America why did you stray from the old way, A constitution put forth, the foundation of our land, barely recognizable what was originally Jefferson's hand, tarnished and smudged by misinterpretation, overindulgence and greed, to satisfy political, judicial, and journalistic need, once majority rule, now bordering on ridicule, the law of the land, ever changing, meeting demands of whomever takes a stand America, Why Did You Stray? Our founding fathers must have been buried face down, as to not be able to scratch their way to the surface, to decry the desecration of their foundation for justice and liberty now lying splayed and defiled, no longer recognizable to the people it was drafted and intended to defend.
Jefferson's hand drafted a masterpiece, a foundation, to give hope and guidance to a fledgling nation whose citizens came together, a majority, to overcome and prevail against insurmountable odds, thus was the birth of patriotism.
A single word that ignites the fire propelling a nation's people to rise and defend their belief in country, God, to take up arms, to willingly sacrifice their life in the preservation of these beliefs and standards.
Patriotism, defining the finality of life, the loss of generations through countless wars.
Sons and daughters will never know the joy of raising their own family, enjoy the fruits of their labor, or as a senior citizen, pass to the next generation, the lessons of life that become teachings in their twilight years.
This is Patriotism: like the past, only different, once ancient hindsight, now new age foresight, fashionable to question motives, demand answers, do not ask why, evaluate, then commit, techno world, too wise, no longer willing to do or die, symbols of past, still present, a nations foundation sometimes shaken, never forsaken, no middle ground, anarchy to democracy, then to now, belief, right, left, spontaneity weakened, a flag tattered and torn, some scorn, others mourn, stand together when America frowns, Patriotism, misplaced, lost, once again found America, Why Did You Stray? The Constitution is under constant attack by those who have only their agenda to fulfill.
They use the constitution as the basis for justifying their political, financial, or journalistic advancement.
Unthinkable 50 years ago, America's silent majority, fighting daily just to survive, has been relegated to the level of silence, with not enough time to protest or take action to override minority rule, which has become the standard, for policy and decision making in America.
Politicians are not influenced by what the majority of American's desire, rather are influenced by big corporate money, and those groups and even individuals who constantly badger them until they finally remit.
They know, only a small amount of the total voting population vote, therefore, their primary influence and allegiance is to those who vote, the minority.
Again the majority remains silent.
Judges seldom adjudicate; more, they are making law.
Through misinterpretation, or interpretation that fits their political or personal goals.
Their decisions constantly erode the rights of the majority to benefit the wealthy and influential.
Their interpretation of law or more specifically, their dictation of law, protects the rights of the accused, which is what it was designed to do, however, it was not designed to ignore the rights of the victim.
America why did you stray, parents unable to discipline fear children undisciplined, now rule, school in chaos, students unruly, guaranteed to pass, unprepared for their future, parents unsure, wish for the past, hope the next generation will not be like the last Have we gone to the extreme or have we simply forgotten children require nurturing, love, and discipline? Discipline for the development of a well-rounded, educationally sound individual to go forth in society and become a asset to the community and family.
What happened? Where did we go wrong? Was it caused by a bureaucracy that created a nightmare of fear in parents, fear so all-encompassing, it has made the children the controlling force of our society.
Parents live in fear of children seeking revenge by informing authorities their parents physically abused them.
The parents fear of being guilty by association.
Parents fear the child is more believable and not always truthful in providing the facts.
Teachers, administrators, hospital personnel, and child welfare advocates assume the parent is at fault.
The parent is tasked with the responsibility of proving they did not do harm to their children.
Parents who fear a bruise from a child's everyday rough play may cost them their reputation and freedom.
Parents who now allow their children to do as they please.
A society that is now complacent in providing discipline to a generation of children who have little or no respect for themselves, peers, parents, teachers, and other associates.
Where crime is at an all time high and will continue to climb.
Where civil disobedience is the norm that often escalates to more serious crime.
Where a victim has fewer rights than the accused and prison is no longer a deterrent to crime.
I am always impressed we allow our children to be educated by some of the lowest paid professionals in the country.
At a starting salary most of us would turn our noses, these are true heroes.
You have to be insane or so committed to your profession that you place yourself in a position to be assaulted, be required to perform your job with limited resources or tools, deal with a board that in most cases has no clue what is best for education, a state that awards contractors with enormous bonuses for completing a job on time, counties that have no problem spending thousands on useless consultants and huge bonuses for management, yet cannot find the money to spend on education or teacher raises.
