"What Has America Become" was the title of a letter to the editior written by Ken Huber of Tawas City, Michigan. It contains a series of comparisons and contrasts which causes one to think about the double-standards and conditions under which we now live here in America.
A reprint of the article has been circulating online (see photo with this article) finding its way to Fort Worth and possibly all over the nation. It was originally printed in the Iosco County News Herald on June 9, 2010, published in the Opinion column. Please read, post your thoughts, and as always feel free to subscribe for future articles and/or
share with others.
What has America become?
Editor,
Has America become the land of special interest and home of the double standard?
Lets see: if we lie to the Congress, it's a felony and if the Congress lies to us its just politics; if we dislike a black person, we're racist and if a black person dislikes whites, its their 1st Amendment right; the government spends millions to rehabilitate criminals and they do almost nothing for the victims; in public schools you can teach that homosexuality is OK, but you better not use the word God in the process; you can kill an unborn child, but it is wrong to execute a mass murderer; we don't burn books in America, we now rewrite them; we got rid of communist and socialist threats by renaming them progressive; we are unable to close our border with Mexico, but have no problem protecting the 38th parallel in Korea; if you protest against President Obama's policies you're a terrorist, but if you burned an American flag or George Bush in effigy it was your 1st Amendment right.
You can have pornography on TV or the internet, but you better not put a nativity scene in a public park during Christmas; we have eliminated all criminals in America, they are now called sick people; we can use a human fetus for medical research, but it is wrong to use an animal.
We take money from those who work hard for it and give it to those who don't want to work; we all support the Constitution, but only when it supports our political ideology; we still have freedom of speech, but only if we are being politically correct; parenting has been replaced with Ritalin and video games; the land of opportunity is now the land of hand outs; the similarity between Hurricane Katrina and the gulf oil spill is that neither president did anything to help.
And how do we handle a major crisis today? The government appoints a committee to determine who's at fault, then threatens them, passes a law, raises our taxes; tells us the problem is solved so they can get back to their reelection campaign.
What has happened to the land of the free and home of the brave?
- Ken Huber
Tawas City
(note: all links added for articles related to topics within Mr. Huber's article. His article had no links.)
Is President Obama a Christian, an ape, a potato, or none of the above? [and other SD articles]
Comments
You have touched on Topics without any true explaination, just broad paint strokes! After reading your entire Article, I am left asking myself 'What Has America Become' when those that make blanket statements, leave them as such without any investigation into What/When/Where and Why. We can all use such 'blanket statements' such as...'All Black People Hate Us'...'All Hispanics Are Illegals' etc. but just because we state that, do it make it a FACT????
So J.Peoples . this is a newspaper article, not a book. this is a chance to open eyes not close them, bottom line is, Ken is so true. Now if you can’t read and decipher then you are one of the problems of America. The Me generation with nothing to share.. You are part of the problem and are welcome to leave the country we love and will fight for…Once again.. here we go with the racism statements.. grow up and get a job..
May God Bless you.. Next time publish your full name so we may find out who you really are. My name is Michael L. Maag and I live in Cambridge Ohio. Tune into Glenn Beck for a short while and learn some more lessons...
Life must be rough in multi-cultural Tawas. If I was living up there in "God's country," I think I would be out walking in the woods every day rather than be concerned with gays and Christmas displays being banned from public property.
Dear Ken, You have a great deal of wisdom and God has truly blessed you with "spirit" to tell the truth! I could not have put this better myself. I am proud of you voicing your opinion and agree with everything you said. AMEN!
The reason he can make such broad statements without the need for explanation is: this rings so very true for so many of us that no explanation is required. This truth is self-eveident!.
Bravo! This reader’s myopic perspectives on life and marginal command of the English language have unwittingly emphasized many of Mr. Huber’s points.
What has happened to the land of the free and home of the brave you ask?
We've lost our moral compass - our true North - and thrown the Creator, Lord, Savior - God from our land. He led our forefathers here, helped them establish a republic unlike any before it - basing our structure and laws on gleanings from the Bible and the teachings of Christ.
Our values, those things we were admired for by other nations, those we threw on the pile of political correctness, relativism and entitlement. We need desperately to humble ourselves before God, and ask for His healing of our land, following His instruction in 2 Chronicles 7:14.
"If ... My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
HOPE & CHANGE-- HOPE & CHANGE-- HOPE & CHANGE-- HOPE & CHANGE-- HOPE & CHANGE--
HOPE & CHANGE-- HOPE & CHANGE-- "WHAT HAS AMERICA BECOME"?????????????
