STATE OF THE UNION


I heard someone make a comment the other day that struck me as funny. Now I am taking this out of context but in the midst of a conversation the line was " That is what we do, watch television and eat yummy food." It occurred to me that this is the kind of quote one could take and put in a very negative light. Many people would want to say that is what is wrong with America these days we watch too much television and eat too much yummy food. But why does everything have to be negative. Why do we hate ourselves so much.

The way I see it 1,270,987 men have given their lives in American military uniforms to fight for a way of life. In one way or another in places all over the world they have sacrificed so that Americans could (insert your favorite leisure activity here) and eat yummy food. Or whatever else makes you happy. This figure includes men from every conflict from the Revolutionary War to the War in Iraq. (including both sides of our own bloody Civil War). The problem is not that we do these things but that we have lost all appreciation for what it has taken to have this lifestyle.

There is a growing movement to focus too much on the negative events in our history and I believe it is clouding young people's perspective on America. Sure Washington and Jefferson owned slaves, but they also helped craft a document that when interpreted through time made it possible for all men and women to be free and equal. Franklin Roosevelt had Japanese Americans put in internment camps, but he also guided us through the Great Depression and a World War after which we were the most prosperous country in the world. Nixon lied to the American people and brought shame to the White House but he did bring our boys home from a war they could not win, and Reagan left us the burden of a great national debt but he helped end the Cold War and brought us together in a way that is hard to remember in this age of Red and Blue States.

I once scolded some students for sitting and talking during the national anthem and their answer to me was " I don't love America like that." Now I am not saying we should go back to blindly teaching a history where America does no wrong. We have made mistakes. Big ones. But look at the histories of every country that would criticize us and you will find crimes equal to or greater than our own. We should agknowledge our mistakes but at the same time we need to realize in just over 230 years we have created a great country where people have many opportunities not available to most of the world. We need to appreciate that. And we need to stand quietly during the national anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance because over a million people have died and sacrificed their opportunity for ours.

A promise was made a long time ago to all Americans. That we should have "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." And the effort to create a more perfect union is not easy as has been shown by people like Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King Jr. Change comes only through great effort. We have many problems in America today but the pursuit continues. So celebrate what we are today and do what it is you enjoy with your family and friends and eat yummy food. And then remember the promise says the PURSUIT of happiness. You have to chase it yourself.


BO KNOWS a lot of you don't enjoy country music, but if you do and you are looking for a really fun album to listen to you should pick up Fifth Gear the latest from Brad Paisley. He has some really entertaining stuff on there. My favorite was a song called "A Letter to Me" which was about writing a letter back to yourself at age 17. I even thought this would be a cool idea to write about until I realized most advice I would give to 17 year old me I wouldn't want anyone else to see.
BO KNOWS this case of the pregnant woman murdered in Ohio has brought out some disturbing statistics. According to Fox News the other day the second leading cause of death for pregnant women is homicide. Are you kidding me? I couldn't believe it. In fact i so doubted it I did my own research to disprove it and according to what I found not only is it true but in Maryland it is number one. Apparently they are really safe drivers there.
BO KNOWS President Bush finally made a decision I agree with. The Democrats are giving it to him for keeping Scooter Libby out of jail but in my opinion he did the right thing. Libby may have broke the law, but you know he didn't come up with this scheme on his own. Even if Bush didn't know about it you know Cheney did. You can't let your boy go to jail for doing what you asked him to do, not if you have the power to stop it. W did the right thing.