We WERE a great nation. We were rich, we were strong militarily, we had a standard of living that was the envy of many nations all over the world, and we enjoyed freedoms that had never been enjoyed by ANY people at ANY time in history.
People called us "the great experiment". A capitalist democratic Republic had never been tried before as a form of government. We had seen the results of monarchies, of communism, of fascist governments, of socialist governments, and we saw all those forms of government fail again and again. We were something new.
We were NOT perfect...and we still are not perfect. We have a great deal of baggage to overcome and I would say we have come a very long way. We have built upon the past...and that is why it is so important never to forget the past, or forget our history.
Recently we have recovered some of our wealth, we have restored most of our former military strength, and we are still fighting to keep our standards of living high, and we are fighting hard to hold onto our Constitutional rights and freedoms.
I believe we are a great nation. I do not believe that vicious rhetoric or abusive language or wild and accusatory language make us great...just the opposite. That sort of language makes us LESS...inferior.
But I believe that people can learn better ways, and, as in any nation of the people, for the people and by the people, in time we will arrive at compromises that will make at least half our people grudgingly happy and at least half will be grumpy. That Never Changes.
