See the Tears

IS AMERICA’S PROMISE TO THE WORLD BROKEN?

by OPOVV, ©2013

(Nov. 13, 2013) — My cloak is rent, my tablets have become nothing but meaningless mumble-jumble, words washed away by the sea and the years since I was an icon, THE icon, the torch-bearer of what was possible to those who would only act honorably.

Oh, sure, mistakes were made along the way, but it wasn’t my fault; it wasn’t the fault of the Founding Fathers who knew, two hundred years ago, that even though men can change time, time cannot change men.

There were times of doubt, and even though those times were indeed bleak and stormy and I was to be diminished in stature, I persevered; I endured.

I survived through the good efforts of the average law-abiding citizen of our great land, the ones who toiled in the fields and the ones who toiled in the courts, each contributing to the proposition that all men are created equal under the law of the land, that no one is to have fewer barriers and obstacles to achieve their own individual pursuit of happiness.

I’ve witnessed the education system crumble before my very eyes, where the students of today are less worldly than those of yesterday. I’ve seen the word “shame” eradicated from the lexicon of decorum, where Truth takes a back seat to “feelings,” where babies are brought forth into the world, not of love, but of economic returns; where welfare and government assistance have become a badge of honor rather than the shame of a system that fails to gainfully employ anyone who wants to work, to have pride in contributing for the common good, to uphold their end of the bargain: I keep you safe, but you must also do your part.

Welcoming people from all walks of life was my joy, but my joy has evaporated along with the dreams of our Founding Fathers who, bless their hearts, tried their very best to make it right, only to have greedy and shallow people corrupt a system that wasn’t designed to be a lifetime achievement: politicians were to serve their term and go home, back to private enterprise, but they stayed in Congress and made the government their private enterprise.

And so now we have millions of government employees who wouldn’t last in the private sector, who have no knowledge or, even much worse, don’t care whether the job is done the fastest, safest, and most cost-effective way possible. There is no pride in any endeavor that by its very nature can have no redeeming qualities. Build a bridge, but at what cost? Borrow the money to build the bridge, or save the money and then pay for it?

An therein lies the crux of the downward trend of America. Immigrants arrive illegally, never embracing our laws, to freely live lawlessly, to steal from the those who are law-abiding. But in everything there is a cost. People used to come to America for Freedom, for the opportunity to work hard, be honest and get a fair deal in return. No more. People don’t come to our land to contribute; they come to render and destroy, to make our land just as the miserable cesspool they left, for they have no shame, no heart, no responsibility to me.

No. Here I stand on Liberty Island, all alone. Time hasn’t passed me by; men did. Look closely and you’ll see my tears. I’m crying, not for me, but for you.

OPOVV