Are we going backward? Those of us who grew up reading the
daily newspaper were reminded at least once a week of our country’s
position in the world.
At one time, there was said to be two super powers: The U.S.
and Russia. Most of the world leaders looked to the U.S., though,
because we were a democracy. When the Soviet Union collapsed
in 1991, all eyes turned toward the U.S. for leadership and
domination.
The U.S. accepted the role and assumed responsibility for the
rest of the world. We taught emerging countries how to build
cars and establish manufacturing businesses. To better feed
their population, we taught poorer countries how to farm and
raise crops. Organizations launched in our country sent them
farm animals and directed them in their care. Many countries,
which depended upon farming, were shown how to improve production
and plant and harvest with machinery.
Our
country, as the caretakers of the world, taught other countries
how to harness and produce electricity to improve
their lives.
We taught and gave everything we had found to be prosperous
to all those who wished to learn and receive. What we
failed to recognize was we were giving away all our accomplishments — and
all that had made us a super power and world leader.
There was something we were not successful in teaching other
countries: Human rights. The other countries learned how to
prosper by the use of what we taught them so well that they
began competing against us. Before long, we were buying from
them because, without the same human rights our country provides
to its citizens, they could produce the products much cheaper.
People
from other countries who had been taught trades soon learned
they could make a much higher wage by
offering to
work for less than “union and minimum scale” wages
here in our country. Although our country established
laws prohibiting
the hiring of illegal immigrants, those laws have
not, and are not, being enforced.
In
our area, there have been employers who ignored the laws
as many as seven times over the past few
years. We learned
in a recent press release: “A couple who own a dairy
farm in Michigan’s Thumb region pleaded guilty
to hiring illegal immigrants and agreed to pay
a $ 2.7 million
penalty.”
U.S.
Attorney Barbara McQuade stated, “An
important component of immigration enforcement
is prosecuting
those who employ
undocumented workers.”
During the seven years the violations took place were any fines
assessed? Will the violators be arrested? Will the penalty
now imposed actually be paid and when?
If not, is it any wonder laws are ignored?
As I see it, our representatives in the U.S. are falling behind
on OUR goals; spending all their time and resources on the
problems of other countries. How can we afford to provide financial
assistance to other countries when we have to borrow to even
exist? We cannot afford to cut funding for education. We have
already fallen far behind other countries in producing the
knowledgeable people needed to keep pace.
Our
country is quickly aging and we cannot take from its elders
what they have already
paid in.
We must
avoid the
financial
disgrace of not paying our bills. We are
no longer the world power we once were.
We just
open the
money jar
open for all
to pull from — except our citizens.
Have we decided we truly want to relinquish
our
position and admit
we can no longer
fulfill our role as a leader in the world?
If this decision has been made, who made
it for
us? What
party do they
represent?
How much longer will it take us to realize the two-party system
is failing. It has been for the past 10 years. We must retreat
from assisting others and help ourselves. We cannot help those
countries that vehemently oppose us to gain their rights. WE
CAN NO LONGER BORROW TO LOAN OR GIVE TO OTHERS.
While we have been busy enabling other countries with valuable
lessons and aid, we failed to foresee what it would do to our
economy.