Getting It Right- Where Is George Washington When We Need Him??

May 1, 2008

Our nation is at a critical time in history, we need to find a patriot as our leader.
This week I write this column somber in tone and filled with serious consideration for our nation. There are at present, several, varied threats to the well being and quality of life for the American public. We desperately need a strong leader with total dedication to our nation to step forward and provide the leadership which will be required in the coming decade.
This individual will have to be willing to place the needs of our society above all political and personal interest. Powerful, self serving interest must be overcome. Common sense and correct decisions must prevail.
We are being challenged by the impact of fighting an expensive, unpopular war against Moslem radicals; by the impact of a dollar weakened in the international community by ill conceived trade policies; and the continuing greed of oil barons in the Middle East that is creating a worldwide inflation for food and manufactured goods.
I feel the United States is at a critical crossroads in history. We may have passed the apex of our position as a nation in terms of economic and social development. From this point in time we may find our standard of living, our quality of life, and our position in the community of nations on a path of diminishing values. We have serious problems before us which must be resolved to our benefit.
I can identify two previous periods in our history where our nation and our quality of life were similarly threatened. The first of these would be the years leading up to the Civil War, and those dreadful years after the war. Our nation was torn apart by issues of trade and slavery that could only be resolved through succession and violent conflict.
In the midst of this terrible period a wise, even handed patriot emerged to lead through the conflict and into a period of healing and rejoining. He was unpopular with many. His prominent role in this period led to his assassination, but his wisdom and leadership resulted in what our nation needed. Abe Lincoln was the man of the hour in this time of national need.
Another critical era for our nation came in the 1930’s with the terrible depression that threatened to destroy our economy, followed by World War II as Hitler made his attempt at world domination. Through this period we were fortunate to have another patriot and man of great strength and will of conviction at our helm. Franklin D. Roosevelt took decisive action to put our nation back to work, to restore our economy, and to revitalize our sagging spirit. He then led us through most of those terrible years of War against the German and Japanese threats from abroad. FDR was the man of the hour in this time of national need.
In my opinion, our nation once again stands at the rim of another catastrophic era in our history. In the coming decade we will need strong, decisive and capable leadership. This leader must make decisions that will afford us protection from the terrible military threats that exist abroad while taking the steps necessary to protect and enhance our struggling economy from the greed evidenced by other foreign leaders for the benefit of their own national economies.
This leader needs to formulate and enact a clear path to end our national dependence on foreign sources for the energy required to sustain our nation. Our dependence on foreign oil must end…and end quickly.
A ten year plan that leads to self dependence for energy must be designed, approved and implemented at once. This plan should involve replacing social, political, and environmental "correctness" with a common sense approach that recognizes the urgent needs of our society. Our new "Patriot" must be willing to ignore the special interests, self serving greed, and voting "blocks" that currently prevail, and stay focused on the common good of the American society. The leader must be strong of conviction and character in order to overcome these negative elements which today dominate and stagnate our political processes.
This means funneling resources into energy research, with meaningful incentives for those who develop needed technologies. This means temporarily relaxing environmental concerns and taking a common sense approach to using the oil reserves in Alaska and off shore areas around our continent. This means critically monitoring the pricing and business activities of all elements of the oil supply line to prevent price gouging and excesses. This may even mean government supporting the creation of new refining capacity by designing refineries which can be converted to other activities after alternate fuel sources are found. This may mean reevaluation of nuclear energy and increased research in coal refinement technologies.
We should move away from those trade deals that do not serve our best interest. We should only trade when we are trading on a basis of equality and fair competition. If we have a negative balance of trade with a nation, we should take steps to stop the outflow of dollars until balance is achieved. To continue to drain a lake with inadequate inflow will eventually result in a dry lake bed. To continue on our existing philosophies of global trade will result in a continuing weakening of our dollar, and more expensive oil. Approximately 30% of the increase in the price of oil over the past five years has been the result of a continually weakening of the dollar on the international currency market.
Simultaneously, goals of energy conservation and lifestyle modification will have to be developed along with plans to educate, stimulate, and organize the American public to achieve these goals. Over a ten year period much can be done…but we must start immediately if we hope to save our economy and the American way of life. We must regain control of our destiny and not rely on foreign, self serving relationships for our subsistence. We need a strong leader to emerge and lead us through the critical era that lies before us. George Washington….Where Are You?
RUDIMENTS- ODDS AND ENDS WORTHY OF NOTE:
- The sign ordinance workshop for the City of Marianna is scheduled for 6:00 Wednesday evening, May 7. All business operators and concerned citizens should mark this important meeting on their calendars.
- The city baseball programs are in full swing at every major town in Jackson County. These programs provide wonderful experiences for hundreds of local youth.
- The old Wal-Mart building is still being ignored by our County Commission.
Well, that about winds things up for this week. I hope you will do your part to preserve our nation, our basic values, and our Mother Earth. Do these things and you will undoubtedly be "Getting It Right".