The objectives for Homeland Security are to prevent
terrorist attacks within The United States, reduce America’s vulnerability to
terrorism, and minimize the damage and recover from attacks that do occur. I
propose that the simplest and most effective way to achieve these objectives is
to utilize America’s greatest resource; her people.
How will engaging the American people achieve these
objectives? I believe that when our citizenry are reminded of the great
liberties that we have, our great history and amazing possibilities, that we as
a united people will begin to care more and work harder for the freedoms we
have all taken for granted at one time or another. We will begin to know our
neighbors and take note of those who have destructive tendencies toward this
land. Engaging the peoples of The United States of America will help Homeland
Defense in many ways because when we work for a common goal, we are unstoppable
as a people. However, history has shown, we will only work in unison when
working for something we love, or at the very least respect. When we are
reminded or begin to remember once again the great men and women of our history
who said and believed things like; "The
liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending
at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have
received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased
them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and
transmitted them to us with care and diligence.” (Samuel Adams), then we
will inevitably become more and better informed and make more reliable
political, ethical, educational, and societal decisions. History has shown that when Americans are
united in cause, we are a force to be reckoned with. Uniting the citizens in
this great land of ours for the common good of country and countrymen, in my
opinion, will be the single most effective way to reduce America’s
vulnerability to terrorism from within and without, and minimize the damage and
recover from attacks that do occur.
In order for the American people to become engaged
once again in their patriotic duties as citizens, we have to be reminded, and
in some cases informed, of what has made this country great. Generations past,
before political correctness became the norm and changed our history books,
knew these truths: America was built by citizens just like us who were both
good and bad, who gave and shared and gave some more. Her citizens were
faithful to God and country and family and gave their all to make each one the
best it could be. Our forefathers made mistakes no doubt, we all have and will
continue to in some ways as long as we are human beings, but when we work
together and with one goal, we become great.
The
media has become god-like in this land, and this in many ways is to the
detriment of our country. However, we can utilize this giant for the good of
our nation. Publicity has made the basest of humanity into icons, and I propose
that we use this now to gain back the hearts and minds of our people. Through
the use of this image maker, media, we can remind our citizenry of the great
men who came before us like;
JFK
who said, "Let us think of education
as the means of developing our greatest abilities, because in each of us there
is a private hope and dream which, fulfilled, can be translated into benefit
for everyone and greater strength for our nation.", and "And so, my
fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do
for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do
for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”
and
Thomas Jefferson who said, “The cement of this union is the heart-blood
of every American.”
and Dwight Eisenhower who said, "Freedom has its life in the
hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and
refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither
and die."
By introducing “commercials” or public service
announcements that are entertaining but with patriotic messages and historical
truths, the younger people would undoubtedly be introduced to patriotism in a
new way. Add some animated programming and you can reach a whole new group of
young people. Introduce a prime time
version of the same and you have an even larger and more impactful demographic.
And I’m not talking politics here, I’m talking patriotism: love of country and
our responsibilities to her. Somewhere along the line someone fed our people a
lie that said in order to acknowledge and celebrate all the cultures that made
up the American citizenry, we had to distill our American culture or forget it
all together. If we but remind people, gently at first, that America is the
“great melting pot” of old where immigrants have been welcomed to come and live
and work legally to escape the hardships of their former countries, then
perhaps they will realize that even with her blemishes, America once was great,
is great, and can be greater still.
The great minds that now work to slant the news to
one opinion or the other, and who write the eloquent speeches and create the
scenarios and sound bytes that we see on television could use their talents to
make movies that would stir this nation to greatness. (This could even be a
form of revenue for the government that might take a bite out of the ever
growing national deficit.)
Many are those among us who want their information
spoon fed them. Feed them well I say! Feed them on the milk and fruit of
patriotism. Show them however they will see that it takes all of us, caring,
working together, towards a common goal of one country united for the good of
all to uphold the constitution, to keep our flag waving and our land free. Yes,
there will be those who disagree, there will be those who will turn a blind eye
or will miss out in protest. Sadly, there always will be. Still, you cannot
reap a harvest if you never sow a seed. Let the seeds of patriotism be planted
in the hearts and minds of America’s people and see the harvest she brings.
This land is fertile for growing life, liberty, and strong men and women. It
isn’t strong opinions that have divided us; it is skewed information and
rewritten histories. Let the truth be told and learned from. People can be
moved to greatness when greatness is expected of them. For too long entitlement manipulation and low
expectations have been the rule rather than the exception. If you remind the
people the greatness they are born from and for, they will rise up and we will
be greater than ever before in new ways.
Along with the air waves, the written media can be
utilized. The major dailies of our great cities reach millions every week.
Reminding the thinkers, the readers, those who pride themselves on “keeping up
with the times” that no matter your political affiliation you can be a patriot
will at the very least begin a dialogue around something more worthy than what
the gossip columnists are saying, or about what the first lady is wearing. Let
us print the real heart warming and profound stories of what our amazing
citizens are doing here in America. Let the people be reminded not only of what
made America great, but of what keeps her that way and what can make her better
still.
In that great American Ronald Reagan’s farewell
address he said "And let me offer lesson No. 1
about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table. So,
tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins. And children, if your
parents haven't been teaching you what it means to be an American, let 'em know
and nail 'em on it. That would be a very American thing to do." I believe he said this because
America historically isn’t afraid of learning. Yes, we have had some hard
lessons to learn and we have made some poor decisions along the way, but we
cannot change history so we’d best learn from it. The only way to learn from
the past is to look it in the face and stare it down, learning all it has to
teach then telling it to get behind us so we can move ahead to a better way and
a better day. John Quincy Adams said this best when he said “Posterity: you will never know how
much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make
good use of it.” We must as a nation be reminded once
again what price each generation has paid to preserve our freedom so that we
can begin to make better use of it.
Using what we know works, media, to change minds and
hearts will be the simplest and most effective tool. Instead of taking years in
committees to decide and agree upon some new and expensive way to keep us safe
and free, why not use what has worked best for so long; Americans.
Thank you for your time and consideration in reading
the ideas of one American who loves her country and wants more than anything to
see her remain strong and free. God bless America.
Written 11/29/2010 for a writing contest. Shared today, 5/29/2016 in the spirit of God Bless America and Memorial Day.
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