On a trip to Washington, DC...I ask...What Has Happened to this Country?

I'm standing in line with fifty students in front of the National Archives building. There are hundreds of other people waiting--and the line winds down the stairs of the building, spills outside and continues on down the street. Because I'm a tour director, I've waited in this line many times before. People from all over the world are lined up all day long to glimpse the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Let's face it---they're simply pieces of paper encased in glass, but the words they convey have so much meaning to so many. What other documents can you think of that motivates millions of people to wait hours in line? Last year, I stood in front of one of the Mayan Codexes and I was the only one there.

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. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

[img]http://[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/af222dbf3692.jpg[/img]

What I come away with on my trips to DC is the sheer power of the words of our country's original designers---the beauty and insight of their words and their ideas. I have a hard time believing it was a coincidence that a group of men with such poetry and intelligence existed at the same time...and at the right time in our history. Jefferson, Franklin, Washington.

At the Jefferson Memorial, a 19-foot Thomas Jefferson stands in bronze in the center of this Beaux-arts dome, his back to the Potomac, and at least half of the kids seem taken by the sight. There's something about students visiting Washington, DC that brings some sort of sanctity and understanding to their views of government. They look around and want to believe in the ceremony of the marble and the bronze. They want to buy into the idea that America's ideals are sacred and that those ideals deserve to be encased in these hallowed grounds--but even they--at this young age-- suspect something is amiss. Something has changed since these marble buildings were constructed....something has hijacked our way of life.


[img]http://[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/fe66cc0600b2.jpg[/img]


At the Lincoln Memorial, a student tells me she wants to climb on Lincoln's lap and ask him in a whisper what he thinks of the world today. And glancing at this quote by Lincoln etched into his memorial, I think how relevant this is today:

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds ..."


[img]http://[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/8e1194022438.jpg[/img]

At George Washington's Mount Vernon, I sit on one of the rocking chairs facing the river, and like the student, wonder what he'd think of the world today. Brave George Washington--who was a farmer and a distiller and a gentleman--might be no match for the battles we are fighting today----battles in our own country. Our country is as divided as it was when Lincoln was president, as unsettled and shaken as it was during Washington's time in the Revolutionary War. I want the students in my group to believe in America---to be moved by these men who laid the foundation for freedom, but sadly, I have almost given up on America myself.

At the Capitol Building, I wonder how our elected officials can live in this district and not be haunted by the quotes and the inscriptions and the monuments they pass everyday. Are they not charged with a sense of duty when they pass by the Jefferson Monument? How can the President look out on the National Mall and not remember what this country is supposed to stand for? Why are none of them plagued with guilt?

That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Our safety and happiness? Ask one of these students how safe they feel in America today....or how happy their parents are. Does anyone have the strength to alter our destructive government?

I am an American citizen. An ancestor of mine---Winslow--sailed on the Mayflower to America. My relatives were farmers, and doctors, and ministers and butchers and lawyers. They all believed in America---an America that no longer exists. It's an America that's been railroaded by greed and special interests and oil and religious differences and wars and financial woes instigated by our own government. It's an America that is lied to daily by its elected officials. It's an America of crime and rampant materialism and disintegrating families. I don't believe in the little Main Streets of America anymore, like where my Grandmother once lived. It was a place where families walked together at night; they put their savings in little local banks, ate sandwiches at the local diner and felt safe in a America that was sturdy and forthright. That Main Street is boarded up now and my Grandmother is long since gone. It's so symbolic to me of how America has changed.

I think I can hear the country cry when I'm standing in the World War II memorial at night----where the people who died for our freedom whisper into the dark. I wonder if our freedom is just as much at stake today as when Hitler asked his General, "Is Paris burning?"

We need to raise a generation of kids that care about the United States beyond measure, but sadly most are ensconced on the back of the bus with their headphones on. They've been taught to tune out. The world is a noisy place. It's become so complex that the average person cannot understand it's inner workings. I try to explain to my own children why the economy has collapsed in as simple terms as I can, but not even I can grasp it completely. I want them to know why their father's company has closed it doors---and why their lives have changed. But Wall Street and China and mortgages seem so far removed from the difficult realities at home.


[img]http://[atsimg]http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/aca90416469d.jpg[/img]

And so, standing on the National Mall with the stars shining above, I want to let DC know that they've tarnished the marble of our nation's capitol. And that tarnish has traveled up the road like a black fog and landed on my front steps. Not only has it robbed my family of many things we used to take for granted, but it has disillusioned us to the core.

That marbled capitol, with it's monuments and sacred documents, is something of the past. And watching these students on the bus as we drive away, I am not confident that we the people can save us from our future.... They don't remember that old Main Street.

I guess we started downhill when Hamilton convinced Washington to commit treason.

Jesus Christ......can I give you 1,000 stars and flags as I wipe my tear?

Thank you.

reply to post by MRuss


I don't really know what to say other than you have put into words what my heart and mind have felt for a long time.

Thank you.

reply to post by sonofliberty1776

I guess we started downhill when Hamilton convinced Washington to commit treason.

Does anyone know what this is all about?

I know Hamilton was an advocate of a strong "central federal bank" .

reply to post by 46ACE

I know Hamilton was an advocate of a strong "central federal bank" .

Thanks....I just Googled it and got up to speed.....LOL

Originally posted by NightGypsy
reply to post by sonofliberty1776

 

I guess we started downhill when Hamilton convinced Washington to commit treason.

Does anyone know what this is all about?

