On July 4, 2008 The United States of America celebrated its 232th anniversary as a nation, a Republic. We celebrated our founders, our heritage, and the land we appropriated from our Native Americans.  

We celebrate in a manner that may  seem quite affluent to lesser and poorer countries, yet, within most all of us, we know how fortunate we are to have what we have, and for many that isn’t as
affluent as it may seem.  

Many other countries look upon the United States as being overbearing or greedy, the ‘users’, the ‘controllers’. We may seem guilty to some of these accusations, but I truly feel that, discounting some of our politicians, we, nostly, are not.   We are a nation of many peoples; of different cultures and religions; short, tall, fat, skinny; blonde, black,
brown or red headed; light, dark, freckled, and a variety-skinned. We are
a nation of rich, poor, and in-between (the latter two far out-populating the first); a nation of intellects and illiterates; a nation of healthy and ill; a nation of tolerance and intolerance; a nation of workers and users; a nation of giving and greed; a nation of protectors and evil-doers. A nation of people.  

Others hear our politicians speak "as" us, a nation. But not always "for" us, a people. We "people" are ofttimes taken aback by what is  said by these politicians, as are the people of other countries. We people have the opportunity to ‘vote’ these politicians out of office; to no longer speak as us. Our vote is not just a right, but a duty!   Yet, in times of troubles, we are a very UNITED people. We will back our elected officials with every aspect of our lives in times of need, when that need is warranted; we will contradict those same elected officials when we feel they overstep their authority.  

Never underestimate our will, our strength, our endurance, our caring, our unity, our fortitude, our 'long-arm' of retaliation, whether it be towards other nations or our wrong-doers here in our nation.   It has taken 232 years of sweat and tears and strife and deaths to come to where our country is now. During those years there has been much turmoil to overcome, but overcome we did.

There was  development of the land, at a dear cost to the Native American and pioneer. There was freeing of slaves, a great and needed accomplishment, but again at a dear cost to both North and South.  There was a long struggle for women to obtain human rights. There was a dedicated struggle for the workers of our nation: safety of working conditions, security, equal opportunity, and yes, wages. There has been a continuing struggle for civil rights. There is today a struggle for the protection of our children and elderly, and a struggle for the preservation of the land and environment. We also struggle to maintain
a status for LEGAL Aliens to be welcomed, and to reproach those ILLEGAL Aliens to respect our laws and go back where you came from! And English is
spoken here! The Italians, French, Swedes, Irish, German, Chinese, Japanese, Norse, Portugese, Russians, Dutch, Polish, Czechs, Mexicans, Syrians, Turks,Lebonese, and many more who came to our country LEGALY, learned to
speak English.

All these factors were and are those of the people; bound together for a purpose. We grew as a people. We developed as a people. We built as a people. We fought as a people. We loved as a people and we cried as a people. We worship as a people, each to our own choice. When tragedy strikes, we form as ONE people, ONE nation, ONE strength, ONE mighty, soaring Eagle for justice.    We want the
best for our loved ones; more than we had for ourselves. It has been that way for generations in the past, and will be for generations in the future. Generations of people.  

I am saddened when I hear or read of others thinking of our nation as one of greed. Do they speak of some politician or CEOs? I don’t believe they speak of the people as a whole.  I am saddened by the accusation of our nation being overbearing or users; we are a proud people, like those of all the world, for having attained our
freedoms. Are these accusations against some politicians Corporations...or the people?   I am saddened by the accusation of being controllers. Are these accusations against the politicians or The People?

All the gains made as a people would be lost without some type of control. It is not easy to sit back a watch the monies of the people going to help others, but winding up in pockets of a few. If this is control, then control we must.  

Never confuse the will, the love, the caring, the sweat, the work, the kindness, the devotion of the people of this country as being a weakness. We people of this country have more endurance and unity than others may think. Strike one of us and you strike us all.

Never confuse the majority of the people of this
country with what you see of some politicians, on television, the movies, or the newspaper headlines; politicians, television, movies, and newspapers are
selling their acquired power, or their product  of entertainment, not The People of our country. Never confuse the evil that some commit with the good of the majority of our people.  

So whether we be poor or rich, healthy or ill, intelligent or illiterate, workers or users, givers or greedy, tolerant or intolerant, evil-doers or protectors, we mostly are a people that continues to strive for the betterment of our country. We strive for evil to be good. We strive for the hungry to be fed; for the homeless to be housed, for the ill to be healed...right here in our own nation. And when 
possible, to help those peoples of other nations…especially the needy.   When others may doubt the United States, rest assured we are, for the most part, a Nation of Good People.  

We are a nation conceived by the people and for the people. We are people, and we stand UNITED!  

BUT...we the people must now face the fact that we have become complacent of our rights and duties; we have allowed fools to entangle our country (and our young men and women - God Bless 'em!) into a war that should never have been; we have allowed our country to be entangled with high debts; we have allowed TV advertisement to entangle us in debts beyond our means; we have allowed Big Corporations to tell us what and what not we should have to maintain our health; we have allowed...yes, we have allowed! WE HAVE ALLOWED!!

WAKE UP, People of America! We desperately need to take back our country that our forefathers obtained for us; we need to cleanse our Legislative and Judicial and Executive Branches of Federal Government; we need to let them know that it is FOR US they hold their offices in OUR Government.

In 1773 Americans protested taxation without representation.  We were successful, as a People, then. We now need to rid our Government of the
infiltrated Lobyists (Big Corporations), who have more "say" in our lives -  through our Government -  than WE THE PEOPLE!

WE THE PEOPLE can protest, NOW, by writing our Congress men and women; by writing the Executive Branch; by writing our State Government Officials. We elected them to their offices, and we have the opportunity to elect others to
replace them; we need to let them know we expect them to represent US, not anyone else! Therein lies our strength, our rights, our duties.

Our Country was built on faith of and by the people, shall we lose that faith and thus lose our great Country? What is our U.S.ofA. worthy of if not by our - YOUR - protecting Her Truths to be Self Evident?

God Bless my fellow citizens, the People
  of the United States of America
God Bless our Earth with Peace!  
Stop the killings, stop the wars,
lest we forever carry the scars. 
Hold dear within our conscience bold, 
that We The People shall be heard. 
Keep safe and productive, but above all, 
Do NOT let this great country fail or fall.

It's up to US...WE THE PEOPLE!   

 
© Jackie (Micke) Jinks, July 2008