No, Paris was not attacked by some radioactive WMD. That is the Eiffel Tower,
but it is not the one located in France. It is located at an amusement part
about 20 miles from my house.
I took this picture last year during King’s Island’s Night of Fire event. It
is a yearly celebration they hold during the Fourth of July weekend. They
produce a pyrotechnic dream show. The fireworks display is unbelievable and it
is well worth the visit.
So why did I decide to post this picture and write about it. I have decided
to take you down a little memory lane walk, in which I want to contrast some
points in how times have changed. As we start to celebrate our holiday weekend,
one to reflect upon our independence, I thought it was an appropriate time to do
that, so please read on!
King’s Island is a great place. It is an amusement park owned and operated by
Paramount Pictures, and home to some of the best roller coasters in the country
including “The Beast†– the world’s longest wooden roller coaster.
The park is as old as I am, so needless to say I have many fond childhood
memories of spending time their and passing away my summer’s. Now when that
picture was taken, I was 33 years old, a fry cry from still being a child, but
it makes me feel young at heart to go to the park and enjoy the attractions and
rides. In a sense, it is comparable to a time machine for me. It is also a place
to get away from the daily stresses we, as Americans, now face. You don’t go
there and here about terror alerts, WMDs or soldiers dying in Iraq. It is a
sanctuary in order to get away from all that.
So what is the big deal about my fascination with this amusement park? After
all, this is a political blog.
Well I could go into detail about my fondness of Roller coasters, or how I
like to sit back and watch the other people enjoy them selves and even make fun
of some of them silently to myself, but I won’t. Instead I want to share with
you how this sanctuary of relief has been somewhat tarnished.
When you go into the park now, you are met with metal detectors. They are
somewhat a last reminder of the new America we live in before losing yourself in
the sounds and smells that encompass the park. It is however a reminder that
kind of sticks to you throughout the day. This makes the day not as enjoyable as
it once was.
So here we are, it is a weekend once again in which we celebrate our
independence. People are out grilling, partying, vacationing, and seeing local
firework displays. It is the highlight of the summer for most Americans. I now
feel it is time for another walk down memory lane. This time we are going back
even further, to a time before you and I was around. We are going back to July
4, 1776 – a time when we declared our independence from a tyrannical leader by
the name of King George the Third.
Our forefathers fought to make America, a land that is governed by the
people. They fought and died to that American’s could live as free and
independent people. They believed that “all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happinessâ€ÂÂ. That is why the proceeding is in
our Declaration of Independence.
Here we are now 229 years later, and it seems that these basic beliefs and
principles of our independence must be reminded to our leaders. We are at a time
in our nations very short history that we see our freedoms slowly diminishing.
The gap between our social classes is ever widening, and that is a factor that
can lead to the total collapse of our freedom. American’s once prospered in the
dreams of succeeding, that any citizen of this great nation can achieve what
ever goals he sets out to do.
We are now faced with a government, not run by the people, but influenced and
ran by the elite few who are major corporations. Our tyrannical leaders are in
the form of lobbyists and corporate chairmen. Our democracy is now facing its
greatest enemy – greed.
September 11, 2001 was a date that will long haunt the history books. I only
hope it is remembered as a day when America joined the world and not only as a
day of terror and shock. For years we heard on the news of terror bombings and
hijackings and Americans sat back and watched while thinking “thank God that’s
not usâ€ÂÂ. Well it is us now. The problem we have as American’s is that we are not
doing what we should to face this problem.
President Bush’s words of encouragement were less than hopeful after that
September morning. He urged American’s to not let it interfere with our lives
and continue to go out shopping. Perhaps a better message would have been to go
out and plant trees, or work on your yards. Show the terrorists we are not going
to fold under their pressure. Unfortunately he didn’t and we are still sitting
at the mercy of them.
Four years later, we find ourselves in two wars; one against those who
attacked us and another for reasons we do not truly know. We have had our rights
slowly shredded by such legislation as the Patriot Act, and our freedoms and
prosperity dwindled away. For the first time in the history of our nation, we
are at war and our economy is suffering. American’s are a little less proud of
their nation, and in a sense the terrorists have won.
We need to stand up to our tyrannical leaders once again and reclaim our
independence and this is the perfect time to do so. We have to join the world
once again and renew allies across the globe that George Bush has shunned. We
need to send constant reminders to the leaders of our country that they work for
us, the farmers, mechanics, doctors, teachers, factory workers, etc., and not
for the corporations of America. We will not allow them to further destroy a
country that was once the most respected nation in the world.
President Bush constantly thrives on his views of spreading democracy around
the globe. I will concede it is a great vision, however the vision can not be
pursued without first repairing our own democracy. This President was put in
office twice by what you would call less than perfect elections. Both his
winning elections were surrounded by controversies that we had never seen in our
short history. This is a very dark time in American history, and we need to
start shedding light upon it.
In order to celebrate our once great independence, and hopefully regain it
again, it is time for action by the people of this country. We need to go out
and talk to neighbors, family and friends about what has happened to us. Letters
need to be written to our congressmen that if they don’t support what we want
then they will be out of a job come next election. It is rapidly becoming a time
in which we will have to resort back to organized protests and pickets. Our
message to Capital Hill and the White House is simple: You work for us!
Start taking action this weekend and get America back on the right track. Our
detour is not that severe and we have the opportunity to make a change that will
be in the annuals of American history. It is a change long over due and in much
need. To fight for your country, you do not need to join the military. You just
need to take a few minutes out of your day to get informed about what is
happening in Washington and take action.
I hope you all have a very safe and happy holiday weekend. We still do have a
great nation, it is just a little bruised right now. With the proper work and
organization though, we can heal those bruises and become the model nation we
once were. I want to once again go to my childhood place of enjoyment and not
have to live in fear, as should all of you!