Post by markmeister on Jan 6, 2011 21:26:08 GMT -5
This is written on the base of The Statute of Liberty:
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
with conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
with silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
These were great words when it was unveiled at our Century celebration. This Country was truly the milk and honey of the world. You could practice your religion and basically live your life as you want it. Wide open land and the possibility of the American Dream was just starting to be realized. God and Country were the important themes in ones life with the mixtures of ethnicity. This Country learned to fight for freedom together, mourn together, and succeed together. The United States of America was unique in all ways. The future looks bright after 100 years of being a nation. The Lady Liberty stands in the New York Harbor to welcome all that wish to be an American.
Almost 150 years later, Americans dreams are starting to be dashed and their freedoms are being taken away by fears of intrusion and the tired and poor are restless. The tired and poor are a part of our Nation and culture while 97% of the people do not have an encouraging future but live day to day and week to week, not knowing if they will be able to maintain their meager lives. A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage are maintained by money that doesn't exist. In fact, the Country is maintained by that magical manna that does not exist. Our population is no longer proud of it's American heritage and is looking for other answers to qualm the storm that is building oh so near. The tempest is stirring within the hearts of all that are disillusioned by the reality that their dreams will not even be close to fruition. Our very morality is disappearing and is being exchanged with desperacy. This is not a pretty picture we are painting.
The United States of America has to lead the way and show the world that the mistakes of the last century can be corrected and our futures sustained once more. We have lived beyond our means and tried so hard to be compassionate to the world and show force when the time was right for us. We forgot about the rights and hopes of our own people and now the citizens are yearning for the compassion we have shown other "less fortunate" countries. Our own country has people that live in third world country conditions and are forgotten because we feel that the global political scene is more important. We have to lead by example and gain control of our spending abroad and worry about what is happening between our own shores. This government has to listen to the people and be for the people in order to rise up from this mire.
I have always been a person that has seen the glass as half full instead of half empty. The more and more I see of what this society has morphed into in my lifetime am I more pessimistic than what I was before. I have faith in America but America has to show faith in us once more to rise to any prominence that means anything. We have given to the tired and the poor of the world, and now it's time to think about Americans. It is up to us to change the direction we are going in or are we just going to be another chapter in the history books of failed civilizations. I would like to believe that Americans still have that drive to come together and help one another. This is the way we did it before and this is the way we have to do it now.
Mark Meister
The New Colossus
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
with conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
with silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
These were great words when it was unveiled at our Century celebration. This Country was truly the milk and honey of the world. You could practice your religion and basically live your life as you want it. Wide open land and the possibility of the American Dream was just starting to be realized. God and Country were the important themes in ones life with the mixtures of ethnicity. This Country learned to fight for freedom together, mourn together, and succeed together. The United States of America was unique in all ways. The future looks bright after 100 years of being a nation. The Lady Liberty stands in the New York Harbor to welcome all that wish to be an American.
Almost 150 years later, Americans dreams are starting to be dashed and their freedoms are being taken away by fears of intrusion and the tired and poor are restless. The tired and poor are a part of our Nation and culture while 97% of the people do not have an encouraging future but live day to day and week to week, not knowing if they will be able to maintain their meager lives. A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage are maintained by money that doesn't exist. In fact, the Country is maintained by that magical manna that does not exist. Our population is no longer proud of it's American heritage and is looking for other answers to qualm the storm that is building oh so near. The tempest is stirring within the hearts of all that are disillusioned by the reality that their dreams will not even be close to fruition. Our very morality is disappearing and is being exchanged with desperacy. This is not a pretty picture we are painting.
The United States of America has to lead the way and show the world that the mistakes of the last century can be corrected and our futures sustained once more. We have lived beyond our means and tried so hard to be compassionate to the world and show force when the time was right for us. We forgot about the rights and hopes of our own people and now the citizens are yearning for the compassion we have shown other "less fortunate" countries. Our own country has people that live in third world country conditions and are forgotten because we feel that the global political scene is more important. We have to lead by example and gain control of our spending abroad and worry about what is happening between our own shores. This government has to listen to the people and be for the people in order to rise up from this mire.
I have always been a person that has seen the glass as half full instead of half empty. The more and more I see of what this society has morphed into in my lifetime am I more pessimistic than what I was before. I have faith in America but America has to show faith in us once more to rise to any prominence that means anything. We have given to the tired and the poor of the world, and now it's time to think about Americans. It is up to us to change the direction we are going in or are we just going to be another chapter in the history books of failed civilizations. I would like to believe that Americans still have that drive to come together and help one another. This is the way we did it before and this is the way we have to do it now.
Mark Meister