Are We Ready to Hear it?
May 6th, 2008 by Laura
Who will tell the people? We are not who we think we are. We are living on borrowed time and borrowed dimes. We still have all the potential for greatness, but only if we get back to work on our country.
I don’t always agree with Thomas Friedman, but I almost always respect what he has to say and how well thought out it is. I don’t even agree with his entire editorial, but I do agree with what he said above.
We are living on borrowed time and we are deluding ourselves. We, as a country, seem to believe that we can go on the same way forever. That what matters most is what we want, that what happens in the rest of the world is interesting but not that important. That the food crisis that is perhaps just beginning is happening “somewhere else” but that it won’t affect us here. That paying $4 a gallon is unfair and something that can be fixed by repealing gas taxes. That we shouldn’t have to change our behavior or our daily habits, but instead the world should be forced to conform to our expectations.
What happened to us? When did we lose touch with the very values that made us a “great nation” to begin with? When did we lose sight of the fact that hard work and frugality and generosity go hand in hand to make us the nation we once were and want to be still.
Why can’t we see?
I’ve been discussing this same issue with friends lately. In particular, I was recently reading something about Victory Gardens and was amazed at how many people responded. It seemed like people were proud and willing to work and when they pulled together things happened. It seems like that kind of person is rare in my everyday life, and I wonder how it changed so much in such a short time.
Laura,
I don’t comment here as often as I should, but I read you every day! Today I just have to chime in.
I am sorry to say that I agree with this article in so many ways. These have been lessons that were very hard for me to learn. My parents on both sides grew up with very little, and achieved very much. I was a product of this, and grew up with a bad case of “entitlement syndrome”. I’m so very saddened to see so many in our culture with the attitude that what they want is all that matters. We’ve driven ourselves to a point where we’re accepting of shoddy goods and lousy service as long as it’s cheap and we can have it when we want it. We don’t innovate like we used to because we can afford to buy it from somewhere else and we don’t make for ourselves because generations of consumerism have selectively bred it out of us. I thank the Lord everyday for people like you and all the others that I am able to netwok with that set a different example and that I can commune with to not feel like such an outsider. I think we can make the shift in America, but as was correctly stated, we need someone to put it to us straight.
Very good post Laura, thanks.
P~
Thanks Denise and P~
I do actually agree with 90% of what he said in the editorial, sorry if it came off like I didn’t. It just seems to me that we used to be so focused on creating and innovating and finding new ways to do things better, and now we’re too focused on having things and making money. We want things, but we don’t want to work for them. Instead we expect someone else to do that work.
I read that article yesterday and have tald several people about it, just haven’t had time to blog about it yet, and am catching up with my blog reading over lunch and had to chime in. I agree with Friedman and you all, we as a nation have become too focused on having and not enough on giving — of our energy and commitment, our dollars, our selves. We need to change and change starts with me — I am committing to making a change happen, and to living my values. We can do it.
Totally agree. After living in Europe and paying hand over fist for their gas prices, it’s about time the US realized we were not paying enough to begin with. And although this is a little cold-hearted, I think it’s a good thing when the prices increase. It’s time we fix our mistakes with building these sprawling suburbs and investing in these huge gas-guzzling SUVs. At some point it has to force us to get back to biking/walking for a change, gardening our own food, and talking to our neighbors again.