Who Are We, What Are We, Where Are We Going ?
By William Bailey (04/14/03)
Because of my age and the nature of the profession I served for a number of years, I have both given and listened to a great number of speeches. (Some great and some not so great . . . including some of my own). One of the most memorable is one that carried the same title as this "piece" and was given by one of my professors from the University of Houston at the annual meeting of the professional organization to which I belonged. I am borrowing the title, but will make a different application from that of the original.
"Who are we ?" . . . We are the American people. We enjoy the highest level of liberty and freedom ever known by any nation or society. We live under the greatest concept of government ever formulated . . . the Constitution of the United States. We are "who" we are because of people like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton . . . people who had the courage to actively work to throw off the "yoke of oppression" of a ruling monarch and present to us a "republic" . . . a place where there were people of many backgrounds, religious persuasions and political thought. But, a place where, when it came to the solidarity of the nation, we stood "e pluribus unum" . . . from many, one. Can we honestly say, today, that we approach challenges to our Constitution and our sovereignty as "e pluribus unum" ? I don't think so. And, therein lies one of the great challenges of the times.
"What are we ?" . . . It would appear that there isn't much argument about the fact that the United States has the most powerful military and used to have the strongest economy in the world. You seldom heard arguments as to whether the people of America were either "repressed" or "oppressed". Our nation was known as one providing an opportunity for an individual to go as far as their desire would take them . . . as long as they did it legally and responsibly. (As the motto of the U.S. Army used to state . . . "Be all that you can be"). But some interesting things have been woven into the fabric of "what we are". And, many of those things (which will be identified in the "Where are we going" part of this piece) have not resulted in a positive outcome. As we consider the challenges of today and tomorrow, we have to seriously evaluate both "Who we are" and "What we are".
"Where are we going ?" . . . To answer this question allows each of us the opportunity to let our creative thought processes to function, almost without limit. I would submit, however, that there are some "givens" that have to be considered.
**** We must return to the concept of each of us being responsible for our own actions. Personal responsibility must take "center stage" and dependence must be subjugated for those situations where our fellow/sister citizens have legitimate needs. Remember, it was the Declaration of INDEPENDENCE, not dependence, that started on this magnificent journey that resulted in the nation we love.
**** We must return to sound fiscal policy. This idiocy of continuing to spend more than is taken in is a "cancer" that is eating away at the economy of this nation. In our own lives and families, there are many, many things that we would like to have and/or do that we forego because we, simply, don't have the "funds" to do or have them. So it must be with the government. This continuing, head-long, "spending like there's no tomorrow" must stop . . . and it must stop now. While special projects ("pork") of Senators and members of Congress may be nice for their local constituents, it doesn't mean that they are essential to the nation as a whole. If we don't get serious about this issue, our economy will go into oblivion.
**** It is imperative that public education, once again, be the place to teach how to read, write, calculate and communicate . . . to provide the student a curriculum that teaches "how" to think . . . not "what" to think. Schools should be the place for education not the place for the advancement of a social agenda. And, since 95-96% of public education is funded at the local level, that should be where decisions relevant to local schools should be made. No one (in their right mind) would expect 4-5% of the stockholders of a corporation to control the decisions of the corporation. The citizens of the local community are the "stakeholders" . . . as such, they should have a strong say in what happens in their local public school system.
**** Finally (and this one will probably get me in trouble), we must deal with two particularly sensitive issues . . . political correctness and diversity. As far as I am concerned, the solution is really quite simple . . . decisions get made based on what is best. Lest there be any misunderstanding, I do not seek to hold anyone down or keep anybody from achievement. People are people . . . each should be evaluated on the basis of individual ability. We hear a lot of talk about equality . . . then we turn right around and start trying to make decisions that favor one race or sex over another and we go contrary to the very thing we started out to achieve. We pass laws to prohibit discrimination and then we allow practices that discriminate. This approach does not contribute to "e pluribus unum" . . . it contradicts it.
"Who are we, what are we, where are we going ?" All serious questions requiring some introspective thinking. But, the answers to all three will have a major effect on the eventual outcome.
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