Freedom

 

  Happy 250th Birthday America! 

   Is a 250th birthday more portentous for a country than a 200th? I was around for America's 200th birthday and I can say with authority that these fifty year increments zip by quickly. In 1976 Gerald Ford was doing his best as president, but the country was not happy. President Nixon had reigned two years earlier to avoid impeachment. Half the country believed he had been unjustly hounded from office and the other half had been delighted to see him go. There's been a vendetta atmosphere in the country ever since.

  Are things better now in the US or worse? They were pretty good for me back in '76. I had a beautiful wife. We owned a house in Wannaska that we planned to move to as soon as I finished school. We had friends and supportive families. Life was good. Fifty years later it's even better. Most of our sorrows have come from witnessing the sorrows of our friends and family members. It bothers me that half the country still hates the other half. Has there ever been a time of perfect amity?

   There was an "Era of Good Feeling" in the early nineteenth century. The War of 1812 had ended in a draw and the US was left alone to develop as it saw fit. President Monroe called himself head of the nation and not of a party. It didn't last. A financial panic and a Supreme Court decision extending the power of the federal government over the states returned the country to its usual sour mood. And slavery raised its ugly head leading to the Civil War. That was our country's low point and we're still working out the consequences.

    I'm currently living in my own era of good feeling. We have more than enough. My loved ones are generally doing well or on the way to doing well. I don't watch the news obsessively. Instead I live by the mantra that every little thing is gonna be alright. But what does AI have to say? AI says that we're much better off materially than we were fifty years ago. We have better health care and stronger civil rights. But...according to surveys Americans feel less financially secure, lonelier and more isolated. Only 20% of us trust the government to do the right thing.

   Abraham Lincoln said "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Ooops! AI just informed me that quote actually comes from the Disney movie Pollyanna. Well, I still think the quote is psychologically true. Come on America! Let's pull ourselves up by our boots straps. Get out there and meet people. Help others. Go to church if you like. Let's make America truly greater.

Welcome all