OCR Text |
Show MutterfUej Iff (Rainbow y klL Point In BLulzzn i , BY rrt X ) CAROL LEMON J B I came across an article the other day describing the "Real" America. I thought the America I knew was the "Real" America. See if your definition matches it. "You Remember the REAL America if you can remember remem-ber .... When riots were unthlnk-r able. ' ' When you left front doors open. When ghettos were neighborhoods. neigh-borhoods. When the Flag was a sacred symbol. When criminals actually went to jail. When you weren't afraid to go out at night. ' When taxes were only a necessary nuisance. When the poor were too proud to take charity. When the clergy actually talked about religion. When clerks and repair -, men tried to please you. When college kids swallowed swal-lowed goldfish, not acid. When songs had a tune, and the words made sense. When young fellows tried to join the Army or Navy. When you never dreamed our country could ever lose. When a Sunday drive was a pleasant trip, not an ordeal. or-deal. When you bragged about your home town and home state. When politicians pro-. pro-. claimed their patriotism, and meant it. When everybody knew the difference between right and wrong. When you knew that the law would be enforced, and your safety protected. When you considered yourself lucky to have a job, and felt proud to have it. When the law meant justice. jus-tice. When you weren't. embar- assed to' say-that this is the' ' best country In the world. When America was a land filled with brave, proud, confident, con-fident, hardworking people . ' ' Some of those principals have changed all right . . . and unfortunately, not all for the best. America is one of the younger nations of the world. Some of the European countries coun-tries have been trying to find a satisfactory form of government since before the time of Christ. A little over 200 years ago, a group of concerned citizens set down what they thought to be a fair, down to earth democratic and fair form of government. It guaranteed, in addition to other rights, the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit Pur-suit of Happiness. In the last 200 years, our leaders have stretched, twisted, embellished, and strained those original bylaws by-laws into vast volumes of superflous, flowery clauses with shaded meanings and Interpretations which no one but a Lawyer (and sometimes some-times not even they) can decipher. Most of our children can't remember a War or even a father or brother who served serv-ed in one much less one who paid the supreme sacrifice sacri-fice for our freedom . Nothing pulls a nation together to-gether as does the strain of war time, when once again we are forced to depend on each other for everything from our daily bread, .to moral support. . . and the safety of our lives. Hopefully it won't take another an-other conflict to make us realize what we DO have. Yes, we can stand to work on some of those old time values again. But for the most part, I believe we Americans are still a brave, proud ', and. . hardworking -people., ' And . I believe that the majority feel as I do, that in spite of all our faults, mistakes and weaknesses, we still have a better way of life than any people on the face of the earth. I'm proud to be an American... How about You? |