Monday, February 21, 2011

President's Day....a cautionary tale?

Once upon a time, there was a country called America.  In this exceptional country, years ago, the children learned about its constitution, learned songs which celebrated the great land they lived in, and were proud to recite a pledge of allegiance to this country's flag every morning in school. Children learned about the founding fathers, the presidents, and women who contributed to this country's greatness .  They learned that these men and women were intelligent and worked hard in creating a country which its people could be proud of and which would stand as a beacon for those immigrants wanting to share in its dream, when people wanted to be AMERICANS.  In those days, the immigrants came in legally, never thinking of sneaking into this great country because they had integrity and pride and wanted to contribute, not detract from this country they knew would give them opportunities they could not have dreamed of in their own lands.  America was a great reality for some and a hopeful dream to others.

The children in that America learned about George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and most of the other presidents, and even knew the dates during which they served.  They learned to admire these men and some of the children even hoped they would grow up and be like them. 

Then, something happened.  Learning about the presidents and saying the pledge and studying the constitution became old fashioned.   Teachers argued that memorization was a waste of time and who cared what dates people served, anyway?  The pledge became a thing of the past because there might be children from other countries there and their sensitivities were more important than that of the vast majority of American children.  All that children in America did for years and years now became not only old fashioned but deplorable to some who lived in this land.  Suddenly, children knew President's Day was a day off from school, but they weren't quite sure to which presidents they owed this stroke of luck. They wondered if two presidents might have been born on that same Monday but weren't sure which ones.  To be honest, by this time, the children weren't sure what a president did.  They heard people arguing about them and screaming at each other on television about which was better but they didn't know if that mattered or why those adults had to get so angry.  And it seemed to them, from TV, that only Democrat presidents were good, but that's really all they knew.


This country called America didn't do too well after that.  These children who didn't know anything about presidents or the constitution or much else about the country started wondering what exactly America WAS after all.  Why would anybody fight for it?  Why be proud of it?  Why put its interest first?  Some even got into college and wondered why we had been so great and wasn't it time to give another country the chance to be a world power, but when people asked those kids which other country they might suggest, they couldn't think of one. Didn't some other country have great people who founded it and greater people still who continued that drive to be the best, to help other lands through amazing generosity, to be a beacon to those who hoped to come from lands lacking opportunity?  No.  Odd, but they couldn't think of one. Maybe they were living in the most exceptional country in the world, maybe they did have great opportunity, maybe it was worth fighting for.......could that BE?   And, just maybe, those presidents were on to something?

Is it silly to suggest the fact that we celebrate President's Day without names mentioned is problematic to this country?   Is it a huge stretch to think our children not knowing which presidents got them a day off is metaphorical for something bigger, far, far worse? 
I'm not sure.  I hope not.

What do you think?
Happy ABRAHAM LINCOLN AND GEORGE WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAYS DAY.  Please only read the rest of you have time..........mostly, I'd like to hear your opinions of my thoughts above.  Thanks!  Z

                                  No matter what our kids and the new generation think about us,
WE ARE AWESOME !!!
OUR Lives are LIVING PROOF !!!
   To Those of   Us  Born  
1925 - 1970  :
~~~~~~~~~ 
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED THE 
1930s, '40s, '50s, '60s and '70s!!
First, we survived being born to mothers who may have smoked and/or drank 
while they were pregnant.   
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.   
Then, after that trauma, we were 
put to sleep on our tummies 
in baby cribs covered 
with bright colored lead-based paints.   
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, locks on doors or cabinets, 
and, when we rode our bikes, 
we had baseball caps, 
not helmets, on our heads.
  As infants and children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, no booster seats, no seat belts, no air bags, bald tires and sometimes no brakes..
Riding in the back of a pick- up truck on a warm day was always a special treat.   
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle, and no one actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread, real butter, and bacon. We drank Kool-Aid made with real white sugar. And we weren't overweight.
WHY?   
Because we were always outside playing...that's why!   
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. 
