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Thank you Uncle Sam
It's election time again. Can you hear the loud spread of lies and distortions on the airwaves?
We hear over and over in ads and in political discussions in the main stream and on Internet blogs is how bad and incompetent our government is. A common thread seems to be that the government we have had since 1776, is incapable of doing anything right.
Let me set the record straight for those who have chosen to wear blinders to the bigger truth.
In a nation of over 310 million citizens the vast majority of us still have jobs, shelter, clothing and and enough food that we face an obesity problem. We enjoy free public education. We are free to practice the religion of our choice, or none at all. We can hop in a car and drive anywhere without "checking in" at checkpoints as we cross state lines. We have thousands of channels of entertainment delivered to our television sets each day. We have clean drinking water and systems to carry away our waste and trash. Help is only a 911 call away 24 hours a day.
Is our government really so terrible that we might want to get rid of so many things we take for granted, for instance:
- When did you last hear of a commercial pilot getting lost or colliding with another air liner? Thank you FCC and Uncle Sam.
- How much do you love your GPS when you are lost on the road? Thank you for showing us the way home Uncle Sam
- How many millions have been saved over the decades because they knew in advance that a hurricane was on the way? Thank you for saving our lives NOAA and Uncle Sam.
- Who else will come to your home and for less than $0.50 take your letter across the continent and deliver it to your loved ones? Thank you Post Office and Uncle Sam.
- When your boat tips over in the sea who do you call for rescue? Thank you Coast Guard and Uncle Sam.
- When you drive over the river and through the wood to grandma's house, who do you thank for that four lane interstate highway that takes you across our nation? Thank you Uncle Sam.
- When was the last time a snake oil peddler was able to sell you poison and claim it would cure your cancer? Thank you FDA and Uncle Sam.
- When was the last time we had hundreds of thousands die of plaque or flue? Thank you CDC and Uncle Sam.
- Who made it possible to send products up and down the rivers of the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico? Thank you Corps of Engineers and Uncle Sam.
- If you live in rural Kentucky or Tennessee, who made sure you had electric power while much of America was still in the dark? Thank you TVA and Uncle Sam.
- When you take your family on vacation to visit our natural wonders or monuments do you remember to thank the National Parks Service and Uncle Sam?
- Have you wondered why all those thousands and thousands of TV, radio stations and cell towers don't interfere with each other? Thank the FCC and Uncle Sam.
- Are you a military vet with a medical problem? You have a public run single payer health care system to turn to. Thank you Veterans Administration and Uncle Sam.
- When you travel abroad and have problems in a nation that is NOT the US who's embassies to you go to for help? Thank you State Department and Uncle Sam.
- When your child was saved by that air bag or seat belt that auto makers though was too expensive to install, who do you thank for making sure it was there when you needed it most. Thank you NHTSA and Uncle Sam.
- Are you happy that the same dollar in your wallet can buy coffee in California as well as in Florida? Thank for a central banking system Uncle Sam.
- When mine and workplace injuries and death rates fell to record lows, did you thank OSHA and Uncle Sam?
- Do you feel safer having the world's best military watching your back? Thank you DOD and Uncle Sam.
- When you fall on hard times and face losing it all, who was there to help you with a range of benefits you pay for in advance while you have a job? Thank you Medicaid, Unemployment, HUD, Food Stamps and many more.
- When you decide to change phone or cell companies who makes sure you get to keep your existing phone number? Again...thank the FCC and Uncle Sam.
- Who made it possible for most of rural America to have electric power and telephone services? Yes...your Uncle Sam.
- When disaster strikes, who hauls in ten thousand trailer homes until you can rebuild? Thank you FEMA and Uncle Sam
- Fifty three million of us do not face homeless poverty because we had a system we paid into that sends us a check every month as we grow old. Thank you Social Security and Uncle Sam, for protecting our elderly from a life of misery.
There's more. Much more. But the point is when you stand back and consider all the services and protections we ask for and how these are delivered to such a vast nation, our governments, federal, state and local, are miracle workers. Are all of these perfect and without flaw? Of course not. This is a system of humans trying to do super-human work to satisfy 300+ million citizens. It is impossible for it to be perfect or absent of any flaw. It is important that we not stop what we are doing while we wait for perfection that can never come, regardless of political promises to the contrary.
We are on the right road now because we are on the same road today that our founders started paving in 1776. All roads develop pot holes but we cannot spend all our time dodging them rather than taking the time to patch them.
In tough times, as we are in now, it is important to keep one thing in mind. We still have a great nation full of great people. We are still much better off than most of the world's people. And we have our freedoms protected by a great Constitution and Uncle Sam. Politicians will come and go but our Uncle Sam is always there for us.
Thank you Uncle Sam
