Over the last week, at both party’s conventions, there was one common theme.
Well…Sort of common theme.
Let’s say that the title of the theme was the same and leave it at that since that is where similarities ended.
That theme was…”The American Dream.”
Both parties talked about it. Both said they were for it.
It seems however, that they have two very different definitions OF it.
I suggest that to understand the “American Dream,” we need to step back from today’s contentious discourse.
From a literary standpoint, the tear, “American Dream” was made popular in 1931 in a book written by James Truslow Adams but, it’s not the origin of the phrase.
To find its origin as a written or spoken phrase, one must read Ben Franklin’s autobiography.
Clearly though, before something like that can be written, it must be conceived of and it’s quite possible, that concept began with the Pilgrims who longed for a land where they could worship as they saw fit.
America was accessible though far from their homelands, it offered security from their overbearing governments and it was a place from which they could have a new beginning.
It was dangerous. It was uncertain. Why…The trip TO America could kill you. There were no guarantees but there was…opportunity.
Eventually, the government control the Pilgrims had fled caught back up to them and again, rather than charting their own course and their own destiny, those who had sought freedom were again…Subjects.
Faced with ever growing levels of governmental control and burdened with taxation beyond their means and no say in the decisions controlling them, a change was at hand.
After 150 years, the original “American Dream,” was in dire jeopardy of dissolve.
Those who understood the situation, who thought not of themselves but of the future…A future beyond their lifetimes and the lifetimes of their children and grandchildren, plotted a different course…A different destiny.
That is the “American Dream” of which Franklin wrote.
Freedom. Liberty. Opportunity.
A place where all men were created equal.
Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.
Unalienable Rights, endowed by the creator.
Perhaps most importantly to the American Dream” of Ben Franklin’s autobiography was this…
A Government Of the People, By the People and For the People.
Now, jump ahead another 150 years or so.
It’s 1931 and the “American Dream” appears in James Truslow Adams’ book, “Epic of America” and this time, the phrase catches on.
From that point on, the “American Dream” means what it meant to Franklin and more. It was the clarion call of immigration. People coming to America from all corners of the world for a better life. More opportunity. A chance to be something, become someone. Work hard, provide a better life for your family, get an education, and most of all, the opportunity for your children to rise above your own station and for their children, to rise above that.
1931 was the time of the Great Depression. Bank collapses, High unemployment.
But, there was still opportunity and above that, desperation to reach it.
It opened the door to the advancement of Wodrow Wilson’s ideologically “progressive” government ideology.
Social Security. Medicare.
The New Deal.
Upon his nomination, FDR said: “Throughout the nation men and women, forgotten in the political philosophy of the Government, look to us here for guidance and for more equitable opportunity to share in the distribution of national wealth… I pledge myself to a new deal for the American people. This is more than a political campaign. It is a call to arms.”
What WAS that political philosophy? It was socialism in America.
To WHOM were people to look for guidance and ”for more equitable opportunity to share in the distribution of national wealth…”
The government, of course.
It WAS more than a political campaign…It was a political ideology…The call to arms of a socialist ideology and it was the democratic party at the helm.
What those who adhere to the ideology of the New Deal don’t want you to know, is that it was NOT the New Deal which lifted the American economy out of the Great Depression. It was the aftermath of WWII that included a new revolution in manufacturing that did it. People opening new businesses did it. Small business BOOMED and created jobs.
Plants that made the weapons of war were retooled and started manufacturing the goods people needed. Private sector ingenuity invented new goods, store opened to carry them, people were hired to sell them and the “American Dream” was alive again.
Then, in 2008, Obama said it. “Share the wealth.”
We had heard it all before, hadn’t we?
FDR’s NEW deal, by 2010, had become what Joe Biden so flowerfully called, “A big f#*@ing deal.”
It was combined with a “stimulus” spending package and, the resurgence of government programs.
No budgets passed but spending increased.
Today, more people rely on government assistance, welfare and food stamps than ever before.