No one was able to reach us all day. 
--And, we were OKAY..
  
We would spend hours building 
our go-carts out of scraps 
and then ride them down the hill, 
only to find out we forgot the brakes.. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Play Stations, Nintendos and X-boxes. There were 
no video games, no 150 channels on cable, 
no video movies or DVDs, 
no surround-sound or CDs, 
no cell phones, 
no personal computers, 
no Internet and no chat rooms. 

 
 
WE HAD FRIENDS 
and we went outside and found  them!
 
 
We fell out of trees, got cut, 
broke bones and teeth, 
and there were no lawsuits 
from those accidents.. We would get spankings with wooden spoons, switches, ping-pong paddles, or just a bare hand, and no one would call child services to report abuse.   

 
  We ate worms, and mud pies 
made from dirt, and 
the worms did not live in us forever.
  
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them.

 Little League had tryouts 
and not everyone made the team. 
Those who didn't had to learn 
to deal with disappointment.
  
 The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of. They actually sided with the law!
 
These generations have produced some of the best   risk-takers, 
problem solvers and inventors ever.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all. 

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives  for our own good. 
And WE LEARNED TO LOVE OUR COUNTRY!!! (Z) 
 While you are at it, forward it to your kids, so they will know how brave and lucky their parents were. 
Thanks, commenter-pal Impertinent, for sending this to me just in time to include it in my Monday blog post above.............it was a perfect fit, in my opinion.
God bless America.
Oh, I forgot:   George Washington (1732-1799)
Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)  :-)
z

26 comments:

Always On Watch said...

All of my homeschoolers do the patriotic things you mentioned. A lot of students in private schools, particularly Christian schools, do so as well.

Of course, these students are a minority of the present generation.

As a child born in the 1950s, I can clearly relate to all of that portion of the post.

GM Roper said...

Wow, I come by to return the favor and get my head filled with patriotism. I got the better end of this deal methinks... and I'm one of those kids who grew up in the 40's and 50's and now in my mid 60's look back and marvel that a.) I survived, b.)I had a hell of a lot of fun and c.) I feel sorry for today's kids.

Great post!

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

Child of the 70's, teen of the 80's here.

The world was supposed to end.

Nuclear apocalypse. How dare you all make us grow up and get jobs!

:P

Ducky's here said...

Don't know how I grew up without an iPod.

Chuck said...

Actually I disagree a bit. I think future kids will learn about President (no plural) in their history books/classes.

I see future high school kids spending a lot of time on the miracle of the first black President and all he has done for us.

Anonymous said...

Like what? Apologizing for America to our enemies & others abroad, destroying businesses, causing the oil companies to move their rigs to foreign lands, refusing to allow drilling, going hat in hand to beg favors from others (Please, oh, please can we have the Olympics. I brought you the invincible, the Almighty OPRAH!), corrupting our election system with union interference (can you spell SEIU? I should have said smell!), cronyism, skyrocketing unemployment & gas prices just to name a few. We certainly do have a lot to thank him for. I'll thank him the day I see him exit the White House. I never thought to see a worse president than Carter, but he beats him hands down. I just hope we survive this 'miracle'.

Silvrlady

Anonymous said...

Hi, Beamish;
9 hours of DÉCALAGE HORAIRE reduces our intersection hours to 15.
So, Excusez moi pour répondre si tard.

Well, Beamish;
With all the paper money in your USA hand, CHINA will destroy your America:
1 - by producing the GARBAGES with a reduced price,
2 - by buying and colsing your industries,
3 - by geting the food industries in his hand
4 - by stopping the innovations, (I know something about),
5 - by reducing the humans to the new type of slavery.

How optimistic you are!

You are the only economist who believes a future for the CIVILIZED and Comfortable world with CHINA there.

ET, MOI, personnellement, Je souhaite de tout mon cœur que YOU BE RIGHT and ME, WRONG.

Respectueusement
SAM

Anonymous said...

