When was the last time you heard America called the melting pot? Do you still feel you are sitting comfortably in that warm pot, melting together with your fellow citizens? Do you still believe America is indivisible with liberty and justice for all?
I'm sure you have heard of the boiling frog story. The premise is, if a frog is placed in a pot of boiling water, it will hop out, but if it is placed in cool water that is slowly heated, it will not perceive the danger and will be boiled alive.
Is this the correct analogy of how our government believes Americans would act in our melting pot if they decide to turn up the heat or does our government believe that we are not a bunch of dumb frogs and when the heat is turned up, some Americans will hop out of the pot?
Americans have been sitting comfortably in the melting pot of warm water for generations. We have had social and moral issues, here and there, but our American family worked out our differences and we stayed together.
Then the heat was turned up after the 911 crisis and our elected officials passed the Patriot Act, without even reading it. Some Americans awoke with outrage over the loss of our liberties and the perceived dangers ahead for our country. They hopped out of the pot and started grumbling. The Americans still sitting comfortably in the pot, heard the grumblings and stated, "We want our government to keep us safe regardless of what liberties we lose".
After that, the heat was turned up with TARP and other laws that took more of our liberty and justice away. Our government picked winners and losers, giving special groups special rights, favors for some over others and ridiculing the Americans that stood against the injustices. It was a fundamental transformation of our country. As a result, many more Americans woke up, opened their eyes and ears, jumped out of the pot and started protesting. The Americans still sleeping in the pot said, " We want our government to decide what is fair, to take peoples wealth and spread it around, regardless of what injustices are done".
Once again, our elected officials arrogantly decided to keep going against the will of the people and they turned the heat all they way up by passing the stimulus and health care laws. With the stimulus, it was an in - your - face assault against working Americans and how little they think of our hard earned tax money. Furthermore, the government run health care law is an intrusion into your privacy and is forcing every American to buy what they are hawking. The result, Americans in record numbers woke up, opened their eyes and ears, hopped out of the pot and gathered together to protest. The remaining Americans cooking in the pot said," It must be global warming, it's getting hot in here!"
So which do you believe, that our government is so incompetent, arrogant and out of touch with us that they really believe we are a bunch of dumb frogs that would sit idly by while they destroy the fundamentals of our country or could it be, we have gradually been divided on purpose? Either way our future looks grim if we don't take a stand together for the real meaning of liberty and justice for all.
If you are one of those frogs still cooking in the pot, the moral of my story is - a pot divided talks.
(Cindy Johnson is a community columnist for The Minot Daily?News)