by Chris Wallower

Created on: November 01, 2008

The Ownership Society

10/31/08

"They say that victory has a thousand fathers; defeat is an orphan," these heavy words were delivered from a solemn President Kennedy in the aftermath of the failed Bay of Pigs military offensive against communist Cuba. They illuminate the dark truth behind America's superficial veil of responsibility and moral superiority. Take credit for what goes right and blame others when things go bad. This can be seen readily in the politics and economic problems currently facing this country and is an abomination to the industrious and hard-working spirit of the American people. Ted Stevens of Alaska was convicted on seven counts of fraud and yet continued to run for reelection. The Bush Doctrine (which is just the new name for the Wolfawitz Doctrine) has failed miserably, and yet, to date, there has been no responsibility taken for the poor leadership that has resulted in the largest terrorist attack on the United States in history, a war with a country that bankrupted Russia, a second war sold to the people by fictitious intelligence reports and lies, a sub-prime mortgage fiasco that has destroyed home prices nationwide, the largest deficit in history, an unprecedented $750+billion dollar bailout for mismanaged private companies, and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression.

Where is the John F. Kennedy of today? When will someone, anyone, stand up and claim paternity of any failure or defeat? Has that era died? Have personal responsibility and unselfish ethics been replaced by plausible deniability and rewards for failure?

About sixty years ago, the United States was involved in a military conflict half way around the world. War, by its very nature, is a very expensive endeavor. Troops, trucks, weapons, bullets, fuel, food all cost money and they are needed in spades around the world. To cover the cost of World War II, the United States had a variety of programs affecting nearly every aspect of the average citizen's life. Posters, newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, and addresses given by politicians all stressed the importance of individual responsibility for doing your part for the war. As manufacturing demands increased as the labor force decreased, women were enlisted to fill the void by stepping out of their traditional roles and onto the assembly line. To help supplement the monetary costs, war bonds were sold in massive amounts, and buying them was considered the patriotic duty of every American. Commuters were

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