I spoke for the Texas Municipal Clerks Association in November. These are my words that I conveyed to the participants.
“You see, as Americans we're not
defined by class, and we will never be told our place. What makes our nation
exceptional is that anyone, from any background, can climb the highest of
heights.” - Rick Perry
From the beginning of our great
democracy, individuals have had the power to have their voices heard, to determine
quality and standards in our society but something is terribly amiss in our
country that is shredding the fabric that unites us. Today, among the many disagreements, I believe
the opportunity for our nation to overcome these differences, achieving a
greater good for our society, is undermined by the overreaching need of
inclusion and diversity for transformational ideas. Is too much inclusion and
diversity spoiling America’s exceptionalism?
Ayn Rand writes in “Textbook of
Americanism”, “Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an
individualist is a man who says: “I’ll do as I please at everybody else’s expense.”
An individualist is a man who
recognizes the inalienable individual rights of man—his own and those of
others.” Individualism today is being
diluted in the ocean of politically correctness that favors moderation instead
of boldness. The strength of what has
made our nation unique is the boldness of individual self-worth and the recognition
of this need for self-reliance which made this quality the cornerstone that
established our nation.
Today, the shifting of the country to
collectivism has blinded American for we do not see or we are apathetic to the
oppression happening before our eyes. We should acknowledge this shift in
American values because this view was confirmed by President Obama’s in his inaugural
address, he stated, “. . . that fidelity to our founding
principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our
individual freedom ultimately requires collective action.” Collective action.
This phrase is the underpinning of
transformational change for collectivism. The ability to generate bold
individual ideas is now hampered in today’s society of groupthink problem
solving because individuals, who could add constructive content to the
discussion, stay quiet for fear of retribution by collectivists, including the
President himself. I believe it is this paradigm that is eroding American
exceptionalism into the quagmire of mediocrity in society.
We must define and build a culture that understands that higher morals increase the value of human capital of our
communities. Currently, mediocrity in America appears to be a standard
that is sufficient even for our children. Caring parents should teach love and
respect but many pawn off this responsibility to others including educators.
Schools should be a tool for parents to reinforce learning, not a place to drop
kids off like the babysitter.
I argue that my observation of today’s
youth is unbiased because I don’t have children of my own; therefore, my
opinion is based by contrasting expectations of my own childhood with expectations
of children today. When did the idea of participation
awards come into vogue? You know the same trophy whether good or bad, the kind
of amorphous award every kid gets, first or last. I get the idea of praising children is
used to build confidence but kids are keenly aware too, that this praise is nothing
special; therefore, undeserving praise is self-defeating and detrimental to
self-esteem. Another observation, teaching children in our
transitioning collective society was praised by First Lady, Hillary Clinton,
even writing the book, “It Takes a Village”. Raising children to become
responsible citizens and contributing to society, requires parenting, not a
village. Parenting is the toughest job under the best conditions, but society’s
move away from Christian teachings is weakening the nurturing environment.
Christian principles and traditional
values like marriage before sex are systematically being eliminated from the conversation
because of collectivism. The need for everyone to have input in this problem
solving process jeopardizes the best solution. Traditional marriage has been sullied in America because anything and everything goes in the game of tolerance today. Single parent homes are the norm,
not the exception, in our changing society; consequently, single parents are
increasingly dependent upon “the village” to raise their children. The
collective village is not a place for young children because drug dealers, child
pornographers, and many other scourges of society lurk in the village shadows. In fact, negative influences are accepted by our
culture by glorifying destructive behavior.
If you don’t understand what I am talking about, just watch prime time
television or listen to popular music on the radio. Until we, as a society, make a decision to demand
morals and decency, children will not develop the social skills to protect
themselves. This brings me to another intriguing problem facing kids today. Bullying has been around since the
beginning of man but now this issue has been brought to the forefront as a
major concern for our country. Why? Is it because adults want to be friends
with their children rather than teach respect? Are parents shirking their duties and hoping
for the best? Are Facebook and Twitter replacing a
parent’s listening skills? Probably, but the pendulum swinging further in favor
of groupthink solutions mitigates individual parents responsibilities.
So, how can we create better
solutions to our problems? I am very proud of our country and our
people; although, we have lost our compass. As President Ronald Reagan once
said, “America is a shining city upon a hill whose beacon light guides
freedom-loving people everywhere.”
Let us make a choice; henceforth, to solve
our differences using a common theme of united we stand, divided we fall.
In conclusion, lets remember the
words of JFK when he said, “Let us not seek the Republican
answer or the Democratic answer, but the right answer. Let us not seek to fix
the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.”
