Look at the mess we got ourselves into...

I have been thinking alot about the whole tax rebate deal that just went through congress and President Bush signed.

We are in a war, an expensive one. We have a huge budget deficit.

On the other side of the issue. The american public has gone off the deep-end. Due to the loss of our industries our economy is based on consumption of goods. Our "wealth" is false, it has nothing to back it up. Like drug addicts we always want more.

Banks and lending institutions reacted to our "need". They created loans that allowed us to purchase more house then we could afford. Being addicted to more, we bit, millions of people who wanted more house than they could afford purchased houses with unreasonable terms.

So our false wealth combined with our need for more has gotten us into a heap of trouble. Our government is just a reflection of it's people.

So this is what I propose.

As a country:

We complete the war in Iraq, withdraw after we have completed our objectives within a reasonable amount of time. Offer substancial incentives via tax breaks and federal R & D money to american companies who are already beginning the process to build an infrastructure of clean energy.

This would serve two purposes, first the short term benefit, within 10-20 years, we would free ourselves of the worlds oil, drastically reducing dependence on foriegn countries and fickle governments.

Secondly as a country we would gain an advantage in the renewable engergy industry, we could then export the technology and products to other countries. We must also begin to pay down our national debt by reducing unnecessary government spending and bloated entitlement programs.

As families:

We must live within our means, not purchase more vehicle or home than we can afford. We must save, cut up credit cards. We must teach our children the value of hard work, even low paying sometimes dirty hard work.

As individuals:

We must conserve within reason. We must vote in leaders who are not on the right or left, but who are thinkers, who will look at our current problems and work with intelligence and reason. We must take responsibilities for our own actions, we must not expect the government to bail us out of every mistake. We must also continue to educate ourselves throughout our lives to be prepared for a more competitive global economy.

We must also respect each others differences and tolerate those who do not think like us. This does not mean we should be afraid to profess our theological or political views, it means that we must come together as a people and realize that our common goal is our hope for a better future for our children, one where race, gender or ethnic differences are celebrated and a fabric of unity as a nation bind us together. If we work hard together we can enjoy exploring our differences and learning from one another. We are blessed with an amazing heritage of providence, our founding fathers of many different faiths and backgrounds had the wisdom build our country on laws, of a Judeo Christian base that can ultimately give everyone basic rights to freedom, liberty and security in the pursuit of happiness. We must not allow ourselves to become another page in the history books, another failed democracy.

We must realize that life is full of compromise and unless we are willing to give a little we will not move forward as a country. Our God given democratic republic will loose its purpose as a light to the world. Once we have lost our purpose, we will eventually and inevitably loose our country and our cherished rights and freedoms.