Obama still wants to increase taxes on those who have found success, punishing them FOR that success.
When Obama took office, our economy was sliding fast brought on by the Dodd/Frank housing debacle.
Once again, an American president, member of the democratic party, ensconced in the socialist ideology, is urging the American people to…” look to us here (the government) for guidance and for more equitable opportunity to share in the distribution of national wealth.”
Indeed, last week at their convention, democrats ran a video stating that, “Government is the only thing we all belong to.”
The “American Dream.”
We all belong to the government?
Look to the government for guidance?
Share the wealth?
While liberals talked about the “American Dream,” it’s clearly NOT the “American Dream” of those who first settled in a new land in 1620.
It’s not the “American Dream” of Franklin and the rest of our founders and framers.
It’s not the “American Dream” popularized by James Truslow Adams in 1931 either.
To truly understand just how far today’s liberals have strayed from the REAL “American Dream” one can look back to last week’s floor vote at the democratic convention.
God, and Israel, were booed.
The original “American Dream” was a land where those who settled, could practice their religion freely.
For those who founded our nation, that idea was so important they made Freedom of Religion the 1st of our Bill of Rights.
Indeed, the founding document ensures that “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…”
And yet, last week, from the floor of the democratic convention, their delegates…Booed the inclusion of that very Creator in their platform.
And, to add insult to the “American Dream,” as he accepted his party’s nomination, Obama attempted to channel those very words but, he couldn’t even get them correct.
Rather than “UN-alieneble rights…Obama said…IN-alienable rights.
Yes, there is a difference.
You CAN surrender, sell or transfer IN-alienable rights if you consent either actually or constructively. Inalienable rights are not inherent in man and CAN be alienated by government.
On the other hand…
You can NOT surrender, sell or transfer unalienable rights, they are a gift from the creator to the individual and can NOT… under any circumstances be surrendered or taken.
Just listen to the first 5 seconds:
So…A slip of the tongue? A simple mistake?
Obama taught constitutional law in Chicago. He knows the difference and it’s NOT a one time occurance.
And here, just as God was removed from the platform, Obama removes the Creator from the Declaration AND…Again…says IN-alienable.
Michelle Obama said that, “…being president doesn’t change who you are — no, it reveals who you are.”
One can fact check Obama’s speech from alpha to omega and discover many issues with the truth but, when he said “IN-alienable” it was…revealing.
A socialist does not believe in the “American Dream” regardless of how often they bring it up in a convention and no party that would boo the inclusion of the Creator in their platform believes in it either.
However…
ONLY a socialist would, in a moment of revealing clarity, tell us that we have…IN-alienable rights which CAN be CAN surrendered, sold or transferred if you consent either actually or constructively and CAN be alienated by government.
And only a socialist would want to “fundamentally transform” America.
The roots of the “American Dream” are in God and religion and the historical meaning of it since the day we became a nation is the FUNDAMENTAL belief that our government comes to the PEOPLE for guidance and that the GOVERNMENT belongs to the PEOPLE…
Not the other way around.
Obama’s “American Dream has been revealed as the same NIGHTMARE which people, for centuries, have come to America to escape.
Craig Andresen
The National Patriot
Weekend Edition 9/8/12
As usual Craig, great stuff… amazing how easily our world is being islamized. I believe we CAN turn the tide- only if we make a real stand. We must fight for our right to exist. This communislamic complex we are up against is going for it all… it’s now or never for them… and it’s now or never for us.
Even though Romney will win in a landslide.. we must take our country back…
First the muzzie then the liberal.
Excellent article, Craig! This may be a bit off-point, but something that’s stuck in my craw is the ad featuring Bill Clinton saying, “Obama wants to rebuild this country from the ground up.” To me, that means he intends to totally tear it down first, & he’s well on his way to accomplishing that! This one statement by Clinton should be enough to motivate folks to get off their blessed assurances & get to the polls to rid our nation of this one-man demolition force!
