I'm an American living in America, Home of the Brave!

[FrenchieCat]

living in America is a wonderful experience!
Because in America, I have a choice....
to wake up fearful each day about a number of things.


Here are some of my choices:

I could be very afraid that 5 Terrorists incarcerated for the past 6 years
under our jurisdiction are going to come to New York for Trial.
Accordingly, my safety, along with that of my children, and last and not least;
my country's safety could be at very high risk, if this were to happen. :scared:

I could also be afraid that if Gitzmo isn't closed down exactly on the day that our new President said it would, that this means that there is no real justice in America, and the whole notion that we are a nation of laws is nothing more than a PR mirage, always was and always will be.
Scary if you really think about it! :scared:

I could be very afraid that Health Care Reform will pass, because Death Panels are waiting to decide if I live or if I die. It doesn't matter if this reform helps millions of Americans, because as long as I know it may not help me directly and instantaneously, I can only be afraid since I'm not sure exactly how this will happen, since I haven't read the bill, but
I see a bunch of people already going crazy just thinking that it could become the law of the land. :scared:

I could also be very afraid that no HCR bill is going to pass; that health care as is will totally bankrupt us within the next 10 years,
and with that Democrats will lose the upcoming elections due to this failure. :scared:

Of course I could be afraid that the Public Option is included in the final Bill,
but on the other hand,
I could be afraid that it isn't in the final bill. :scared:

I could be very afraid that our President might be a Muslin, or a Socialist, or a Communist, or a Nazi, or a Corporatist, or just like Bush, or a "Figure head", or a warmonger, or an appeaser, or a skinny guy that bows, or a scary Black guy, or a mushy status quo suit, or a radical in hiding, or a conservative in disguise, or a weak leader, or a totalitarian leader,

or a ___________________ (fill in the blank). :scared:


I could be very afraid that our President is being deliberative about the issue of war.
I could much prefer a President who acts tough now and thinks later, or I could be afraid of that.
I could be extra afraid of the thought that we might send in additional troops to an area that was neglected and ignored for the past 8 years, but I could also be afraid that we might pull out too quickly, waving the white flag of surrender, and leaving Al Qa eda free reins to hatch out another evil plot to attack our country.

In other words, it doesn't matter which way we go, I could be scared one way or the other. :scared:


I could be very afraid that our economy almost went under because of the "Too Big to Fail" free market economy.
And I could really be afraid that we bailed out same banks when our economy was about to crash,
because this means that the Walls Street, the Feds, and bankers own us outright,
and that is a scary thought;
I could also be afraid that we are not going to put regulations in place that are strong enough to keep this from happening again, or I could be scared that a government who doesn't know its ass from its head will screw the free market system up by putting too much regulation in place
and strangle our economic potential. :scared:

I could be afraid about the military industrial complex, because that's where all of our money goes and that's one of the reasons we are, as a nation, broke, and possibly at war.

But I could also be afraid that if we cut defense spending, the bad guys could defeat us,
and America will no longer be what it once was. :scared:

I could be afraid that this country is changing too much, because I keep hearing and seeing on my television those who are against this change chanting "give me back our country!". :scared:

But I could also be afraid that change hasn't come fast enough to date, and since this President promised change, and yet after 10 months, he hasn't delivered all what I think he should have by now, that could be frightening! :scared:

Adding to that, I could just be afraid that maybe this President doesn't really believe what he said he did, because he hasn't done all that he promised he would; or I could be afraid that he will deliver on those changes he promised by the end of his first term,
and that is fucking scary, cause then America will be changed from what it has been. :scared:

This is not change I can believe in
or
Where's the change
or
Keep the change

:scared:


I could be afraid that so many people carrying guns, and that it was so easy for a Military Major go on a murderous shooting rampage on a military base;
or I could be afraid that my right to own a gun might be taken from me (I heard this). :scared:

I could be afraid that our President won the Nobel Peace Prize, because that might mean that 5 "Euro" folks in Copenhagen are trying to control our President's future actions.
Or I could be very afraid that our President won this prize when he is really is a Warmonger;

Copenhagen, what where you thinking? :scared:

I could be afraid that China will play hardball with America when it feels like it, and our bill with them will come due, and we won't be able to pay it, and therefore we will cease to exists.....:scared:

Or I could be afraid that President Obama is gonna go to China, and like he did in Japan, he's gonna bow too low, and that will ruin us for sure.