The Whiskey Rebellion, less commonly known as the Whiskey Insurrection, was a resistance movement in what was the western part of the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. The conflict was rooted in western dissatisfaction with various policies of the eastern-based national government. The name of the uprising comes from a 1791 excise tax on whiskey that was a central grievance of the westerners. The tax was a part of treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton's program to centralize and fund the national debt.

This is the first use of American troops against the American people. This was also the start of the first central bank. Both were Un-Constitutional.

Glenn Beck is probably your last hope of ever saving your once great nation.

Declaration of Rights & Responsibilities.

As the American Declaration of Independence clearly states, when in the course of human events it becomes necessary for people to band together and collectively declare their rights and responsibilities to which the laws of nature and nature’s God entitle and bind them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should disclose the causes which impel them to such.

Therefore let us declare that we still hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But with those rights come responsibilities. In order to continually experience life, liberty and happiness as promised, nature’s God demands obedience to His law to protect those rights. This is where we have fallen short and therefore, in order not to lose the blessings of freedom, the people of the world must turn from the sole focus on rights, and recognize the inherent and required responsibilities that we have. Among the responsibilities to which we must adhere to maintain our God given rights are honor, courage and vigilance.

Over time, we believe that these basic human responsibilities have been trampled, and replaced with degradation, fear and apathy. But when a long train of abuses of the people and conscience by the media and by other segments of society, pursuing the same path of reducing them to ridicule, scorn and even sub-human status, it is their right, it is their DUTY, to peacefully, but vehemently take a stand. Men want to be king, and the more we concentrate on our rights and the more we are told not to worry about our responsibilities, the more we lose our rights. Just as physics show, for every action there’s an equal and opposite reaction. The time has come to declare that at least for the western world human rights are generally accepted and moving in the right direction however a new movement is required a movement of human responsibility.

The media, politicians and large institutions both academic and political have been lying to us, and we must demand the truth be told. With that demand, comes the responsibility that we tell the truth first, in ourselves. Too many of us delegate our responsibility to the media…and too many believe there is no personal responsibility at all

cont..........................www.glennbeck.com...
.

What has happened to the U.S.A.?

It seems that the citizens dropped the ball (or at least the mirage of what they thought was the ball).

If you're going to blame someone, blame yourselves and the ease with which you were duped.

Originally posted by MRuss
... What other documents can you think of that motivates millions of people to wait hours in line? Last year, I stood in front of one of the Mayan Codexes and I was the only one there.,,,,

Other Documents that motivates millions?

Unemployment claim forms

Welcome to the New America.

What has happened?
Corruption. Total and absolute.

reply to post by MRuss




Wonderful post!...indeed, really really good!

reply to post by sprtpilot
Absolute power corrupts absolutely- plain and simple.
First time I voted: 1980
Last time: 2008- I drank the KoolAid. I honestly thought we had a chance to reverse the slide. My bad, I guess. The time in between those two elections I came to the conclusion that our electoral system is seriously flawed. As long as we continue to allow the elected positions to be nothing more than a reward for the 'politician' who spends the most during the campaign it will only get worse. We really have no say in who gets elected. If we did I'd like to think we would be smart enough to elect people who know and understand the problems we are facing. Such as Doctors (Health Care) Accountants (Budgeting), Civil Engineer (Infrastructure)...you get my drift, I' sure (lots of respect for ATSers...) But i fear that will remain my dream and never come to fruition.

OP- GREAT post!! As soon as I figure out how to S&F you'll get some from me.

reply to post by JohhnyBGood


Ahhh, he's a talk show guy.

CJ

Don't worry. Our queen is on the way.

reply to post by MRuss


Great post. It encapsulates very well the disillusionment so many feeling, and the tending towards hopelessness at the overwhelming odds for those who can realize the monstrosity of the opponent that is now so deeply embedded in America.

America has been eaten away from the inside out, and all thats left is a veneer that is polished by the MSM minions feverishly day and night, trying to keep the corruption under the surface, and cast the spell upon the people that all is well, and theres nothing to see.

My hope is with Ron Paul; he is this nations last opportunity for redemption. If he is denied the chance to lead the nation, I do believe America is doomed.

reply to post by MRuss


We have become a tolerant nation. AKA we have become a nation of cowards. Only a fool tolerates that which goes against ones own conscience. The sign of a dieing civilization is when that civilization becomes more tolerant.

reply to post by MRuss

you are not alone. we will have our country back, as it was founded. there will be a price. it will be civil war. mark these words. i do not know when, or what the tipping point is.

What has happened to this country?
It started almost a hundred years ago, when our productive labor was OFFICIALLY stolen for the benefit of the very few. Thank you Woodrow Wilson.
We lived off of the productive capacity of a hungry people for a good two hundred years or so. But when you inject "free" money into any system in the world, you destroy that system. You remove the incentive to be productive.
This is probably too complicated for the ATS crowd, but it really is that simple. The architects of our society know how to build AND destroy...all for their own profit. Your future is traded on wall street, and bought for pennies on the dollar.

Now, many people actually understand this, but not most. A collapse of an economy happens very suddenly, sometimes much faster than these "architects" would like, because they don't really have TOTAL control. They start to believe their own lies and the next thing you know they are feeding on each other.
You best get used to the "destroy" aspect of this. And some new bosses that are not "American"....Ultimately, you will have to make a choice and stand up for something.

I could link some reading material, but most here don't really read. It really isn't all that complicated.