For the past forty-plus years, America has slowly and steadily declined as a nation and a world power, thanks to the rise and growth of the naïve progressive ideology that promotes the hobbling of American power projection.  As a subset of this ideology, American influence has been hijacked.  In its place are social justice programs and anti-colonial measures that victimize takers and demonize makers.  For the republic, this is a toxic combination akin to Superman and kryptonite.

I believe that history will record this point in time as a crossroads for our country and the people who make up our republic.  Historians will mark this time as the moment America fell from grace.  Future generations will ask their elders, “What was it like to live free?”  I believe America is still an exceptional country, even though she has acquired some rust, rough edges, and has been led astray.  America is my home, my first love, and it is the country that gave hope to a world in crisis.  Unfortunately, there are traitors among us who actively seek to extinguish the flame of freedom and erase America forever.

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, we have seen an acceleration in the rate of our national decline corresponding directly with the election of amateur politicians who believe leadership is conducted through speeches, ignoring executive-level problems as if they do not exist, and bashing Congress because it disagrees with progressive ideology.  Internal political struggles further exacerbate America’s rate of decline as demonstrated by the adoption and execution of bad governmental policies, both at home and abroad.  It is no wonder that America is in the grip of an identity crisis.

Ever since FDR’s New Deal in the mid-1930s, progressives have been waiting patiently to reveal their destructive manifesto in order to clip the wings of the American free market, wealth creation, and the pursuit of individual exceptionalism.  According to Dinesh D’Souza, author of America, What Would the World be Without Her, progressives are intent on reversing what they believe is a “thief culture,” offering reparation through wealth redistribution.  I believe this is a deliberate effort to eliminate the middle class, the very heart of this nation.  The middle class is already struggling to survive.

When Barack Obama assumed duties of the Oval Office in January 2009, progressives quietly refined their plans while the rest of the nation focused on surviving the economic downturn and tirelessly fighting two wars against terrorism.

Progressives continued to assert that they were working to help the middle class, but their promises have turned out to be nothing more than lip service.  Progressives have a horrible track record when it comes to accomplishing anything of substance.  Everything that progressives have touched or gotten involved in has failed, all at taxpayer expense.  Examples abound: the failed $1 trillion stimulus program Mr. Obama executed early in his first term, the botched Obamacare program rollout that cost billions of taxpayer dollars, the doubling of the national debt to $18 trillion (expected to be at $20 trillion by 2016), and now 48 million Americans depend on the food stamp program, an all-time high.  Last, but not least, Mr. Obama failed to get the economy back on track after promising the American people he would do so.   Progressives rely on Americans’ short memories to absolve them from all responsibility for their blatant lies and screw-ups.

America is an exceptional country and its people are a microcosm of the world.  The American people are exceptional, too.  Americans are the first to offer aid and comfort to the afflicted around the world.  For all of America’s faults, it is no wonder that thousands of people leave their home countries in order to experience freedom and citizenship here in America.

The song “America the Beautiful” engenders great emotion in me every time I hear it.  Its stirring lyrics “God shed His grace on thee/and crown thy good with brotherhood/from sea to shining sea” accurately reflect America’s true character.  America, the Beautiful – YouTube

America may have temporarily fallen from grace due to weak, inexperienced politicians, but she is still an exceptional nation in spite of all the man-made blemishes.  As a people, we have some serious choices to make before the next presidential election.  Are we a nation of laws? Are we a nation governed by a constitution?  Do we trust our government, given the recent scandals that breach the Constitution and the rule of law?  Will we continue to elect government officials who believe they are above the law, who are not responsible for their actions, who boldly lie to the public, who obstruct justice, and who selectively enforce the law? And lastly, are we willing to burden future generations with a national debt that makes our country beholden to foreign creditors?

Like many patriots, I have a deep and passionate love for my country, its people, and our way of life.  For thirty-two years I served in uniform while others schemed to tear this great nation asunder.  I do not regret my service and I would gladly offer the rest of the years allotted to me in service to my country; she is everything.  However, we must recognize that we are in a much different kind of fight today.  As free people, our future fight is going to test the very nature of who and what we believe ourselves to be.  Some will call it our second civil war (non-violent) and maybe it will be exactly that—a type of civil war against duplicity, mediocrity, and self-service.

It is true that America has fallen from grace.  But she will always be that shining beacon for people and nations who thirst for freedom.  However, we must be committed to oppose progressives in order to restore America’s honor and grace.  At this time, the biggest threat to America is the very government that was elected to serve its people.  The most powerful weapon we have at our disposal is our constitutional right to vote.  For too long, conservatives have not gotten out the vote and supported candidates who have a track record of service to country.  Our country is at a crossroads.  To paraphrase Robert Frost, we must take the road less traveled, and thereby make all the difference.  We must use the voting booth as a tool of rigorous self-examination.  By the casting of our ballots we must ruthlessly root out those who serve themselves instead of country, “for whatever man sows, this too he shall reap.”