(Warning: I didn't really structure this paragraph I just kinda went off an a tangent so hopefully it makes sense.)
So i was working a job all day today that didn't really require much thought from me so my mind started to wander. I was thinking about gas prices and how misleading they will be to the american people. What i was thinking about was the current situation economically. Maybe my thoughts are being heavily influenced by tocquville's "democracy in america," but i was think about what got us in to it and what will get us out. Looking back on the history of our country and why people came over here, is very different from reasons why say spain came over to the americas. It is a great comparison of what makes us great. When spain came over they only cared about one thing. Gold, or in other words power. The were one of the most powerful nations in the world. However they invested poorly. Americans new that real wealth does not come from how much gold or riches but from freedom of thought. After all that gold spain never became a super power. It was Thomas Jefferson who took John lockes original life, liberty, and pursuit of property and changed it to life liberty and pursuit of happiness. I think personally he changed property because he knew that mans happiness comes from gaining more knowledge rather than by having the most stuff. In recent years we look at the economy that grew during the 90's. One of the largest economic expansions in the u.s. since the industrial age. We had the internet boom. The internet which basically allowed a broader exchange of ideas. Now Knowledge has become more instant. Its not surprising the current economic crisis is based on property. Anyways i'm not trying to say that its bad to own property, i'm just saying that as americans we need to get away from the trend we've been in of trying to acquire wealth through getting lots of stuff and using oil to power our economy. We need to use our brains more and be a beacon to the world of free thought and technology so while china is poor from running out of oil we will still be a great nation because we Will have developed knew technologies to sell to the world. After all its our abilities to think and reason which is what has made us great.
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2 comments:
as a former history teacher, I appreciate your thought process on this one. :)
The founders - and Thomas Jefferson in particular - understood and created some of the most important guiding principles for a nation and a people. We are indebted to them in countless ways. That life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are the highest priorities speaks volumes of our collective values.
Unfortunately, so many have forgotten this...perhaps because we have had so few tragedies in our generation.
I have been thinking a lot about the state of the economy lately, too. More importantly, I've been thinking about the state of consumerism which has infected the majority of this nation like a plague. Bigger. Bigger. More. More. They are mantras chanted by the masses at ear-piercing decibles.
Thankfully, there are people like you that....think. Evaluate. And question.
Great post.
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