Areopagitica, you said “If the splinter group moves beyond their own spiritual focus into methodical proselytizing, or seeks to co-opt the peripheral lifestyle of their flock and annoy the rest of society with it, and ultimately threaten the rest of society with abuse and harm it then earns the pushback of such society. If Islam is such an example of runamuk or bogus spirituality, as widely perceived, and makes such obvious display of threats and bodily harm on the larger secular community, it has earned on itself total banishment. That is what some European nations must come to grips with, and what we should be prepared to also consider.”
First off, America is not “some” European nation, neither is it Asian, Middle Eastern, or Russian. It is AMERICA and in those early days of school when you were taught America was founded for religious freedoms…….you were taught right. The fact that you didn’t care when you were a child, and could care less now as an adult is a moot point. The Framers and Founders of our nation believed it and they struggled with all of the issues and innuendos that they had to resolve was not an easy task. The Federalist Papers are full of dissenting opinions and some were downright disconcerting. However, in the end, they finally began to work together as a team and crafted three of the most important documents ever written for this nation (imho, of course)….The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. In the history of this nation, now 236 years old, those documents still read as if they were written yesterday or even today. All three documents called on Divine Providence (God) to govern their work, so it is almost impossible to believe that God’s hand wasn’t guiding them all along the way. These documents of our nation have continued to stand the test of time, war, famine, drought, pestilence, fire, the attacks against them by Wilson and FDR, who were social progressives, and ultimately the attack on American soil on 9/11/2001. The same God who authored the Bible, is the same God who helped the Framers which is why I personally believe that they are inspired by Him and will continue to survive all of man’s attempts to destroy them. You can not read through the documents without feeling the same sense of Divine Presence as you do when you read the Bible.
This country was established not only for religious freedoms, but for freedoms from excessive government as well as outside influences that would seek to destroy the only successful and profitable nation in the World. Today, the nations of the Middle East, mostly Muslim who practice the religion of Islam, is trying harder than ever to get it’s foot in the door of our government. The Islamic Religion is not a religion of peace, as it is so often called. To the contrary, it is a religion that teaches all who are not members are “infidels” and deserve to die. It further teaches that to flat out lie for the greater good is to serve Allah well. All around us, communities, ever growing with Muslim populations are buying up homes and businesses, building their own schools and while “professing loyalty” to America, yet they are still teaching and training their children in the ways of Islam. The news is full of stories of “honor killings” in these groups because the older children were becoming more Americanized and that is a dishonor to the Muslim family and their faith.
The Muslim Brotherhood has taken over leadership in Egypt and Libya now that their old leaders are dead and gone. The Muslim Brotherhood is so firm in it’s obedience to the law of Islam and we hear horror stories of Christians being crucified on crosses like they were in the days when Jesus walked this earth. They believe in killing gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders would never survive. They believe in stoning a “law breaker” to death, cutting off hands and feet, and women are nothing more than property to be abused or tortured for some real or even imagined offense. Women have no rights at all, can’t drive, can’t go out in public without male supervision and must cover themselves from head to toe in burkas. And little girls, the age of 6 are allowed to marry a man five or six time older than she is, and consummate that marriage legally.
Well, the Muslim Brotherhood is now working in Congress. They are visiting the white house and Obama is supporting their endeavors while ceasing to work with Israel. This year’s military exercises with Israel were shelved, so our military could work with Egypt’s military all the way to the Red Sea. Obama has sent them billions of dollars to help them recover from the outgoing administrations to regain their new positions of power. In his own words, in both of his books, Obama promises to stand with Islam, and he has been true to his word.
Islam has determined to conquer the world and remove all remnants of Christianity and all things Jewish off the face of the planet. It is now the fastest growing religion on Earth and the tentacles of it are spreading like a cancer into every corner of the globe. Here in America, it is growing like weeds, and mosques are popping up in every city and state like gophers up for a view.
