What Does America Mean?
A pro-McCain email that’s working its way around the email in boxes in Delaware made it to my inbox over the weekend courtesy of my friend who had included an opinion on the original author’s thoughts. Reading the email followed by my friend’s comments stirred me up a little and I put my own two cents in. You don’t have to read this but I felt like posting it anyway because I think Americans have forgotten how our federal government is supposed to work. I invite any and all comments.
First, the email that started it:
Lets all ask ourselves these simple yet profound questions before making our decision on who to vote for to become the next president of the United States of America:
What is America?
It should not take long to realize the answer to that question is Freedom. Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. I’m sure that many of you know men and women who have fought or who serve in our military. No matter what war, or what cause our American troops have fought for, they all fight for America and her freedoms. They do not sacrifice there lives, nor do they leave their families for months or years at a time to get better tax cuts or better health care plans. They are fighting for America! And they fight for the people who do and do not understand what America represents. At this time in our world we can not look selfishly at our own lives and look to what we will gain from this election. We cannot pick a president based on asking ourselves whether or not we will be better off financially in the next four years. We need to open our eyes and see the big picture. We are electing and individual who represents America and who will represent and uphold those Freedoms.
What principles was America founded upon?
America was founded upon Christian principles. Do not confuse this with trying to convert people to Christianity … hear me out! It also doesn’t matter at this point whether you believe in freedom from religion or freedom of religion, the bottom line is that America was founded on Christian principles meaning that its foundations are rooted in such a way that has help to make America what it has become. There is religion based in every couture and country and there is no country for free state in the world that has ever come close to being an equal with the United States.
So finally ask yourself this… Are you willing to allow someone who from birth was brought up in a Muslim home and taken out of this country to study in a Muslin school, who’s mother married two Muslim men… Are you willing to allow your one vote go to someone who does not understand what America is? America is the big picture my friends. Take a minute if it takes you that long and ask yourself one final question…What does America represent and mean to you?
In 27 days I will be voting for the bigger picture. I will be voting for the individual who understands what America really represents. We will get back on our feet. We will all get out there and work, and some of us will help create jobs… WE THE PEOPLE will do that… that’s why WE THE PEOPLE need to think about who we want to represent America, and that is why I am voting for John McCain for President.
America.
Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.
Be Brave America, and Lets All Stay Free!Priscilla Godsoe
And then my thoughts on Ms. Godsoe’s interpretation of what America “represents”:
It is interesting that the author of the original email states that it is not an attempt to convert anyone to Christianity and that’s correct, it isn’t. It should say it is an attempt to bias people against those who are NOT Christian. This is the type of fear mongering and bigotry that is pervading a large part of the Republican party is counting on to help them win the presidency. The ironic thing is that if you really examine the central tenets of Islam and Christianity you’ll find more similarities than differences. Do not confuse the extremists involved with Al Qaeda with the general Islamic (Muslim) faith. Muslim does not equal terrorist. That is like saying “Christians” who bomb abortion clinics are representative of the Christian faith in general, as there are extremists in every religion. Ignorance is not bliss and it should not be desirable. Please take a few minutes and do some research on your own. Recognize that ignorance and intolerance are not founding principles of America. Now more than ever, Americans need to be unified to turn this country around.
Freedom of religion and freedom from religion should be interchangeable in this country, and they DO matter. America was founded by people fleeing persecution and execution because of the way they chose to practice their faith. Our founding fathers believed that no matter how you worshipped you should be able to do it freely without bias. That also holds true if you choose not to practice a faith.
Contrary to the original author, we should be picking a president based on whether we’ll be better off in four years or not. We do need to examine our own lives and the lives of our neighbors and ask ourselves, “Is this what America is?” Waging war on people whose beliefs are divergent from our own? Abandoning diplomacy in favor of gunfire and bombs? Spending billions in other countries while ours falls apart? I agree that we should not ever forget those who fought and are fighting for our country but we need to ask ourselves right now what about America are our soldiers fighting for? A recurrent theme of John McCain has been the need to WIN WIN WIN in Iraq. Win what? What do we want to win there? Why are we putting our soldiers in danger there? For what purpose? Ask questions. Demand specific answers not generalities.
Yes open your eyes and see the big picture. America the fear mongering superpower? America the intellectual diplomatic peacemaker? America the isolationist?
Finally, the original author states that in 27 days she will be voting for an individual who, like herself, understands what America represents and that we will get back on our feet and we will get out there and work and some of us will help create jobs. For someone who began their statement claiming that we should not selfishly look at our own lives, pick a president based on whether we will be better off financially in four years or worry what we will gain from this presidential election, I find her closing statement one of blatant hypocrisy and total inadequacy. The same hypocrisy and inadequacy that you will find littering this presidential election season.
You and I need to remember that Congress is the body that is to hold the office of the president and the judicial system in check. Something it has failed to do for eight years. Specifically during the last four years when approval ratings for the president have hovered in the low 20s, Congress has done little to change the direction our country has headed and as a result their own approval rating has sunk even lower.
We as American citizens need to remember that the policy makers, the people who will craft and implement new laws (for example, new health care policy, new tax laws) and regulations or modify or repeal existing laws work in Congress. The job of the president of the United States is not to propose legislation or policy change. That is not how our federal government is set up and that is not how it is designed to run efficiently and effectively. The job of our president is to sign into law or veto legislation Congress has written for the benefit of the American people. CONGRESS is the policy maker, not the president. I think that is a critical point that has been covered up and shoved to the side this election year. John McCain alone cannot change our health care system. Barack Obama alone cannot change our tax system. Congress can, with the president’s approval. Both presidential candidates have made a multitude of proposals about what they want to do if elected and both will be powerless to do any of what they talk about unless they have congress on their side. Congress is, after all, supposed to be representative of the American public. They are the voice of Americans in the government. If you don’t feel that you are being adequately represented then it is time for someone else to represent you.
Not only are we choosing a new president this year, we are choosing some new members of congress and I URGE you to examine your congressional representatives and senators. Look at what they stand for, look at how they’ve voted during their past term(s). See if their voting records meet your standards and beliefs on what America should be. If they don’t, it’s time to vote for someone else to do their job.
Open your eyes and see the bigger picture. What does America mean to you? Do we force others to live as we do? Or do we set the example and teach how it can be done so that others may learn how to do it? The most important thing you can do from now until November 4th is think. Think. Think about who represents your voice right now. Think about what matters most to you. Think about what America has done in the recent past. Think about what America stood for and what it stands for now. Is it the same? Think about what America should stand for. Are you happy with the way things are? Or is it time for a change?
As I said, feel free to leave comments and thoughts if you’d like.