Who decides who is right. Who decides who is wrong. Everyone of these comparisons has someone who thinks they are true/false/valid/invalid. This articles make me angry because all they do is stir the pot. There is no real question in the title, it's a rhetorical to pacify only the author. He has valid points, yes, we are not the same country that we were when it was founded. There is a name for everything, and everyone has a "sickness" true. But that does not negate the fact that some of those people are in fact what they claim, sick. It's like that with every point in the article. He didn't really want an answer, he wanted everyone to know how sick of all the mess that this country is got itself into, and like everyone else is powerless to do anything about it. We give that power to those we elect, knowing full well that they all have seperate agendas, with the main goal of staying in office. BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE WORLD. START IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD. If we all do our own little part, the masses will change things. Don't count of the few pacifying the many... you know the culture of today is "what have you done for me lately, and how can i get what i want doing the least amount possible."
J.Peoples: You're an idiot, investigate the What/When/Where and Why of that!!!
I thought this letter was so true! I live in MASS. I just can't take it anymore I feel like I live in socialist state and now country. - What's happening now is the young people who are typically more liberal are going conservative I have two young adults who work at Kmart, local restaurants, dry cleaners, etc.. they are getting angry now. They are sick of seeing the taxes taken out as they work and work and try to save and go to school and they know others are getting everything for free. The one that works at Kmart is beside herself when people come in with EBT cards and buy Blue Ray disc players - YES Blue Ray disc players - it's being allowed - that's NOT food for children's mouthes - We have 4 working people in our home and we don't have one of those. The average JOE could go Postal - people are sick and tired of working their butts off so that they can hand it over to others - they can get their own darn job - if my kids can find a job other's can. Everyone can't be the boss.
I agree... what is up with this crap!!!
Amen to Ken, stir it up and tell the truth many of us are out of work. We are not being given the opportunity for education. I worked full-time, went to college full-time and home schooled my teenager. Oh and I paid for my education. When I lost my job I had to drop out of a two year program after completing the first year with a 3.55 average. I do no qualify for financial assistance. My child is working and not in college because we simply can't afford to send her to the school of her choice. While I see others attending school and not appreciating what they were handed, my daughter is working at a bank more than 40 hrs. a week. It is a shame that everything you said in your letter to the editor is true and should not be happening in America. Some of you out there will remember when this was a Christian nation and we feared God, our parents disappointment and worked for what we had.
Fantastic letter!
You might want to check with the Iosco County News Herald in Michgan for the source of this. According to the free republic dot com it was a letter in the Opinion column of that newspaper.
Kudo's J.Peoples!!! If you believe in something thats fine and stand up and do whatever you want without hurting anyone to make sure that your will is known, but dont seek to opress or step on anyone elses beliefs. This article is nothing but stupid generalizations and people like ken huber make me sick. what has america become? I'll tell you, a nation of people who do not stand united and it is because of biggots like mr. huber
We already cleaned house a couple years ago. I guess it's time to dirty it up again.
Biggots !!! Biggots!!! That is that standard reply from a liberal when they can not come up with a educated , intelligent response to the truth. Why didn't you just say nanah nanah boo boo that would have taken just as much thought and intelligence as caling some one a biggot. Look the word up in the dictionary. Look under the letter B.I am tired of being called a biggot for making any kind of comment that does not agree the liberal agenda. Ken Huber did not say anyhting that was biggoted, he just stated the truth. I did not agree with everything Ken Huber said, He was correct that there was no response from the Idiot Obama regarding the oil spill in the Golf. He was wrong about Bush. Bush did respond before the hurricane hit. Two days before Katrina hit , he sent the US Navy. When the storm was over he sent in a carrier and a hospital ship. But unlike the liar Obama, Bush had respect for the Constitution. The Constitution states that the federal government must get permission from the Governor of Lousiana or any state before he can send in Federal troops. It took the Governor 2 days to get her act together and to "study" the situation before giving Bush permission to enter Lousiana territorial water. Our Navy was off shore the whole time waiting for the liberal moron Governor to give our Navythe nod. This is a fact just like Kens statement about America. Just because i think Obama is a Communist " We need to spread the wealth around" Socialist,does not make me a biggot. I do not care what color his skin is or about his closet, pro-Muslim, beliefs. I only know that we ellected an pro- muslim, communist, socialist for President. Like most Americans i do not care twhat color of his skin. Give up the "biggot" crap. America elected a black man for president. They did not care about the color of his skin or he would not have been elected. The fact that 65% of Americans are now sorry that he is president has nothing to do with the color of his skin. It has everthing to do with his Communist, Socialist views. So, get over the biggot crap and come up with something better to defend your position.
