I am a lover of America. I firmly defend America's preeminence in the world. We have been a beacon of hope and opportunity for as long as I have lived, and certainly much longer then that. Heck, I am BORN on the 4th of July, how could I not be US booster. Lately however, that has begun to change.

I believe that we, the people, which in the end is America the country, have begun to accept and even crave mediocrity. We no longer seek out the high moral road like we have done so many times in the past. Instead we take the easy way out, whether through using our military resources, or just throwing money at the problem and hoping it will go away.

The people on the surface would seem frustrated by the lack of leadership in this country, giving the President a 23% approval rating, the worst in a long time. They also throw the Congress under the bus, giving them a mere 19% approval rating. This proves that the discontent is not with a particular party, but more with the general way of things. If you dig deeper, I think people are frustrated at THEMSELVES. How many of you would approve of the job that YOU are doing to help solve some of the serious problems facing the country.

We have serious problems here. There is or soon will be a global food shortage, the ongoing war on terror, peak oil, global warming...etc. Soon the United States and the world will face an incredible problem when we all realize that oil cannot be pumped out the ground fast enough to satiate our demand. Standards of living all across the globe will be threatened. What are you doing about it, are you even aware of the problem??? Or are you just complaining because gas is $4 a gallon. The Unites States is the worlds greatest supplier of food aid, but even this is not enough, as many developed countries (Japan and milk, The Philippines and rice) have recently faced food shortages. Are you learning how to grow your own vegetables, or just assuming McDonald's will always be able to provide you with a $1 double cheeseburger?

So many of us are content to just get by. This makes me worry about possible Orwellian outcomes where people are afraid to speak up because they don't want to lose what they have. What we need to as a country and as individuals, is to stand up and take notice of these global problems. Then we need to put the burden of solving them on our shoulders. America once again needs to dig deep and pull the world through the coming transition away from the traditional industrial economy. It is coming whether we want it to or not. There is not enough cheap energy out there to supply us and China and Europe. Somewhere we will hit the wall. Let us be the leaders in this, moving the world to a more sustainable economic model. We can do it, and by being the leaders again, can restore the world's faith in America as that beacon of hope that we have been for generations.

So please, I beg you, get educated. Take some time to delve into some world issues. See what can be done and get involved. If you need somewhere to start, I suggest you start by finding out what peak oil theory is all about, for it is the root of all of many of these problems. If you want to know more, let me know and I will give you additional links of interest.