Kissing? yes; I'm not afraid. Holding hands? yes; just a custom, there's nothing to it. Bowing? Crap, we are dooomed! :scared:


There are many more things that I could be afraid of, and perhaps that is the beauty of it all,
that what is so great about this country is that each and every day,
I am free to take my pick of how I can be frightened that day.
That must be what was meant by "Land of the Free" in our National Anthem that we stand for,
and put our hand over our heart for anytime it is played....
although I don't really get that other part;
"Home of the Brave"....cause believe you me,
It is a very difficult thing to stay brave when I've got such a tempting daily wide array of reasons to be completely frightened nearly to death! :patriot:

AMERICA'S NATIONAL ANTHEM

The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics

By Francis Scott Key 1814

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

[saracat]

1. Actually, I AM afraid. I AM afraid that Stupak will NOT be removed. I am

afraid that women and gays are disrespected. I AM AFRAID of the influence of religion and the expansion of the Office of Faith Based Iniatives. I AM afriad that this Admin, as per their Sec. Of Education will further damage public schools. I am AFRAID that young people will no longer want to be teachers as a result of how teachers are being treated. I AM AFRAID that unions will be busted up and I am AFRAID that the disrespect of the Teachers Union is setting a trend. There is a lot to be afraid of. I am AFRAID that Democrats are no longer being Democrats and winning points has become their only agenda.

[boppers]

12. s'ok

:hug:

Every little ting, gonna be a'right.

[geek tragedy]

15. You fear that we won't be as good as we should be.

That's a different kind of fear than the other-phobia the bedwetters in the GOP have.

[JNelson6563]

23. Your fear re: Stupak is justified.

He won't be removed. He will be able to hold his 30+ county district as long as he wants it. Remote wilderness most of that district. No one will set out to give him a primary challenge. You can take that to the bank.

Julie

[FrenchieCat]

2. Sometimes in order to work against being afraid, and work for change instead.....

I tend to ignore folks that personify gloom and doom.
I have turned off my television, and I don't feel
nearly as big a push that I should fear.

It is fitting to notice that first poster responding to OP
is one of those.

And I get to earn an unrec in the process...
cause folks can and should be afraid,
even of this OP, I guess....!

[saracat]

3. Seems we did that . And the change we got wasn't what we expected.

Should the Teachers Union be grateful, do ya think? Arne sided with Gingrich ,for gods sake. But you don't care ,do you? But despite the clarity with which his position has been repeatedly stated, undoubtedly this is three dimensional chess which common folk are unable to understand.:sarcasm:

[depakid]

4. My fears about Republican rule- and Democratic complicity have long since been realized

and are too numerous to list.

(Though the list would look like a several page litany of "I told you so's" going back well over two decades).

[Raine1967]

5. Thank You!

K&R!!!!

[rasputin1952]

6. There will always be Gloom and Doomers, it goes to

some people's core, sometimes it's not a bad place to go when things need to be done, G&D'ers tend to remind us that we need to get things done, we need to move forward, we need to be on the front lines.

I've always looked at these types of things as challenges that need to be overcome. Those of us that have been fighting for others have long known what this is all about; we fight for those are too scared to rise up and take on the situation; we fight for those who's voices are often unheard; we fight simply because it is the right thing to do.

