Why America Is Slipping

For 200 years, Americans, as a group, had one goal - to BUILD something better. Most people were wrapped up in being citizens of a free nation where their creativity could be unleashed, some on a large scale (think Henry Ford or Thomas Edison), and others on a smaller scale (think farmers and settlers).

For 200 years, we were growing a nation, building things better. But over the last 50 years, we have stopped being citizens and have become consumers. Instead of building something better, a large number of Americans can think of nothing else but how much they can consume. How many toys can I have? How many "super-sized" meals can I eat? How much can I TAKE?

And therein lies the difference. America used to be a nation of people willing to give their all to contribute to the growth and prosperity of the nation. And now we are far down the road to seeing how many freebies we can get from the government, paid for by those few who still want America to grow. We do not place the nation as a top priority. Instead, it's all about "me, me, me".

With 49% of all working Americans not paying ANY taxes, and with nearly half of all Americans living off government entitlements or salaries, we have reached a crossroads. It is like a see-saw - too much weight on one side will push things irrevocably in that direction. If government grows any further, America will be on a downward spiral from which we will not recover. After all, when more people are consuming than growing, the pot empties quickly.

Think of it this way - what do you think will happen if you withdraw more money from the bank than you put in?

America needs to re-evaluate its addiction to consumerism. Certainly, it is nice to have all the goodies, and that is not a problem. The problem arises when we take out more than we are willing to put in. We all want it all, but we are not all willing to do our share to PROVIDE it.

How much do YOU put back, for all that you use up? How self-sufficient are you? How would you fare if, suddenly, the government was gone? If you keep harvesting crops year after year, but never replenish the soil by adding fertilizer, the crops will stop coming and a dust-bowl will replace the crops, which happened in the 1930's. If everyone is eating at the table, but they never get up from the table to go out and grow more, the table will soon be devoid of food.

Wake up, America. Go ahead and consume - but each and every man, woman and child has an obligation to put as much back in as they take out. If we do not, our account will soon be overdrawn and we will all suffer.

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