I don't think the problem has to do with bigots.
I would have to say it is because of government corruption as well as those of you who choose to stick your heads in the sand instead of taking a good look at reality. You obviously are not financially affected by the mess created by a government gone wrong. I don't have a problem with helping people, but I realized some time ago that you can;t "help" people who refuse tot help themselves. And I don't know of a single parent who would put others before their own. I have to assume you have little life experience. Things were much different while I was growing up. It was a time when people had hope and worked hard for what they had. These entitlement programs come with little appreciation,
It has taught people to expect from others rather than grow up and take responsibility for themselves. This has nothing to do with race. It is purely what the government has created to ensure votes, The after affect doesn't help them, it enables them. What has happened to this country is a sin and those responsible will have to face a higher power someday. I'm looking forward to that!
The devil in your screen name says it all.
@Anonymous: Consulting a dictionary would also show that there is only one G in bigot.
Thank God for smart people like you. You know it all, don't you? And since there is only one truth (yours), everybody else should shut up.
Seems to me that you missed the point of Mr. Huber's article. That there are double standards, that for some reason we see things differently. I would like to know why? Wouldn't you want to know? Or you are absolutely sure that you are right? All we are asking is that people start thinking for themselves.
Just look at your screen name - nothing else needs to be said about your beliefs...
and another thing stop trying to label yourselves and pick sides damn-it!!!! I'm not a liberal and I'm not a conservative. I'm liberal about somethings and conservetive about others. So why is everyone picking sides, thats not cool. thats messed up, thats not being and land of united people!!! United we stand Divided we fall.
We LOVE that letter! It's going viral on Facebook! America needs to wake up and take her country back!
Geez I have to remind people again? We took our country back 2 yrs ago. You just want to hijack and wreck it again.
I see from a few of these comments, I need to head to the store for some diapers as the libbies in here are nit-picking in order to invent complaints over a plain and simple message. Stick to the fantasy world of X-Box while we common sense Americans try to repair this damage!
The ones living in a fantasy world are those that believe they can live in a society without paying their fair share. Anyone that believes that this country can exist without a means of income from those that can afford to pay in livi9ng in La La land. Sure Ken Huber has a few valid points but many of them are extreme right wing issues that they have a problem accepting.
Outstanding insights to many ills of our great country. Yes, comments are general but accurate. Seems to have touched sensitivities of some readers that detest insightful commentary.
If we are going to talk labels...then I'm just an American who cares and tired of this country going to Hell. I prefer to keep my guns, religion, and rights. You can keep the change. Thanks Ken for speaking up for lots of people. God Bless.
You say what have we become when peole make blanket statements. I would ask what you would call voting on 2000+ page bills without reading them? The average person takes the time to read them on-line and our elected officials believe that we actually need them to tell us what to do. It's a case of "We the Elected" know more than "We the People" and I'm sick of it. Yes, they are blanket statements and yes, it leaves out details, but take a look around, it doesn't seem like our elected officials give a hoot about details anyways. Heck, what is with "we need to pass the bill so that we can figure out what's in it." Scary stuff if you ask me. November can't come fast enough and I mean for all of them, Republicans and Democrats alike.
To to the persons who complain about "taking sides" - sometimes you have to. The idiotic, and dare I say - teabagger stupidity - evidenced in the letter and the comments - there is the enemy of freedom, of life, liberty, and justice. I, as a freethinker, could no more consent to "not taking sides" than could those who opposed fascism, theocracy, and corporatism in the past.
Editor,
Has America become the land of special interest and home of the double standard?
Lets see: if we lie to the Congress, it's a felony and if the Congress lies to us its just politics; if we dislike a black person, we're racist and if a black person dislikes whites, its their 1st Amendment right; the government spends millions to rehabilitate criminals and they do almost nothing for the victims; in public schools you can teach that homosexuality is OK, but you better not use the word God in the process; you can kill an unborn child, but it is wrong to execute a mass murderer; we don't burn books in America, we now rewrite them; we got rid of communist and socialist threats by renaming them progressive; we are unable to close our border with Mexico, but have no problem protecting the 38th parallel in Korea; if you protest against President Obama's policies you're a terrorist, but if you burned an American flag or George Bush in effigy it was your 1st Amendment right.
