The American Covenant

Time after time the price has been Ours...An American burden of a sort, paid for in Life and Treasure. But a funny thing happened along the W.A.Y. to doing what is right...just because it is right. The reward became Ours...also paid in Life and Treasure only when it was returned to US it had expanded. Until recently that is...instead of Life and Treasure growing it began to creep out of US…causing US and the World to wonder if the unspoken promise had been broken.

This is Our American Covenant...the burden AND the reward given to those who protect and advance the Beacon of Hope.

The “American W.A.Y.” conceived by a Continental Congress in 1776 forever altered Human Destiny...A Destiny which was never really a question of “if”...but instead only a matter of “when”.

When... would man shed itself of the demigods, rulers and class structures that insisted the “thinking” was to be done by those ordained, appointed or born the chosen ones? Prior to 1776...the pervading wisdom of the ages was easily summed up by these words “Go on about your business and leave the big thinking to us”.

Well for thousands of years...the “big thinking” never got done. As the ruling elite only thought about ways for sustaining their power or simply enjoying it...Does this sound familiar? It should.

But even in a post 1776 America...very little “big thinking” really got done until recent times. Too much of the pervading old W.A.Y. of thinking dominated our institutions and culture. And we continued to leave the deciding power to elite white men... until slowly and with much pain we came to realize it was not only morally right to include women and minorities but it was also necessary for this Nation’s progress and wellbeing… to rely on the needed contributions of Everyone.

It’s no coincidence that the “biggest” health, science and economic breakthroughs have occurred in the past thirty years or so. Just at the exact same time women and minorities broke through many of the barriers that prevented their participation. “Modernity”…only came about because these breakthroughs reflected the massive brainpower and imagination released into the marketplace by inclusive laws, institutions and most importantly by individual expectations and courage.

Born in time to become a witness to this new W.A.Y. of thinking, I feel a certain sense of privilege and of wonderment as we make Our W.A.Y. through the final throws of the birth of this New Age of Intellectual and Emotional Freedom.

I’m filled with unrelenting faith and optimism for what good fortune will come Our W.A.Y., but at the same time I am equally burdened with a great unease over a spreading American contradiction of conscience...It’s obvious the old ways of the ruling elite just won’t go away. “They” have made a shift in tactics, only this time they have gained our permission to leave the big thinking to them...and once again not nearly enough “big thinking” or work is being done.

In recent years the ranks of the ruling elite have swelled with the advancement of the Money Driven Ideology...a new type of “elite membership” depending solely on the means...without concern for the means to the money. And this Money Driven Ideology has sickened a part of US and overridden many of the core American values that have kept US safe, prosperous and United. Be it Democrat or Republican what makes us American are the common values we choose to cherish. Our path at times may differ…but the Purpose to protect the American Soul… always Shared.

But now…the Money Driven Ideology appears to be all that is shared.

With this shift from doing “what was right” to what would make US money…we lost “the courage of our conviction” and the moral authority that came with it. As political leaders spent their energy finding “the words that work” to gain or retain power…they lost their guiding sense and Our W.A.Y. Beyond the challenges of this American Time.

Make no mistake, Peril is at Our doorstep and the only solution for America… is to do the right thing…just because it is right and even when no one is looking.

As in the Time of Our Founders, it is once again for “The People” to demonstrate the magical idea of America to a World who so anxiously awaits word from America that still rooted in the collective Freedom, Faith and Courage of “The People”…is the Power of Our Convictions.

Remember this: The value of any idea directly corresponds to the price paid for it.