There have been times when I've been slow to come around to some points of view, I used to think "that doesn't apply to me", but that was the wrong attitude. The way I figure it these days, every time a human being is denied Rights, we are all denied Rights; every time someone is brutalized by law enforcement, we all come up bruised. Every time women are denigrated, my mother, daughters and 51% of the population have been denigrated; every time the GLBT community has been denied Rights, many of my friends and acquaintances have been treated as second class citizens. We can no longer deny any segment of society Rights they received simply by being born in this nation.

Let the naysayers and Gloom & Doomers have their day...I'll be out there fighting for Rights for everyone...regardless of age, gender, race, sexuality, or anything else. And when we retrieve the Rights that have been denied for so long...we will embrace all people, whether fighter, naysayer, Gloom & Doomer, or spectator into the fold. It's going to take a while, these things are incremental and often frustrating, but fighting a grueling fight is better than sitting on the sidelines and just hoping things will get better. Whether it be an inch, a foot or a mile...progress is made.

:patriot:

[FrenchieCat]

7. I like that. Not fear, but determination.

Makes sense! :hi:

[rasputin1952]

8. Fear is born of ignorance...

I have no time for ignorance...therefore, I have no fear...:)

[FrenchieCat]

9. Aye!

[cornermouse]

14. Obama ran for the democratic party.

I'm reminding you that we shouldn't have to be fighting him on those issues. He should have led the way in making corrections. He hasn't. If you want to call that gloom and doom, go ahead. I'd rather be a gloom and doomer than completely blind to the direction the democratic party and the country is taking.

[rasputin1952]

21. There have been several items that PO has addressed and come to fruition...

I do not want to see a dictator, I do not want to see someone passing law from the WH...like under bush. I want to see progress, and I know that takes time and compromise...that is what politics is all about. I'll take progress any way I can get it, the one thing I don't want to see is regression...:hi:

[saracat]

24. Unfortunately there has been some regression. Expanding the office of Faith Based Iniatives for one

and both the appointment and actions of the Sec. Of Education are deplorable.

[HamdenRice]

16. Well said, and it's something that dawned on me over the last year

The Doomers are not actually coming at this from a perspective of rational analysis, but from a deep psychological mindset of fear and pre-existing disappointment.

[rasputin1952]

20. The proverbial self-fullfilling prophecy...

It can work either way, if you expect failure, you get failure; if you expect progress, you get progress.

PO is not the "messiah", he is a man with as many, if not more, problems than FDR faced. Few note that FDR's policies often ended in failure, but he had the wisdom to abandon the failures and try something else, eventually, things started to work. PO is essentially in the same boat, he also understands that, except in the most extreme cases, all progress is incremental. Some of what he has offered, and others expect, are massive societal changes of attitude. No society will accept radical implementation of change, it has to come in increments, and that takes time and compromise.

We're getting there, but it is a long trek.

[firedupdem]

10. Rec'd! n/t

[Hekate]

11. From 9-11-2001 onward the Bush admin told us to "Be afraid, be very afraid" and proceeded to do...

... some very scary things themselves. So whether you were on the Left or on the Right, you had reasons to be rattled for the next 8 years.

I'm tired of being afraid, but it's a habit for many people by now.

Fear and anger: the true legacy of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Ashcroft.

Hekate

[JTFrog]

13. K&R

[HamdenRice]

17. Thanks -- beautifully written! KR nt

[GoCubsGo]

18. Agree wholeheartedly, with one little quibble...

You said, "I could much prefer a President who acts tough now and thinks later..." When did Bush actually think? I don't believe he's capable of thinking. ;-)

I have been thinking about this very subject lately, especially after all the pants-pissing over KSM's trial. Help me figure this out, y'all: When did this country turn into such a bunch of bed-wetters?

[treestar]

19. +1

Fearmongering and Doom and glooming seem to be an American trait. We need to change that or change the words to the national anthem.

[FrenchieCat]

22. That is my conclusion as well.

How can we sit and sign those words which appear in every single stanza, if we are not what we sing about?