by Jason Ray France

Created on: August 11, 2009   Last Updated: August 17, 2009

I have given a lot of thought to the current circumstances of our country, as I'm sure that most of us have. I have felt torn, because I don't want to be divisive, but I also want to be patriotic enough to protect the principles that our country was founded on. Whether we like it or not, the only way that we can do this is together. We aren't called "The United States" for nothing.

In my own life, I wouldn't blame one person for a problem that I helped to create, and I wouldn't expect one person to solve it all by themselves, either. It was often said that President Bush should not take away our freedom to protect it. We must hold President Obama to this same standard now. Yes, we can look to our leaders for direction and strength, as well we should.

We cannot afford to disregard our whole system of government because a part of it has failed-especially when that failure was caused by our own carelessness. Our problems, financial or otherwise, will never be solved by relying on concepts that we rejected long ago and for good reason. It was safeguards that were put into place after The Great Depression that prevented our current state of affairs from being even more severe.

The people of that time didn't turn from our rich heritage and destroy it's foundation. As a matter of fact, they did the exact opposite by reinforcing it. If there is one thing that America has never been in short supply of, it is hope for a better tomorrow, and the commitment to make it happen!

When I make a mistake in my life, I have learned that it is a waste of time to dwell on it, and a waste of energy to beat myself up over it. Plenty of mistakes have been made in the past by plenty of people, no matter what the affiliation. It is too late to change anything that has already happened. We would be much better served to focus on what we do have control over.

The past is gone, and the future doesn't exist. The past serves as a teacher for those who are willing to listen, and the future is something that we can prepare for but never fully predict. For better or worse, all we have is this moment. Our culture gets to learn from it's mistakes, make the necessary adjustments, and move forward.

I also want to share our resources, but how can we do this if we can't even take care of our own needs? I have seen children starving in the streets firsthand, searching through the garbage for food. I would prefer to prevent that from happening anywhere. When I look for answers to these questions, I have no better reference than how I chose to live my own life.

It may seem naive to some, but if our priority is love, we can't go wrong. I believe that whatever we put out there will come back to us many times over, and whatever we don't share will be lost. May we appreciate what we have, get by with what we need, and give what we can.

I certainly don't claim to have all of the answers. It would be great if someone did, but that is where faith comes in. Times of crises call for men of great faith and personal accountability. I admit to having been biased, but it is critical that we stop blaming each other and build on common ground-the same ground that our country was built on.

It took tremendous strength of character and untold sacrifices to make our way of life a reality, and it will take nothing less to preserve it! What do we stand for? Our children are looking to us. Are we under God? Are we indivisible? Do we have liberty and justice for all? Is this type of life philosophy simple? Maybe. Does it have the power to heal us and our nation? Without a doubt!

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