…killed by a health care reform bill, pronounced dead at the age of 233. Who knew democracy was so fragile? Who knew our great American traditions of relatively non-violent political change would be so easily broken. All by one bill.
Goodbye, America…killed by a piece of government legislation, passed by a majority of the House and Senate, two bodies that we have the opportunity to radically change every two years simply by voting…not even a Constitutional amendment….
I’ll miss you, but I’ll fondly remember how you survived such challenges and changes as the income tax, driver licenses, and the 1980’s military buildup…
…going to war on the basis of government deception, losing our right to question law enforcement, hippies, sexual immorality, AIDS…
…the first $5 trillion in national debt, the stock market crashing, subversive communism, the arms race, over-population, race riots…
…Nazis, immigration, a Civil War, electing Democrats/Republicans/Whigs/etc., Islamic fundamentalist terrorists, Islamic secular terrorists…
…Anarchists, polio, Appalachian poverty, unions, nuclear war, anthrax in the mail, Communist terrorists, militias, oil crises…
You have been truly magnificent. I apologize for the weakness of my generation: Our inability to accept change, our flair for dramatic hyperbole, our inability to think about the future, our lack of strategic thought, our lack of faith in you, ourselves, our institutions, and our humanity.
We’ve let you down, and now you’ll die, because we no longer believe in anything but ourselves, our complaints, and our fame.
What we can hope is that you ignore our lack of faith, our ingratitude, and our lack of inner fiber long enough for us to realize that rhetoric is not reality, that we still have power through the franchise of the vote, and that America is not so easily destroyed or forsaken. Remind us it’s morning in America whenever we damn well say it is, and that no piece of legislation, no political party, no court ruling is the end, no matter whether we like it or not. Keep holding out for us, and maybe we, or another generation, will grow up and be worthy of your ideals.
Now, this part breaks the flow of the post, but it needs to be said: I don’t care what your opinion about health care reform, socialism, religion, or right and wrong is, as long as you state it reasonably. But lately, I’ve heard people talking about civil war, and I want to state one thing: Cut back the hyperbole, because if you’re serious, if you decide to take up arms against America, I and the rest of the unfortunately quiet majority will resist you, and you will fall into the dustbin of history.
I might not be a fan of everything we do in America, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care about its enemies, about the people who hate us. There are far more people who hate America inside our country than out, and most define themselves as the True Americans. Wrong. If you were, you’d already be in power. The rest of us…we’re actually pretty proud of our country, our political system, and our beliefs, even if we don’t agree with something that feels absolutely vital.
Anyway, I’ve just been disgusted by the rhetoric. I’ve lived here for forty years, almost, and I know we’re always a dramatic people, but it’s time to shut up so we can actually listen and think.