Chapter One: Learn Your Role

Well, this could be an interesting adventure. Having spent well over thirty years in the workforce as a registered voter, I used to think that I had seen it all and that nothing could shock or surprise me. I was wrong. Today's society provides us with many examples of all kinds of head-scratching behavior and stances. Many of these will defy logic and others will explain why American society seems to be in such a steep and rapid decline. I promise that nothing I will ever write about will be imaginary or made up- everything will come right out of the news or directly from my own observations on life.





I already understand that many people I interact with on a daily basis are going to take issue with some of the topics and personal viewpoints presented here. Some will probably be so "offended" that they will make it a point to never talk to me again. While this saddens me, I feel that this could be the kick in the pants some of them need to emerge from the coma that is known as being a young American in today's society.





Before I go in depth, I feel that I should explain a little bit about myself. 49 year old conservative father of four teenagers, twice married, Christian believer. I have slowly moved across the country in the last thirty years from Southern New England to my current location just south of Colorado Springs, Colorado. I've held a wide variety of jobs and positions over the last 30 years and have spent the last 18 years of my life working in Corporate America. My current job is as a manager of people for a major technology company. I'm sure that you will be able to derive a good more about my personality and positions as time goes on.





The purpose of this blog is to spark healthy discussion about the topic at hand. After all, mine is not the only important opinion. A good discussion of the merits will bring to light a lot of differences that exist between different groups of people. We'll discuss politics, consumerism, education, employment, personal interaction, personal responsibility and a variety of other topics as they come to mind. And during the course of this grand experiment, a clear picture of the differences between a good American citizen and a typical one should become quite obvious.





So, here we are, in Chapter One: Know Your Role. I think it's a great place to start. What are the defining traits of a good American citizen? I guess I could do a bunch of scholarly research to come up with the list, but that's one of the problems with today's society- we put way too much faith and weight in the opinions of "experts" and have lost the ability to think for ourselves. So I have come up with my own list of basic characteristics that we will probably all agree are worthy to be on the list:





#1- A good American citizen takes the time to truly understand their surroundings and their impact on those surroundings. In the end, it is not all about you. Society should be allowed to grow and prosper without having to factor in your complete lack of consideration for your fellow citizens.



#2- A good American is capable of making sound, rational and well educated decisions on their own. It's not my fault that you bought some product or service that was intended for people much smarter than you. Don't make me pay for your complete lack of a meaningful clue.



#3- A good American takes responsibility for their actions, words and thoughts. Nobody forced you to buy that house that you couldn't afford in the first place. It wasn't the evil bank, dishonest realtor or crooked insurance company. You made the decision- live with it and quit whining.



#4- A good American puts 100% effort into everything they do. 60% effort on the job should be rewarded with 60% pay for said effort. If it were supposed to be easy, you'd be going to vacation every day instead of going to work.



#5- A good American recognizes that 99% of the time, you are not being discriminated against because of the color of your skin, your sexual orientation or your gender. You are being discriminated against because you are an idiot. Stupid is much more of handicap for you than anything else in life.



#6- A good American constantly tries to improve one's self. Going through life stupid (either intellectually or socially) results in nothing more than an increased burden on society. Interestingly enough, it seems that the social stupidity has a much larger negative effect on society. We are not going to sit around waiting for you to realize that your chest and butt have no redeeming value to the vast majority of us.



#7- A good American recognizes that the government does not need to have a place in every aspect of our lives. You're a big boy (or girl) now. Take care of yourself and act like one.




In the coming weeks and months, I will explore each one of these in more depth, with the occasional break to explore some of the current events that are unfolding around us. I hope that you end up enjoying this as much as I do.



The next installment (coming soon)- My generation vs. the "Me" generation- a comparative analysis.