July 4th
As we celebrated the 230th anniversery of our nation's independence from our English cousins yesterday, I was reminded that every one of our founding fathers played the ultimate game of Texas Hold 'Em poker when they signed the Declaration of
Independence. Every one of them went "all in" and bet everything they had to start this new nation. And, many of them were very wealthy men with little, or if any, economic reason to risk their fortunes, not to mention their lives. Yet, they did.
These founding fathers were immigrants, as were millions of others who followed them. They gave up allegiance to their pasts in hopes of forging new lives in a new country they could call their own. As a whole, they succeeded, making the United States of America the strongest and wealthiest nation on the planet.
While everyone contributed in their own way, some were more successful than others. A few, like Andrew Carnegie of Scotland, amassed huge fortunes only to gave them all back to the nation in appreciation of the opportunites the United States of America gave them.
Things have changed in the last 230 years. We have gone from being a largely agrarian society to being a business society. It makes you wonder if the immigrants of today and the children of immigrants long dead would be willing to go "all in" to preserve our nation.
Contrary to all the patriotic lip service we hear, I doubt it. Indeed, we only need look at the present job exodus in this country today. Rather than making the long-term investments in people and technology to compete with Japan, Inc., and now China, Inc., today's Franklins and Washingtons and Jeffersons all too often go for short-term financial gains to the detriment of the country that gave them the opportunity to be what they are today.
Here's to hoping that I'm wrong.
Independence. Every one of them went "all in" and bet everything they had to start this new nation. And, many of them were very wealthy men with little, or if any, economic reason to risk their fortunes, not to mention their lives. Yet, they did.
These founding fathers were immigrants, as were millions of others who followed them. They gave up allegiance to their pasts in hopes of forging new lives in a new country they could call their own. As a whole, they succeeded, making the United States of America the strongest and wealthiest nation on the planet.
While everyone contributed in their own way, some were more successful than others. A few, like Andrew Carnegie of Scotland, amassed huge fortunes only to gave them all back to the nation in appreciation of the opportunites the United States of America gave them.
Things have changed in the last 230 years. We have gone from being a largely agrarian society to being a business society. It makes you wonder if the immigrants of today and the children of immigrants long dead would be willing to go "all in" to preserve our nation.
Contrary to all the patriotic lip service we hear, I doubt it. Indeed, we only need look at the present job exodus in this country today. Rather than making the long-term investments in people and technology to compete with Japan, Inc., and now China, Inc., today's Franklins and Washingtons and Jeffersons all too often go for short-term financial gains to the detriment of the country that gave them the opportunity to be what they are today.
Here's to hoping that I'm wrong.
Hello Dave,
ReplyDeleteTom Rummage here. I have not recieved a response to my email concerning our/your future plans (cars/welding etc). I further went down the downward spiral yesterday cooking a beef brisket in my "pit". If you run across one of the 100 gallon propane cyliners I would be grateful to get one or two to play with. Thanks for the start with my barbecuing career. Hope to hear from you soon.
tomrummage@earthlink.net