Several weeks ago, President Obama suggested that America had “gotten a little soft,” and suggested that the passage of a third stimulus package would toughen us up. The President lamented that the nation doesn’t have the muscle it used to have, while proposing more of the “solution” that made us soft in the first place. I’d confidently bet that the colonists who settled this country, and the pioneers that pushed her boundaries westward, didn’t wait for some state agency to clear the way. Instead, these brave men and women stood against the odds, and took on the challenge of subduing a continent that was, at that time, an untamed wilderness. Making it in America has always taken tenacity and resolve. This is a nation where the pursuit of happiness has always been guaranteed, but where we’ve always believed it was up to the individual to catch it.
In our day, however, too many Americans believe that it is someone else’s responsibility to ensure our happiness. In so keeping, the number of Americans depending on government programs for at least part of their annual income has reached historic levels. A Fox News report indicates that in 2010 “18.3 percent of American income came from government programs such as Social Security, Medicare, unemployment benefits and food stamps, while earned income accounted for only 50.1 percent, the lowest number recorded.” This is an alarming trend that shows no signs of near term reversal. In addition to these dismal figures, I recently read a set of statistics showing that nearly one in five, or 20%, of men ages 25-34 live with their parents, a six percent increase since Barack Obama took office.
What do all these numbers mean? They mean that the America we know and love is being replaced by a European-style welfare state, which is sure to soften the independent spirit of our nation. If the current secular-progressive programs and policies are not reversed, we’ll go from being the “land of the free” to the “land of the free loaders.” This is sure to destroy the standard of living for all Americans, from every walk of life. It is time for a new American Awakening, wherein the good folks of this country choose the challenges and rewards of living freely as opposed to the false security and disillusionment of a cradle-to-the-grave welfare state.
President Obama was right in stating that America doesn’t have the muscle that it used to, but he’s wrong about the reason. Muscle is made by sweat equity and sheer determination. A soft underbelly is developed when someone is cuddled, coddled and never allowed to mature into a free man or woman who knows what they believe in and why they believe it. Instead of standing in front of bridges giving speeches calling for another round of government venture-socialism, the President needs to take a page from Ronald Reagan and tell his leftist friends in Congress to “tear down this wall” that’s holding back the American Spirit of private enterprise and innovation.
Let’s unleash capitalism, so that 30 year old men and women can move out of mama’s house, and find their purpose and their passion. With the softening of American standards of individual independence, which is directly correlated to the growth of government, we’re becoming a nation of “adultolescents” that never truly grow into the people God intended.