Great post Z. It puts our country in perspective, regarding the blurring of Americanism and it's effect on our lives now.

Also, the gradually creeping problem of political correctness. The celebration of two individually, great Presidents, was summarily dismissed for a three day weekend. No longer serving an American distinction, or tradition. Sold as an opportunity for a three day hiatus from work.

IMO a desire to minimize the importance of two Presidents who were so instumnental in the formation of this great country, and in Lincoln's case, preserving our union, and ending slavery.

Usher into the conversation,the beginnings of multiculturalism, and we can see how it was introduced little by little.

Independence Day was no longer allowed to be a neighborhood gathering of Americans celebrating with home fireworks and made a citizen's special day.

Yes, we have bbq's and such, but it's not that special and doesn't give the message to the children that it's so special, it's the only day they enjoyed this kind of celebration. Instead, just another bbq.

Now, we've come to the point, where even our flag is thought to "offend" some cultures. Christmas is suffering the same fate, as is Easter.

Furthermore as we can see, childhood is no longer revered. Innocence is dying a slow death for our children, and we are not much better than a gaggle of people with nothing to unite us, and too many who know nothing about being an American.

Tradition, and history are important in any national culture.
We have watched ours slowly disappear, and we wonder, how did this happen? One cut at a time, and always with an explantion which belies the underlying reason for it all.

So-called progressivism is the reason, and it's been at work since early in the last century.

Hindsight is indeed 20/20! We are now experiencing a reawakening I think, I just hope it's not too late.

Pris

(((Thought Criminal))) said...

SAM,

You can email me directly at misterbeamish@aol.com if you'd like to discuss further.

I just don't see how China can economically overtake its primary source of income. We're not going to sell off territory to them, or people.

As "cheap" as Chinese labor is, America is still one of the few countries that can afford it.

Z said...

SAM, our Donald Trump spoke on bad products recently...that American products are much better but just too much more expensive...you're right.
Regarding food, we've already had some foods and many products which have caused dangerous situations to Americans; toxins in paint, toxins in baby milk, etc etc..from China.
We have to close industries, obviously, when our products cost too much for purchase! (thanks, unions)
We have less and less innovations because there's no money. Obama's health plan will even shut our American innovations in that important field down...America and Germany are in the forefront but that will have to close down for us by necessity. He says there is Research and Development money but where?
I thought it was this post but maybe it is another, but I said the same thing to Beamish....I found it on my SUnday Faith blog here:

Z said...

Beamish, I think you are the only person on the planet who thinks our debt to China isn't the threat others do.

February 21, 2011 9:26 AM"

Amen. I, too, hope you are VERY wrong, SAM, but I think not.

Beamish and SAM, I wish you'd continue some of the talk HERE. It's civil, it's smart and I want it here if you don't mind.

Priscilla...Good point about Independence Day, too..>FOURTH OF JULY. I wonder how many kids know what INDEPENDENCE actually means? Wait till they're not anymore!
The EU calendar this year "forgot" the Christian holidays but had all the Isalmic holidays..they've apologized. Odd it passed their "Three Tier" checking system, huh? Europeans are not happy about it.

I think it's too late for us to change, though I know you disagree with me on this one...I just can't conjure up much optimism ONLY because our kids are tainted. Most of them, anyway.
Always on Watch says homeschooled kids learn the patriotism, etc., but no matter how big that group is, it can't compete with the Hate America First public school system. Not yet, anyway...and how many parents of little kids today aren't from the generation who learned TO HATE America? None, that's how many. I'm generalizing but ...Kids smoke dope younger and younger, they're drinking at early ages (no heroes, parents who are too busy and/or divorced, not enough CARING!!), have sex at 10 (or 2nd grade as we all recently read about), tell their parents to F OFF, are told traditional values are stupid, dads are a thing of the past, etc etc etc.
I don't know how you change this back to decency.
Help me out here.!! I'd LOVE to hear.

