America : Running On Empty??

Friday October 3, 2008 will be a date that will go down in infamy. As December 7, 1941 or September 11, 2001, October 3, 2008 will be a date to remember. Why?

Again America will never be the same again. After the 1929 stock market crash America changed, after WWII we changed, after the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 were changed and it was stated we had lost out innocence. By April and June 1968 we were shaken again with the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Senator Robert Kennedy. There were other dates from 1968 that we remember but not anything as big as September 11, 2001 now known as 9/11. We all know what happened and we all know where we were when we heard the news. Now we will have 10/3/08 a day we realized America was running on empty.

We are financially empty, energy empty and willfully empty of sound principles and core beliefs. Our Congress is empty of sound ideas on how to solve problems with sound solutions. A newsvine contributor stated that we are always told what a great nation we are and he wondered how that could be? How could a debtor nation be great when we are at the mercy of the world economy and to Wall Street. The Chinese could call in their loans and ruin us when ever they see fit to, but they will hold Taiwan over our heads instead. The Saudis at any given time can shut off our energy supply and stop us in our tracks. The line up is known of all the different countries who could bring us to a halt.

However; on October 3, 2008 we brought ourselves to the brink of ruin by a national bail out of Wall Street and the greedy, corrupt bankers and financial agents of this country to the tune of $700 Billion. It was to save America, but did we need that kind of saving? This is the reason for this article. After reading the Newsvine on whether this bail out would work or not there were very few positive statements. 99% of the writers were angry. Calling for revolution to election recalls to throwing all the bums out of Congress and it made this writer very sad and troubled that this country had come to this point in history when it really didn't have to happen this way.

Another writer blamed our problems on electing incompetent representatives because of one issue voting as abortion or religious ideology or gay marriage and pro-choice and on and on. I thought about it and the writer made sense. I asked my self could I vote for a competent Republican who was pro-life, anti-stem cell, pro-death penalty, anti-union, pro-war and anti-social security over an incompetent democrat who was pro-choice, pro-stem cell, anti-death penalty, pro-union, anti-war and pro- social security. I searched my soul and I could not throw away my core beliefs and core values. I knew then that there were others who couldn't throw away their core beliefs and core values either. There were others who would take this country down with them because of what they believed, and realized this is how this country was founded. How fitting it would be that it would fall from thoughts as it was created from thoughts. The very thought of Democracy is humbling and at the same time profoundly up beat.

Can America be saved? Can we as Americans really come together and save this nation? It is possible, but highly unlikely, because of 10/3/08. For the outrage over the bail out which was to save the American economy and financial markets was looked upon as a scam and a con by so many Americans. It was called socialism and other names not fit for print. It may have torn at the very fabric of society.

A once proud country is now a shadow of its former self as a debtor nation and it is very troubling and sad to see that shinning city on the hill as (RR stated) or a place with a thousand points of light as (GHWB stated) going down the tubes. I fear that although this bail out may have been necessary that America's soul will never recover for each time we bail out a financial sector of our economy it is an example of failures and Americans do not like failure for we are winners and doers. But what if all our winning and doing has been on credit and never really happened, as we would like it to be, then we are running on empty. The American people are so mad they may actually hurt the issue more out of anger than out of thinking using common sense. I remember the film It's a Wonderful Life where George Bailey is trying to save his building and loan during the 1929 crash. George was stating to his depositors "Potter is not selling, Potter is buying, while we panic he is picking up bargains." Who is Potter today 2008? Wall Street.. Wall Street may have had it's last bargain basement sale on 10/03/08.

Are we pessimistic or just realists in this crisis? Are we the blame America first crowd or feel bad for America first crowd? Can we fix the problems befallen our country? Can we come together? Is there still fight in us that is constructive or is our madness so destructive that the end is near? Is America running on empty??

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