My Mad Love Affair

My mad love affair with America must have started before I was born because I can never remember a time when it wasn't right there in front of me. I remember a large globe of the world that sat on my grandfather's desk and he put a small gold star where Santa Monica would be had it been a bigger community.

Grandpa told me over and over what America meant not only to us, but the rest of the world. We were to protect it with our own blood if necessary. I was very impressed even if I couldn't figure out why my bleeding would keep it safe; I did not question my grandfather!

I was with my grandfather when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and saw him torn with grief. I found Pearl Harbor on the map and we added a little red star on our globe. I was 9 years old but understood that someone had killed many of our Americans living in and being stationed in Hawaii. I quietly left him alone and walked around the neighborhood all by myself.

Well, we got through it but not without losing several close uncles, neighbors and quarts of tears. I got the feeling that our time together was limited and my grandfather suddenly began to instruct me on the glories of the law and we read through the Constitution so he could explain to me why it was such a rare and perfect document. In looking back I believe he brainwashed me to hold America as the perfect Garden of Eden where all men were equal and welcome. I still feel it is to this day.

Over and over he stressed the need to fight for America, not just on the battlefields where our men had died, but in every thing we do or think. America must remain safe and worth any effort to keep so. A week later he died of a stroke and I found I had lost my best friend. I miss him every day but boy did he do a job on my patriotism!

That was 57 years ago and not a day goes by when something reminds me of my grandfather. He also taught me the value of a strong work ethic. If I wanted to go ice skating it would cost me a bucket of weeds that needed pulling or his shoes that needed polishing and I got so that I did these things ahead of time to build up my credit. Seems I was also a confirmed Capitalist too!

When I got out of school I looked forward to working in an office using my writing skills and being a part of a team. I researched the companies that interviewed me so I would know all about their product or services. The problem was that the half dozen or so companies that hired me went out of business almost immediately. I kept my nose clear of office politics and had no idea what the problem was. I decided to find out what was wrong with all small companies that opened and closed within 5 years.

What I observed was terrible. Everyone seemed to cut each other apart by back stabbing tactics even when it meant being detrimental to the company itself. The product or service was ignored so that one or two employees would gain something. The companies were too young and couldn't stand this inside problem.

Apparently this is still the situation today with the shenanigans we read about with companies like Enron and Global Crossings. Somehow I believe that my grandfather would not have been surprised at these men and how they used their investors and employees. They were exactly what I found in Santa Monica only far larger and more detrimental to America.

The greatest eye-opener was September 11, 2001. The keepers of our American freedoms were asleep and concerned only with their own positions in the government. Major parts of our security measures were overlooked and apparently forgotten for years. It was at this moment that something kept returning to my memory cells. Where had I read about this before? It was like watching a long movie trying to figure out where story line came from.

I was posting on a political discussion forum called "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" that despite the name was a very serious forum run by a very serious southern gentleman. We hit it off almost immediately and shared many emails about where and when we discovered our love of America and how could we get through the tragedy of 9.11.

Bill Fallin ran the board from his own desk and when things got slow would bring up a new thread that would stir his posters into action. On Sunday March 17th he decided to start a thread called "Who is John Galt" and my memory cells snapped into overtime.

Of course, I had read about the degradation of America in ATLAS SHRUGGED!! Ayn Rand had called it clearly and cleverly in the development of her major novels and her associated essays! It's all there from the small companies in Santa Monica to Enron and Global Crossings. How could I have forgotten those books?

Actually I have never forgotten any of them and constantly use them in my writing and correspondence and it must be pure old age eating at my memory that didn't click it all into place.

Ayn Rand gave us a chart map what would happen to America if we all simply forgot her message. She may have given us the key to repair. In her Fountainhead her leading character was forced to build a development that was third rate and ugly and the architect burned it to the ground! In Atlas Shrugged all the successful businessmen who had been tricked and used by the government simply went on strike! Drastic and physical actions done by real American heroes saved the day but, wait a minute, where are our heroes today in 2002?

Where are the Hank Reardons and Howard Roarks? They are not in the House or Senate at this time! Do we have the ability to recognize the kind of men/women who can lead us out of this terrible mess that we all have allowed to happen?

Have we seen too much corruption to ever trust another President? The main question is "what do we want to do next?" We need to discuss the "what" before we can discuss the "who!" America seems divided into several action groups from ignoring the threats of terrorism and leaving Israel to fight her own battles or simultaneously trying to protect our friends in Israel and searching out the terrorists themselves. Most of us recognize the actions are related and should be dealt with immediately.

What I am reading is our lack of faith in our current leaders. With the reports coming in from many sources, it seems that just about everyone in Washington knew this or that and ignored the warning signs. Even when it was determined that the terrorists entered our land on forged or outdated visas we still can't seem to correct this oversight. Is there no one who can stand up and close our borders until our Immigration and Naturalization Agency is repaired? Let's do it tonight!

We learn that many of the employees of many of our Pentagon departments do not have security clearances or are even citizens! Come on, let's fix this now! We have all night to find out who they are and send them home! Where's the authority?

If this isn't Atlas Shrugged all over again, I don't know what is! How and when can we strike? How about the November elections? I want the corruption voted out of Washington DC! Everyone who works on capital hill swore to protect the Constitution which means to me that the government should protect all American citizens against foreign or domestic assault. Well, damnit it's time we demand that they do this!

There it is: We must take out all the terrorist who have threatened us or given sanctuary to our enemies and close our borders to keep America free from more terrorists from walking in. Let's do it tonight! Who has the authority and why hasn't it been done?

My problem is that I re-read John Galt's speech this week and I am fired up with my love of America in one hand and a desire to strike out against any single Washington DC legislator who dares to continue the corrupt actions that have been so blatantly displayed for the last 6 months!

Let's Roll!

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