It's Time for Change

You who have been born in America, I wish I could make you understand what it is like to not be an American, to not have been an American all your life and then, suddenly, with the words of a man in flowing robes to be one, for that moment and forever after.  One moment you belong with your fathers, to a million dead yesterdays.  The next you belong with America, to a million unborn tomorrows...

This is a quote by George Magar Mardikian.  He was an Armenian-American immigrant that was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Harry S. Truman.  In 1956 he wrote an autobiography and this is a excerpt that is on the wall at the Epcot Center.  I went there when I was a little kid and my mom took a picture of it.  I recently found it and thought it was a perfect pick-me-up for the current times.

Too often we complain about how bad things have become.  And most of us feel it getting worse.  We've lost trust in our government, and they seem to care more about lining their pockets.  We nag about the political views of our neighbors, convinced that ours is the only right way to do things.  Our dollar is losing it's value, our judicial system is tarnished, our rights are encroached upon, and our voices fall on deaf ears.  The media would have us believe our country is about to fall apart, their "experts" are sure of it.  The government wants us to think the hard times are coming to an end, because the "analysts" have done studies.  Is there any truth left out there?  I wouldn't really know... Honestly I'm having too much fun with life to care much about the facts.  Even if I did, I don't think I'd have a whole lot of impact on anything important.  I'm a 22 year old, uneducated, punk snowboarder living in this bubble we've named Utah.  But I do know this to be true:  If we remember and live by thoughts like the one above, we'll all be more grateful for what we have, rather than what we're living without.  Life will seem easier, and we'll be more inclined to get our issues sorted out.  America is in a bad spot, but it isn't going anywhere. We'll find that light at the end of the tunnel eventually, but I'm sure once we get there, someone will complain that it's too bright...