Anonymous said...

Z, it isn't that I disagree as much as I can't give up hope, or sit by and just watch it happen. I know you can't either, because you decided to have a blog, which celebrates America and Christian values. You're doing your part, Z

I don't think we're really far apart on this, at all.

Pris

Z said...

I think we're totally on the same page....I've always felt you have more optimism and I admire you for it, I sure wish I did.
I see now what you mean....yes, I'm trying to fight the good fight but I have to admit it's making me weary.

I'm so stunned at the way the left's set Conservatism up over the years...since McCarthyism, frankly...slowly, slowly setting it up that our schools and media teach the LEFT IS CORRECT and the RIGHT IS EVIL; I'm sick and tired of the CONSTANT media suck-up to the left and awful misrepresentation of the right ...and even more sick of the Right's sitting back and taking it.
Even the Tea Parties are insulted by the media, as you so well know.

If we don't get the kids, we can hang it up. And I just wish I could figure out some way to get to them. I heard the Young Turks, Ryan, Cantor, and McCarthy from CA, are planning to talk to schools..I wish I could hear that happening now but they're way too busy so that's on hold......
darn, it would make such SENSE to kids to finally hear what INDEPENDENCE and FREEDOM and SELF RELIANCE and all those Conservative beliefs are.

Sam Huntington said...

American is still exceptional. This is true because I believe it, and so do most (not all) of the people who comment here. Part of what makes it exceptional is that we are even willing to tolerate the poisonous venom of communist ideology. I’m speaking of the filth spewing out of the mouths of Obama, Pelosi, Durbin, and Frank (to name a few). If we were not an exceptional people, we would have put these idiots out of their misery long ago.

I listened to a professor today say that after the November elections, Obama moved to the center only to find the room is empty. He could be right about that, but I think we have not progressed very far since the days of our founding fathers. Back then there were three camps: the federalists, anti-federalists, and the apathetic. Today we have conservatives, communists, and the apathetic.

I suspect it is the purpose of the communist left to grow their numbers while keeping apathetic numbers static —and they must eventually win. This could happen, especially when most of us are content to allow the NAACP to cover up our first president’s statue because his likeness offends them. If we were a prudent people, we would have seen massive demonstrations at NAACP headquarters. We didn’t; all we saw was a fairly benign press and lots of yawning or sniggering people.

WomanHonorThyself said...

Then, something happened. Learning about the presidents and saying the pledge and studying the constitution became old fashioned...exactly right Z..and its been hate America since then..sigh

cube said...

My girls went to a small Catholic school and they got a very good foundation in American history, patriotism, religion, etc. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for other schools, especially the public schools.

I saw trouble brewing when as a senior in high school I was forced to take a class entitled "Problems in American Democracy." One day the teacher showed a patently absurd film about the USSR. It was pure liberal BS. One of my classmates, KG, stood up and blabbed about how much better the USSR was compared to the US. I remember wanting to throttle her idiot neck.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Zin to permit us to discuss on everything.

And COUCOU to pris (Madame Presilia) as I remmember, Excuse me very dear Madame, I should say you HELLO, and I hope that you will pardone me.

Beamish;
My Handicap is my English, If i could write as nice as you write, I could discuss better my points.

I'm not as knowledged as you are about AMERICAN ECONOMY, BUT, my Patents are transfered to USA, and I was forced to study a litle bit about your economy, and why my American parteners are not able to transform at least one of the applications to money.

I'm the Reponsible of LAB. and our PATENTS can generate a good wealth.

The forecast of the income of the applications (each one) can be than APPLE, INTEL, and others.

We have a group of BUSINESS, PATENT, and Technico/marketing experts (OUR AMERICAN PARTENERS).

I'm reported directly by our American Side, DAY BY DAY.

They have even the Privileged contacts inside your GOV.

EVERYTHING is ready to enter into the Market, BUT we haveto stop.

