Around the turn of the century (not this one... the other one), two young men were having coffee and discussing things. One of them asked the other if he'd seen one of those swell Model T cars yet. The other guy started getting visibly agitated. He said he didn't want to see one and asked his friend if he had carefully considered the implications of this popular new invention.
"I’m afraid our country is about to change radically. I’m envisioning a day when these fields outside our door will no longer be green and fertile, but will be drawn off into concrete lanes to accommodate the rising traffic. Our buggies will become obsolete.
What will happen to the horse trade? The jobs of blacksmith, saddle crafter, wagon maker, etc will be all but gone forever. The peaceful evening sounds of crickets and bubbling streams will be replaced by the roars of speeding engines and the whole country will stink of gasoline and carbon fumes. America as we know it will cease to exist.”
He went on to declare that the people making and buying automobiles must surely hate America. If they loved America, why would they want to spoil it like that.
Change happens. Sometimes it just can’t be stopped. It just happens. And, painful as it may be, there’s usually a good reason for it and we become a better society for it. The average life expectancy in the USA was 47 years in 1900 and today, it’s advanced to 75 for men and 80 for women. Call me an ambulance when the hip finally goes and I tumble down the stairs. I’m good with the automobile.
Over the years, people have been accused of hating America if they:
Wanted to free slaves,
Wanted women to vote,
Wanted integrated schools,
Wanted equal pay for equal jobs,
Wanted to end the draft,
Wanted to end internment camps,
Wanted to support the old folks with a thing called Social Security,
Wanted insurance to cover preexisting conditions.
Wanted to welcome immigrants who were tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse on our teeming shore.
Some new fangled things, like Obamacare for instance, get off to a slow start (but in four years no one has come up with a better plan). They’re full of glitches and it takes years to get them sorted. Have you thought about what grief the naysayers must have given the Wright brothers? Fortunately Orville and Wilbur ignored their accusers and kept on believing they were on to a good thing.
Believing in change doesn’t mean you hate America, okay? It might mean you’re dreaming of a better America. It might mean you have faith in America’s ability to adapt to a changing world and still stay on top.
And working for change doesn’t mean you’re un-American. If you are a citizen, you’re American. Americans define “American”. If you see a frog eating a minnow instead of a bug, you wouldn’t say it’s “un-frog”. You’d say, “Wow, frogs are evolving and are really diverse!” We’re ALL Americans (until we croak)!
The reason I felt compelled to write this is the huge number of media posts I read that accuse progressives of being un-American and hating America because they advocate change. I’m weary of the fear mongers who keep saying America is going to change and we’ll be ruined.
Google “America as we know it will cease to exist.” It goes way back in politics. America as we know it is full of poverty, disease, rioting, hate, and division. America as we know it NEEDS to change, don’t you think? The best things will remain because the best things are us, the Americans.
Here’s one thing we should all agree to change: the rhetoric! Stop demonizing the other side. Let’s discuss the issues, policies and our differing visions of what it means to LOVE America. We can do it.
And btw, I’m a registered Republican and I hate change. But, as they say in Ireland, I’m willing to give it a lash.