Is it a wonder our educational system is failing our children? Many children, regardless of grade, are placed in honor programs, yet cannot pass their states standardized test.
Are we creating a generation that will enter a technological workforce with reading and math skill deficits? Yet I am encouraged by the students who do excel, but again am concerned by those who are being left behind.
Usually these are children from poor neighbors, those who experience little supervision or love, and those who simply have no desire.
I believe it is our responsibility--we the baby boom generation--we the hippie generation--we the free love generation-- we of all generations who have been fortunate to receive an education that included accountability and discipline instilling a standard of education we seldom see today.
It is time for the majority to become actively involved by demanding to know where the lottery money is going, where the tax money is going, and demand accountability of all elected officials.
It is no longer a republican or democrat issue--it is an American issue.
Its time to revitalize volunteerism on country wide basis and get involved in helping our children succeed through tutoring, mentoring, friendship, and communication with those children who are being left behind and those who are excelling provide motivation and incentives for all children to succeed.
Maybe if parents, grandparents, retirees, and peers come together in each community our children will have a much greater advantage in our competitive world and we will not have to hope the next generation will be like the last.
America why did you stray, streets used to be a place to play, neighbors knew one another, socialized every day, doors left unlocked, nothing to fear, families stayed close, helped one another, took care of mother Now drugs rule the day, hate and crime more common than play, multiple locks symbolic of today, rarely talk to a stranger, living in fear, life no longer precious, taken away day after day, the bloody count rises, a country in crisis, victims pay, guilty appeal, courts give them the best deal, nobody protests for victims' rights, put a murderer to death, they scream all night America, Why Did You Stray? For those who speak out against a judicial system that cannot or will not use the word justice, are shouted down by defense lawyers and action groups that are very successful at forgetting and with convincing dialog, play down the cruelty inflicted on the victim and in many cases suggest the victim may have contributed to their own demise.
If a prostitute is raped and murdered, it somehow becomes less of a crime and we should believe the victim would still be alive if she had not been a prostitute.
Where did this come from? A women is dead, a woman who will never know any other joy in life, a woman who has family and friends who will morn her parting, a woman who will be considered as no loss to society, a woman who deserved what she got, a woman who was robbed of her rights and the protection afforded her under the constitution, a woman who was trying to live in a society that takes better care of its allies than of its own citizens.
A society that forgets the victim and pities the criminal.
The victim was not abused as a child.
The victim did not have mental problems.
The victim did not feel sorry for herself because she was working instead of living off society.
The victim did not want to die a violent death.
The victim did not want to be remembered as deserving what she got, for how she dressed, or for her vulnerability.
The victim had the right to life.
The murdered took away that right.
The murderer will claim an abused childhood.
The murdered will claim mental problems.
The murderer feels sorry for the life he made.
The murderer will blame the victim and degrade her values as a reason for murder.
This same murderer in his last days of life will claim the state does not have the right to take his life.
Who will claim the death penalty is cruel and unusual, forgetting the cruel and unusually sustained punishment perpetrated on his victim.
People Culturally unique External obvious differences Genetically the same Identical America why did you stray, hatred and bigotry alive and well today, nationalities split long for the old way, when an American was just an American, now hyphenation the accepted way Excuses, blame, hate, bigotry, prejudice, ignorance, discrimination, Excuses, nothing more than a reason to fail We are becoming a society where America is no longer first in the mind of her people.
Everyone wants to be African, Jewish, Irish, Italian--before an American.
We divide ourselves into different cultures and want to relate to our ancestral homes.
America is now home.
We are a country of immigrants.
Pride in our heritage should never be criticized or forgotten.
However, if we are not Americans first, how can we survive as a culture, come together in a common cause, or have a debate without bias, prejudice, or hatred interfering in the process.
It is time we forgo the hyphenation and become what we are, rather than what we once were, or in most cases, what we have never been.
Taking a census of Americans, it would be of great interest to know the number of Americans who have never traveled to their ancestral home.
Again, it is the majority who make the difference and have the power to solicit change.
America why did you stray, once an industrial giant you gave it away, too high a standard for industry to pay, move out of the country the new American way, unemployment, poverty, homelessness rapidly increasing, ruined lives, while billions are spent on so called allies America why did you stray, what's written today barely address the wrongs building every day, religion is accepted, God is not, country divided, politically split, presidential bashing provides journalistic wit, hatred and bigotry live for it Prejudice learned now encapsulates willing souls only hate survives America why did you stray, new chapters every day, really a damn shame