We had decided to be the IP COMPANIES and give the liscences to the Manufacturers.

But, we have to stop, Because when I questionned our American LAWFIRM about the cOPYWRITE, they answered "THERE IS NO PROTECTION due to the Chineses".

so, we continue to think and find away to open the door.

Apple, NOKIA, motorola, QualCom, and all the TéléCommunications manufacturers will be our clients,but,
Appel, manufactures it's Ipods in China!
Nokia, is eager to open the Chinese Market and will offer MOTHER and FATHER and all the Patents to Chinese to get the entrance of the Chinese Market.

it's MAS WORLD;
the Technology that can raise the USA Economical Growth Factor at least 1 point is wedged because of the CHINA.

This is one of the Negative features of the CHINESE existance.

We can continue to argue, if you want.

BUT, I continue to HOPE that you are right and I'm WRONG.

SAM

Anonymous said...

Hi Sam, it's good to see you here. No need for you to be pardoned, and i'm enjoying your discussion with Beamish and Frogburger.

I wish you much success in your venture.

Pris

Z said...

SAM HUNTINGTON said "This could happen, especially when most of us are content to allow the NAACP to cover up our first president’s statue because his likeness offends them. If we were a prudent people, we would have seen massive demonstrations at NAACP headquarters. We didn’t; all we saw was a fairly benign press and lots of yawning or sniggering people."

Man, you scare me to death because
A. I totally agree
B. I don't see this changing

(*@&#$(*#$*&@

ANgel (WHT) who'd a thunk it?
THanks, Lefties....try to deny it's YOU who caused this in your OPEN MINDEDNESS. (geeez)

CUBE...I'm glad your girls got a good foundation....are most of their friends silly little libs?
Imagine you hearing that in school...The USSR is better. And nobody called her on it, right?...The teacher just lets her drivel stand!

SAM, your English is fine...I appreciate this discussion. Just don't make Beamish MAD (smile) :-)

Ducky's here said...

American is still exceptional. This is true because I believe it.

-----------------

Dangerously close to clinical solipsism, careful Sam.

Anonymous said...

Hi Ducky;
what is solipsism?

SAM

Z said...

Ducky, that's romanticism...and hope.
breathe it in.

Catherine Barry said...

It's more like the cogito, "I think therefore I am or "Cogito ergo sum"... ~Rene Descartes from "Discourse on Method".
...A philosophical proof of existence based on the fact that someone capable of thought is alive.
Now I know that Huntington is very much alive in accordance with Descartes' supposition... but now, I'm not exactly sure if Ducky is alive, as I've seen no evidence to support it.

Anonymous said...

Zin;

C'est fait;
Regardez votre Message

Ducky's here said...

Do we do our heroes (and our country) a disservice by not accepting them as humans with strengths and faults.

If we teach history otherwise are we doing students any favors.

~Leslie said...

Believing America is exceptional has nothing to do with solipsism -and one would know that if they had any pride in their country...

American exceptionalism was once taught in this country and is not out of the bounds of what most every other country teaches among their citizens --exceptionalism is not a bad thing, neither it is something that should be insulted among people who believe it about their country.

It is not a mere reality based in one's own mind, but a concept that sadly, has been eradicated by communist pukes who seek to destroy any pride in the nation. Why? Because if they can destroy the idea of exceptionalism they can create an apathetic society which is then absorbed into the corrupt idea of multiculturalism and globalism. It is really a rather elementary concept.

Z said...

Ducky..Pleeeeeeeeeese read the posts! Of COURSE we should teach all about them. just TEACH ABOUT THEM, and teach the good stuff first, while children's opinions of their country is being formed..there's plenty of good. Later, analyze the pros/cons...


Leslie "Why? Because if they can destroy the idea of exceptionalism they can create an apathetic society which is then absorbed into the corrupt idea of multiculturalism and globalism"

Excellent comment...and so frightening because they ARE winning.