You can have pornography on TV or the internet, but you better not put a nativity scene in a public park during Christmas; we have eliminated all criminals in America, they are now called sick people; we can use a human fetus for medical research, but it is wrong to use an animal.
We take money from those who work hard for it and give it to those who don't want to work; we all support the Constitution, but only when it supports our political ideology; we still have freedom of speech, but only if we are being politically correct; parenting has been replaced with Ritalin and video games; the land of opportunity is now the land of hand outs; the similarity between Hurricane Katrina and the gulf oil spill is that neither president did anything to help.
And how do we handle a major crisis today? The government appoints a committee to determine who's at fault, then threatens them, passes a law, raises our taxes; tells us the problem is solved so they can get back to their reelection campaign.
What has happened to the land of the free and home of the brave?
- Ken Huber
Tawas City
I agree with taking sides, if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything.
to Jeff Musall: can you explain how those who actually support freedom of life, liberty, and justice are also the enemies?
There's always two sides to everything. Whether the statements are fact or opinion, I think it's safe to say that we're all on the cusp of something... As it has always been, Be it good or bad, change is the ever constant. I just hope we all can unite for the common good and just try to be happy. It is strange that less than 1% of the worlds populace controls all the rest of us. "Why are we so complacent" is a better title for this article.
wow first intelligent comment I've seen so far
Oh, and by the way... "IN THE MORNING" to all you No Agenda Minute Men out there keeping and eye out! noagendashow.com
I only disagree with two things in Mr. Huber's article:
(1) We are born the way we are. We don't have a choice. If you think people choose to be gay, then you have to admit that people CHOOSE to be straight. It's either choose to be gay or straight, or it is natural. You can't have one is natural and the other way is by choice.
(2) George Bush couldn't help Louisiana unless he was asked to, and the liberal democrat governor and mayor didn't ask for help until it was too late because they didn't want a republican to get any credit. How many people would still be alive today if they would have asked for help when they should have? Of course, afterwords it was all Bush's fault.
People do CHOOSE to be gay, it is not natural. Adam and Eve definately did not CHOOSE. If everyone were gay, you and I wouldn't be here so you cannot possibly argue that being gay is natural. Some people may not be able to control their urge or lust, therefore they CHOOSE to be gay.
On the other hand, what does that have to do with the price of eggs in China? Huber didn't really mention anything about CHOOSING to be gay, i suppose you just took a personal offense to him using the term homosexual
FINALLY! Somebody has read the US Constitution - the "Feds" have to be asked to come in to a state to render aid. They can't just go in and take over. They have to be asked to help.
@Anonymous...You do know that Adam and Eve never really existed right??? Homosexuality has been around since long before man ever thought of creating God.
God Bless Ken Huber
Yes, God bless Ken Huber. With his attitude he will need it.
It's like you read my mind.
Ken - Well written article, you make some great points. However, the problem is not just Obama. Bush lied, cheated and stole from us too, the problem is not the republicans or the democrats, finger pointing does no good. The problem can only be solved when each and every individual looks into the mirror and acknowledges that they are a sinner and invite Christ to be Lord of their life. We have these problems because man is fallen, we are a nation attempting to govern ourselves outside of God's laws. It has never worked, and it never will! Take out your Bible and read 1 Samuel 8, this illustrates the point. Jeremiah 19:9 says "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?" Also read Isaiah 5:20. It says "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter." Without God and the Bible, there is no accountability left, this is what we are seeing today.
Just one thing: there is not, currently, a state of war between the U.S. and Mexico as there is with North Korea; the Korean War ended by a cease fire, not a formal truce.
Kelly R., the author never said a word about war. It said it makes no sense that we can't protect and police our own border with Mexico when we have no problem doing so with the 38th parallel in Korea. I agree 100%. We all know that North Koreans can't vote in elections though.
Nice use of the 1st Amendment.
Well written & no apparent taking of sides; just normal, everyday observations.
Perhaps if more journalists learned to write an article without their hearts on their sleeves, more Americans would receive the facts instead of opinions?
Please add a line: journalistic fact finding has been replaced with corporate politician's agendas used to mislead the populous for their ill gains.
Oh so true! Your last sentence should start another blog. Thanks heavily to FCC changes over the past decade, "Journalists" have been replaced by "Reporters" - there's a huge difference and we all suffer from this reporting of "perceptions" instead of "realitites"!
Thank you!!!!! I'm not the only American saying the same thing!!!! WELL DONE!!!!!
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