Obama’s says he is a Christian, but he talks about loving the sound of the morning prayer calls, their feasts and holidays which he will celebrate while overlooking all Christian events. He hates the Flag, the US Anthem, he hates all things American, except the luxury of being President with all of its perks. He has apologized for America’s arrogance, when it is his arrogance that is in question. If it is possible, and he could do it, Obama would bring Islam to rule in American courts and he would continue to give away our country, section by section to the governance of other countries, all under the leadership of the United Nations. And joining him in this crusade is none other than Hillary Clinton who admitted that she was one of the most socially progressive women in the nation.
So, it isn’t just some abstract European Nations that must come to grips with Islam and attempt to banish it……NOW IT IS HERE IN AMERICA……….and the removal of God from the DNC platform was just one small step to slip through the cracks allowing Muslim Domination and Islamic Rule. It is our problem now, so my question to you is what are YOU going to do about it??? Give Obama four more years to do it, or vote him out in November. You only have two options, Islam or American Exceptionalism. The Constitutionally approved candidates are Obama and Romney. Write in votes don’t count, Third-party contenders are automatic votes for Obama, and Green Parties, Labor Parties etc,]., are all in the mix, but in the scheme of things, those voting blocks are very minute. Today’s Democratic Party is not the same as it was. It has now morphed into the Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA) and half of them are registered members of the party and the other half are Muslims. Sandwiched in between are some true Americans, but you no longer know them because their views on their platform of murdering babies, killing the elderly who have no more value, bigger government and cradle to grave care, the redefining of marriage, their hatred of people who have become a financial success all combined with their mob mentality to follow a man who wishes to destroy this country to its demise has destroyed their words of loving God and Country. Again, this was borne out when the platform was changed to re-add God etc. back to it. The NOs outvoiced the Yes’s for sure, but the only person who had the power to alter that platform in the beginning was Obama. He didn’t have a single clue that it would be a problem, but in 24 hours he was forced by the outrage to put two portions of the platforms back, no matter how loud the No people voted!!!! If Obama was going to stay in the race and keep his job, he had to abdicate his true feelings to continue his lies and make more promises to break to the American people. THE RUNAMUCK, BOGUS SPIRITUALITY OF ISLAM IS ALREADY HERE, AND IT IS MAKING DISPLAYS OF THREATS AND BODILY HARM, SO IT DOES DESERVE TOTAL BANISHMENT FROM OUR COUNTRY NOW, WHILE THERE IS STILL TIME TO DO IT!!!! Like I said earlier, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT???? YES, YOU???
I guess the one question I can not reconcile in my mind and heart is how can people call themselves Democrats and Christians at the same time since the platforms of the party are totally anti-American, antichrist and anti-GOD!!!! The ball is in your court, but if you want to fight with us, come visit us at http://www.facebook.com/groups/stopbho. I am the director of that group and we welcome all warriors who want to save America and vote Obama out of office in 2012.
When I was told this in grade school (while they still revered them as colonists and not agents of colonialism) the idea that they were coming to escape “religious persecution” I had little idea why that was important. Religion occupied none of my thoughts. As an adult it still does not. However, we are seeing now domestically as well as in the world, that groups can be typecast by solely their religious backgrounds. Through that they can be marginalized from having a voice in society, and then be “ghettoized” . Spiritual inclinations can demonize and thus impede participation in overall society? That carries more weight for me. Is that just? Generally no, but NOT UNIVERSALLY. If the splinter group moves beyond their own spiritual focus into methodical proselytizing, or seeks to co-opt the peripheral lifestyle of their flock and annoy the rest of society with it, and ultimately threaten the rest of society with abuse and harm it then earns the pushback of such society. If Islam is such an example of runamuk or bogus spirituality, as widely perceived, and makes such obvious display of threats and bodily harm on the larger secular community, it has earned on itself total banishment. That is what some European nations must come to grips with, and what we should be prepared to also consider.