Happy Birthday America

The Fourth of July is a good time for us to reflect, as a nation, on where we came from, where we are, and where we are going.

We were born out of a desire to have our voices heard and a need for respect.  "No taxation without representation" was less about taxes and money and more about having a say in our own destiny.
We built a country of affluent, poor, but most of all, a large group in the middle, with a new name, the "middle class."  It was this middle class that carried us to be a world power and a beacon of hope for the rest of the world.
Today that middle class is smaller, too small I believe, for our experiment with a people's government to survive without correction.  The divide grows between the 1% and the 99% and with it the dream of working hard and improving one's life becomes less and less of a possibility. The divide in ideology becomes more important than the good of the entire nation. An obligation to each other and future generations becomes unimportant.  Compromise becomes a thing of the past.  Government becomes paralyzed.

Where we go from here is up to us.  We can reclaim the American Dream, if all citizens shed the shackles of indifference, if we believe again that the voice of the people is what should govern us.
We need to vote, to elect those who hold to the principle that this must be an exclusive nation, that the needs of all are our responsibility, and who understand that in such a diverse nation, compromise is not a sign of weakness, it is what makes us great, what makes us American.

Then and only then will we be able to stand with our forefathers and say "no taxation without representation", hear me, listen to me, respect me!

Our constitution, crafted by those who's ideals shaped the country, gives us the right to do just this.  Destiny gives us the obligation.
The question is, will we rise to the occasion?
I remain optimistic that we will.  I continue to believe that we will stand together, recognise our differences, recognise our responsibility to each other.
I believe we will grow tired of elected officials who refuse to compromise, who's main roll is to prevent government from functioning.

Then we will be a government of the people, by the people and for the people.  Then the good of the entire country will come before the good of the powerful.