Could the last 75 years really have been the best our country had to offer?1933-1963, One Generation, ‘The Golden Age of the United States of America’! It isn’t possible, or is it?

It was this 'Last Greatest Generation' who suffered and survived ‘The Great Depression’, defeated Fascist and Nazi empires, liberated the continents of Europe and Asia, landed on the moon, invented the micro chip, fought communism worldwide, and advanced civil and equal rights for women and minorities. All just a small part of the big picture and still, "Not a bad record for one generation".

What will we be when they are gone?

Since the assassination of JFK you might say that America has had a downturn, but we still had a few things to accomplish, or, was going to the moon our crowning moment, (a legacy of the JFK challenge)?

We are now living in the last years of this ‘greatest generation’, my Mom and Dad are part of it, stories of life during the depression were a dinner staple when I was a boy. I still remember the ‘Quaker Oat Story’, how the container, when stuffed with wet rags made a great football, while I selfishly reminded my dad how it was time for him to buy me a new one, after all how could I throw a TD pass with a football whose stitching was showing signs of wear.

I remember my parents talking of how great their childhood was even as their parents struggled to keep their homes from foreclosure, not once but 3 times during the worst years of the depression. How even with a trade they were forced into day labor just to put a loaf of bread on the table. How my dad’s 1^st bicycle was purchased for ‘two bits’, (25 cents), it had no tires, yes he rode the rims but was proud he had a bike while his friends did not.

Were we just lucky or was it fate that would bring the likes of FDR to the forefront of American Politics? He may have strong-armed the Congress but he got results. He created jobs with WPA and saved England with Lend Lease and was too busy governing to worry about re-election campaigns, but was re-elected 3 times.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor and his ‘Day of Infamy’ speech he rallied the country to send over 2.5 million men, (many of whom would die on the shores of Normandy or islands called Iwo Jima), to Europe and Asia to defeat the Axis powers while even his own party criticized his every move. As a result, this ‘greatest generation’ eagerly joined our Armed Forces to fight and die for a way of life in this land of ‘Lady Liberty’, Land of the Free and Home of the Brave, unique in all the world.  As they did, their wives, mothers, sisters and sweethearts worked in factories and on farms both night and day shifts, bought war bonds and used ration books for meat, sugar, gas and produce. They collected metal and rubber for the war effort all with the intent of defeating Hitler and Tojo.

I guess there is some truth to the axiom that ‘sacrifice builds character’ because this was the last American Generation where credibility was more important than instant gratification, and Marriage was, ‘until death us do part’, after all, there were the children to think of. Most importantly it made no difference whether you were republican or democrat, you were American 1^st………….and last! There was pride in your work, in your home, in your family and mostly in your country. This pride carried into the 1950’s as DDE proclaimed for all American’s, “a car in every garage and a chicken in every pot”!

 

The assassination of JFK might have saddened this greatest generation, but it could not kill its’ spirit as we strove to defeat communism and at the same time put a man on the moon.

 

Whether or not that Dallas afternoon is the cause of a change in direction, elected officials since have fallen short of the high ideals and standards that were part of my father’s dreams and lifestyle. LBJ, Richard M Nixon and most notably Jimmy Carter have lead this experiment in democracy down a rocky road, even eight years of the character, commitment and integrity of Ronald Reagan would momentarily chart a course in calmer waters and we find ourselves once again at the precipice.

 

No finger pointing can explain away the disaster that has become ‘government as usual’, Republicans are just as guilty as democrats, and as different as their claims, from town halls to the houses of congress and even the Oval Office, they are exactly the same. It is no longer about making America better, it is about making themselves richer and more powerful at the expense of all Americans.

 

I challenge you to find one piece of legislation brought forth by either party over the last 30 years that has made our country stronger, our lives more prosperous or our future brighter. We’ve saved the caribou at the expense of our way of life, and this is just the beginning.

Whether it is an Obama or McCain, a republican congress or a democratic senate, the needs of the people play second fiddle to their securing their own re-election. Their ‘American Dream’ is every American’s ‘Nightmare’.

 

Our parents survived this downturn always reminding us to be wary of hard times. Maybe it is just those hard times that make us who we are, from Pilgrims to pioneers, aviators to astronauts, Americans have always been what is best in this world. The light of Liberty’s torch has lead the way out of oppression and poverty from generation to generation. Today this same light flickers at the thought of liberating a country and a people from under the boot of islamo-fascism. We have given up the ‘Made in America” slogan for a chance at winning a multi-million dollar lawsuit at the behest of the trial lawyers who tell us it is not our fault and someone else responsibility all for the unbelievable discount of 33% of the settlement! Who do you think is paying for these settlements that are awarded? What do you think drives of the cost of insurance? Why is the cost of doing business so high?

 

It’s time to push back and push hard, if Obama can start a grass roots organization and reap millions of dollars in campaign contributions from millions of Americans, we can do the same and form a coalition of’ Americans for America’ and show both houses of congress the door. Accountability should be their standard, and our demand.

I leave you with this thought: “It is said the definition if insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting it to turn out differently”! We cannot rely on some professional politician to bring us ‘change’. It is up to each of us to affect change. 

As this is my first posting, I thought it would be nice to introduce myself and give readers and idea of issues I will be addressing in future posts. The Blog: the name says it all, it has become evident, although the word 'accountability' is easy enough to find in dictionaries, it is all too illusive in our daily lives. It can be a tough word to swallow! It doesn't care whether you are male or female, black or white, democrat or republican, conservative or liberal. Accountability is a defining quality of who we are and how we live. We expect it of others and should demand it of ourselves. It relates to our credibility as a person, whether in our personal lives or in our profession, we will one day be held accountable for who we were, how we lived and what we have done. Everyone is held 'accountable' for their actions in one way or another. So, we will cover social, political, economic, corporate and personal issues in our search for accountability. I hope to be challenged as often as I challenge readers as we will hold each other accountable for our lives and lifestyles. It is my goal that accountability become a prominent characteristic of our politicians, our media, (including the internet), the business community and above all ourselves.