A Walk to Remember:

Election 2012; American Idol on steroids or does participating in this 224 year old tradition remain politically relevant? Does the sacrifice of our founders wane? In our young country, our founders battled the tyrants of Royalty; lost life and limb against brethren of a powerful empire, and fought frontier wars against nomadic tribes with superior fighting skills. Backwoodsmen repelled the French, chased off the Spanish and invaded Mexico. Our families killed one another for moral good, our families died because inequity. The beaches of Normandy accepted our dead on behalf of others. Humid jungles stifled our armies, hid our enemies and spun tales of horror across shinning seas. Let us not forget brave men laid upon torture tables, abused, broken and terrorized for years. The sacrifice is profound.

Our American nation has grown up, yet her bosom hasn’t always welcomed everyone, but, eventually, many have found a home and a dream to pursue. Some say our history is only a violent means to an imperialistic ends. Some say America is no longer worth fighting for, we’ve lost our way. We are a nation of racists, xenophobes, bigoted homophobes and prolific killers of the environment. Certainly if we were truly believed to be all these things, then one would think we wouldn’t need immigration laws, because, after all, who would want to emigrate here? Hyperbole has little place grounded in reality.

The Next Steps:

Americans have much thinking to do in the next few months. Young, old, families and singles need to evaluate their value system, what they want to accomplish with their life and decide which candidate will most likely assist with achieving those means. Some are proclaiming no visible difference between Romney or Obama. Some are even joking Romney should run as Obamas vice presidential candidate. Times like these I wish the stupid were not allowed to vote.

There are legitimate gripes on both sides of the isle; moreover, there are outlandish, idiotic and completely baseless prognostications to boot. A Romney era will not usher in the second coming of Joseph Smith no more than another 4 years of Obama will usher in concentration camps for Christians. What isn’t a joke are our flirtations with collectivist policies and failed European ideologies. Any socialist policy to have existed and practiced is available to study via Cuba, China, Germany, Russia, France, Sweden, Venezuela and dozens of more countries which America has zero business emulating—Period.

Individualism and the right to lawfully practice seeking betterment are not tenets of confining legislation, punitive lifestyle taxes or societal castigation for personal success. American’s are no longer politely hiding their severe discomfort with differing value systems. Progressive terminology is being hijacked to favor rabid ideologues overturning all traditions they hate. The individual is being punished for failing to recognize behaviors counterintuitive to a high functioning society. The individual is losing the war for autonomy, use of creative license and the right to decide what is good for self. People, we haven’t lost—yet.