Does anyone remember this America?

Question

Remember when America was the country that every other country wanted to be like?

Remember when torture and making people disappear were things that we looked down on as a country, because we had the moral high ground?

Remember when America's intelligence agencies were busier protecting her citizens than monitoring them?

Remember when we had a president who spoke out of knowledge, who you knew actually spent time learning about the tasks at hand?

Remember when racism and sexism were things to be despised and those who reveled in them were marginalized?

Remember when this country went to war as a last resort, to defend ourselves or our allies?

Remember when those who thought dissenters "traitors" were themselves thought lower than fools?

Remember when discussion about politics didn't end with a statement of political or ideological affiliation?

What happened? How do we get back to that America?
Don't you miss her?

Answer 1

It was good to be an American! The neighborhood was your family, you talked to each other. Children had time to play and homemade cookies in the afternoon. Americans weren't as rich but we had a very good work ethic. School was a very important part of life, too.

What happened is the idea that the almighty dollar is required to have a good life! Everyone works to buy the good stuff. Work is a place to put in time, not try to rise - the fear of outsourcing is too strong. To get more money you have to find a better job with a different company, if you stay with one company for 5 years, you lose.

Kids have to go to school, music classes, dance classes and intramural sports. The family and neighborhood don't count. The key is the 'location' not the friendliness in the community.

I miss the old life; I guess I will have to move to a small town to get the 'Mayberry' feelings, again.

Answer 2

The U.S. wasn't really a major player until Europe was destroyed in WWII and then the billions of Communists didn't like the American system.

The fight against sexism and racism started earlier, but didn't take hold till the '70s and 80s.When women wanted the right to vote, they asked the whites asked the coloreds not to participate in the rallies.


Most of those were all myths that never happened.
Almost every president lied to get us into a War. The Maine explosion was an accident, the Alamo was in Mexico and those inside were illegal immigrants, the Lusitania really had an arm shipment on board, the U.S. attacked first in WWII (attacked two German subs and remember the Flying Tigers all before Pearl Harbor?)...

The U.S. went on the offensive in the War of 1812, the Mexican American War, the Spanish American War, the Indian Wars, The Civil War, WWI, WWII, the Vietnam Conflict...

The CIA always had problems, so much so that Carter fired 1,000 of them. The FBI was busy going after Communists, remember the black list that was created after that?

Blacks were hanged in the South for dating white women up till the mid 1900s so torture was alive and well in the U.S.

The presidents in the 1800s were in the pockets of the rich including the rail road barons. Then in the 1900s it was about industry and oil.

Bad politics led to the sheep cattle wars, the Civil Wars and the attacks on the Indians, colored, women, slaves, communists, the taking of land for industry etc.

Answer 3

Indeed I do--and miss her greatly.

What happened is that far too many decent Americans became complacent. we failed to watch our politicians. And we sat by and did nothing while those who hate attacked.

How many of us spoke up when the Patriot Act was passed. How many of us have raised a voice in opposition when law abiding citizens are denied the right to travel? How many of us stay home when theere is a protest against the war. How many of us have written our Senators and Congresspeople when billls authorizing torture and detainment without due process havewere passed?

Americans, by and large, DON'T like to get intoshouting matches. So, rather than face the sometimes unpleasant task of facing down demagogues--both public figures and private citizens, we remain silent.

How did this happen? It happened a little bit at a time. It happenedd every time you (or I) heard someone advocate or support these hateful things aand remained silent. It happened every time we decided it was "polite" to stay silent when a preacher violated Christ's teachings and substituted his own political agenda. It happened every time we didn't say anything when someone made bigoted remarks about another--because we "didn't want to cause trouble."

It happened with one little ommision, one little failure to stand up for what is right, one little act of cowardice at a time.

And it wans't "they" who did it. It was you--and me-and if we want our America back--that is where we must start--in everything we do every day. Not once every couple of years on a November morning where we vote secretly but don't have to stand up in front of the world and defend wha twe say we believe in.

"You have a Republic--if you can keep it" THIS is what old Ben was talking about: what you do and how you act--every single day of your life.

Answer 4

I remember when Americans would talk to, or about
each other, with respect, or not say anything at all.

I remember when more time was spent finding solutions
to problems & less time spent complaining about them.

Those are the things, I miss.

Answer 5

Most of mainstream America is still the way or at least thinks the way you described it. We will get back to America in 2009.

Answer 6

I miss it with every fiber of my being. This Fascist government that has consumed our country is not what I had planned for my kids. We need to end this war, brings our troops home, and get our freedom back. This is not America, this is Bush country now.

Answer 7

Remember the Fall of the Roman Empire?

Corruption from within, et al...

History repeats itself.

Answer 8

America was NEVER like that. Intelligence agencies have always done questionable, contriversial and sometime unconstitutional things.

Moral high ground? You are killing babies by the millions. What are YOU talking about? I want that America back, where baby butchering was illegal.

You need to read a history book, BAD.

Answer 9

I remember the America...how do we get her back?...simply get Bush out of the White House and replace him with a non- conservative president.

Answer 10

We used to have TV's without Computers

People of the TV era missed the Telegraph too.

Well...

America is still cool.
:)