. Well, my friends, it seems we have come full circle and need an awakening of sorts. Before I begin, let me first state that taxes are necessary if we are to run a successful country, however, excessive taxation only creates disdain and disgust amongst a populace. I feel that we have once again reached a point where taxation is at an all time high and in terms of representation, are we really being represented as well as we could be by the members of Congress? I don't think we are. Every year sees new taxes tacked on the growing list of items and services we are taxed for. The latest abomination is Obamacare which as the Supreme Court called it, is really just a new tax. Part of the problem lies in the fact that our government has gotten too large and in order to sustain a large government and all its services, there needs to be a large amount of taxes. The two go hand in hand. If we reduce the size of government to keep it in line with what the founding fathers envisioned, then we can inherently reduce the amount of taxes levied on each and every one of us. What is the likelihood of that happening? Slim to none in my mind without a new revolution (I am not advocating that option yet). However, how much more can we take before we reach a breaking point and all the money we make gets eaten up by our government? I don't know, but it seems that people in general are getting fed up with too many taxes and too much government intervention. This isn't to say that efforts haven't been made to reduce taxes and the size of government, its just that those efforts haven't succeeded either because their plans were too complex and divided (the Tea Party) or there wasn't much of a plan at all (the Occupy Movement). Something needs to be done, but it is an uphill battle and one that most people don't want to take on because it is too draining and to frustrating.
So where do we go from here? As we approach our country's 250th birthday (still 14 years away), do we just sit by and let history takes its course, beating the populace of the United States of America down or do we figure out a way of making changes to our government and the taxes it imposes? If we are to do anything, the time is now before it becomes too late and we have no options left. What is needed is a plan with a simple goal that can be agreed upon by the majority. Sounds simple in writing, but incredibly difficult in reality. Part of the problem arises in the fact that we are such a diversified country. We have people from every walk of life each of whom will have a different idea of what needs to get changed in this country. That is a far cry from our founding fathers who had thousands, not millions of people to contend with. What we really need is a leader who can stand his ground in the face of opposition, rally the people behind him/her, and make the changes necessary to revitalize our country (not another turncoat Obama). But enough about changes for now, we have come a long way since the founding of our country and we should be proud of where we are today. However, we can't just sit back on our laurels and let things happen on their own accord without our voice. Let us bring back the spirit that our founding fathers had, the one that craved freedom from oppression, excessive taxes, overbearing governments, and intolerance. It is only by reawakening this spirit that we can move forward and bring our country back to where it used to be. Let us begin today, the day after independence day, to begin a new chapter in American history, one that sees the dreams of our founding fathers realized in full, and one that we can all be proud of.
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