Saving the United States

Such a simple statement, but yet it is made up of some many different things. Watching news and watching people made me come up with this conclusion.

What if just for one day, everyone refused to cause harm? It doesn't matter if it is mental or physical, or to another human or an animal. Imagine what it would be like if there was one day where no crimes were committed.

What if for one day, people either stopped thinking of just themselves, and did something to help another person? If you are always on the receiving end of someone's goodwill, can you do something for them or someone else?

What if the money that was spent on securing the job of President was spent on something else more beneficial? Maybe the candidates should hold multiple nationally televised debates, as they did recently, answering questions by the people they represent instead of going state to state and wasting tons of money on confetti. Personally, I could care less if they made an appearance in my state. I would rather listen to how they respond to our concerns on television. What if they actually told the truth?

What about the big corporate giants? The ones who go to bed laughing at us? The Ford president that wants to raise the tax on gas, which we can barely afford now - how does he sleep at night? Maybe some of these companies that have billions of dollars sitting in their accounts should take pay cuts, even if temporarily, and pass the savings on to us. They tease us by making it look like gas prices are finally going lower, but the next morning the prices are up again. Maybe they should try living on our salaries, and pay the prices we have to pay. Go without the five cars and three homes. Maybe they would see things differently. I am not saying that they don't deserve a good salary, but let's be realistic - how much work do they actually do?

Parents - listen to your children. Spend time with them. Stop trying to live your lost childhood through them. One sport at a time is fine. Let them play for the love of the game, not for putting your name in the local newspaper. Needing a wall calendar the size of Fort Knox shows that you need to simplify your life. Board games and walks don't need a schedule. Let them be children as long as possible. Also, let them make as many decisions as possible for themselves. Unless they are making an unsafe choice, let them figure things out. They will appreciate it and resent you less. You are their teacher, not their dictator.

Professional sports players - they are our children's mentors. They make a lot of money while being able to play, because understandably they will eventually be put out to pasture. But what if they actually acted professional? What if THEY said NO to drugs? Now we have pros that are allegedly holding dogfights! I believe that acting professional is just as much a part of their job as playing the sport they were hired to play. If they are not acting this way, they don't deserve the pay. The basic worker would lose their job if they did not remain drug free, or stole money. The pros should as well. Make it a part of their contract!

People of the entertainment world - they are also in the spotlight, and their actions are viewed by everyone, including our children. Again, so many temptations are put in front of them. They will quickly blame their fame as the reason. They even put their children in danger to the point that they may lose them. I find it hard to believe that they also have no ability to say NO to drugs and alcohol. But what about the ones who live a clean life? They show that it is possible to avoid temptations.

Even in everyday life, I see so many people that are thoughtless and just plain mean. Why? Instead of being rude and nasty to the service people they come in contact with, which would mostly be retail people, what if they greeted us with a smile, like we have to do them? I see so many customers who act like the store policies are unheard of, and they try to manipulate the clerks, and then get nasty when they are denied. They know full well what they are doing is wrong, yet they act like we are the ones at fault.

Theft is not done just by young teenagers gone astray. I have seen so many things stolen from the business I work for, and based on our clientele, it is done by adults! Yet they complain because we have to raise our prices to cover the cost security, cameras, and replacement of stolen items. Return policies are being enforced much more vigorously, in order to protect the company from fraudulent returns. Unfortunately, innocent people get angry with this, failing to understand the reason.

Work ethics - where have they gone? Can you imagine how much better our economy would be if everyone did their job above the standards that they are actually required? If we made better quality, maybe there would be fewer returns of faulty products. Maybe we would be able to have fewer imports of dangerous products. Manufacturers need to find a way to keep the jobs in America. If they started reducing their extreme salaries, they could afford to make the American workers.

Health insurance - what a racket! It is bad enough that so many Americans are without. What a lot of people don't realize is that a lot of us cannot afford to go to the doctor even though we have health insurance because of premiums, or uncovered costs. Most have health insurance just in case they have to go to the ER. Yet they can't afford basic care visits. Also, what about the kids that are not lucky enough to go to college full time so that their health care coverage can be included with their parents? If a student wants to stop going to school for one semester because they need to work, they lose their health insurance. If they can't afford to go to school, unless they are lucky enough to get a job with benefits, the go without health care. Retailers are trying to help the consumer with their prescriptions, but some doctors claim that this will force them to write a prescription for their patients? How ridiculous! If they don't need it, don't write it! Are you afraid that you will lose your kickbacks?

The people of the United States have so much going for them! So many of us take what we have for granted. While I was at a local fair, I watched the people passing me as my son and his friend tortured their stomachs on the rides. So many different types of people - different sizes, nationalities, clothes, and income levels. Yet they all were in one place together and everyone was having fun.

People need to take responsibility for their actions. They need to stop blaming their actions on someone or something else. We need to take back America. We all need to do our part to bring us back to the time when you could sleep with your doors unlocked, or take a midnight stroll without pepper spray. Move forward with technology, but make our lives like the pictures painted by Norman Rockwell. Each day you are alive, try to do something good - even as simple as letting someone out of a parking lot. For every good thing you do, it will be returned ten-fold. Good will is infectious!