Sadly, we have become a nation drowning in a sea of immorality, debt, racial unrest, corruption and crimes of the most hideous proportion.
Crucial mistakes, calculated and risky assumptions, a willful betrayal of public trust and confidence, a history of inequality and misrepresentation, a debt driven mentality, disjointed efforts to cripple, undermine and demilitarize the most powerful military in the free world; contributors to America’s current crisis.
I wrote this book not to induce “conspiracy theories,” “point fingers,” or “publically ridicule” our governmental hierarchy; my intent is to be a voice for the people; a rallying point, a relief valve for the anguish and panic, deep uncertainties, and the emotional topography felt by the citizenry of a troubled nation.
I lay before you an open and often frightening record of inconsistencies, half-truths and innuendos; a synthesis of personal experience, news, rumors, and the rapidly shifting perspectives about how bad things are—and how bad they could be.
There are roughly three areas that I will explore, —the physical, mental and emotional changes that follow a crisis; —the stigma and shame heaped upon us, the people of the United States as the world loses confidence in our financial, economic, social and domestic prowess; and —the unexpected and unexplainable calmness, clarity, and vigilance birthed out of this chaos.
However, before I begin this journey, I must first “exhume” portions of America’s sordid and discombobulated past, then link these parts together to forge a chain of events; a rational timeline for discussion.
Although this is a lengthy and painstaking task – and one that I certainly do not relish – it is a necessary first step.
Excerpt
6
We have lost our
Sense of “Right” and “Wrong”
For more than 230 years, the United States of America has been a nation steeped in the notions of liberty, freedom and the ideals of self-governess.
This is due in large part to the genus of our Constitution and how it spells out what a government can and cannot do.
But more than anything else, it has been the due diligence of active and involved citizenry in all facets of our government that has helped us stay the course.
Our national and local leaders were free to govern as they saw fit, but with the acute awareness that they were not only accountable to the people, but served at their leisure.
The prevailing attitude of that day, “of,” “for,” and “by” the people, guarded against an out of control government and proved a necessity in keeping our government healthy and smart.
With this virtue also came a modicum of common sense; an inept ability to know what was right and wrong, what needed to be done and how to do it.
Unfortunately these traits which have made the United States a great and free nation are sorely lacking in today’s generation. 1
Today we are witnessing the death of shame in this country (and maybe globally as well).
Name anything reprehensible that someone in power has done and you will find a line of people vociferously defending it.
Recently during an awards ceremony, a Rap star takes the stage away from one winner and shouts that another should have won.
A political pundit calls the President a racist.
In the middle of the President’s address to a joint session of Congress, a representative shouts, “You lie!” and then is hailed as a hero by some.
Lumbering through a moral wilderness of incivility and unreason, we are losing the best of ourselves to fear and uncertainty.
Reviewed historically, our government has been "in crisis" many times before. We always draw together when faced with a very real crisis and not one created out of distrust or hysteria over minor problems which seem major in the light of our instant and graphic media.
For African-Americans, the Constitution was unfair and much of this country's books like yours were not possible. It is the hard-won battle for fairness for everyone that has caused us to reach this point you now consider to be untenable. Intolerance is the last problem to address.
At last, a middle school version of Simple Steps to Sentence with all new practice exercises, tests, writing connection pages, and answers. Everything you need to teach your students the easy way to analyze sentences. Just print a page at a time, or
A quick and easy method for analyzing the parts of a sentence and learning English grammar. Now available as an eBook in PDF format. All study notes, exercises and tests are reproducible blackline masters that teachers can take directly to the copy m
