AMERICA's MISSING INGREDIENT...

I came to a realization this past weekend, and then this morning I extrapolated my epiphany to encompass the sad majority of our tired country. My epiphany was this: I lack the will power, the driving spirit that our country was built upon. I say this because I need to lose weight, and have for quite some time. I realized it again this past weekend as I was kicked back in my oversized recliner, popping Milk Duds and sipping diet Coke. I'm moving to Florida in my near future and a fear I have is accidental drowning. Not because I'm not a good swimmer, for I swim like a fish, but that I fall asleep on the beach and unknowing children don't recognize me for who I am and try to drag me back in the water to save me... But I stray from my topic...
All too often we know what is good or bad for ourselves but we don't have the willpower to make the right choice, often the difficult choice. I realized it was far easier to lay back and pop candy than to choose to snack on good food choices. It is easier to sit and watch a movie or ball game than to exercise myself. Bad choice, good choice. But choosing candy was not solving my problem- rather it was directly adding to it. So why do I do it?
The answer is simple: Living in America, the land of plenty, has conditioned me to accept the easy way, the convenient way, rather than the way I ought to do things, the way that might prosper me. And sadly, the majority of our population lives this way. Our politicians, our government, have done all they can do to create a state of dependency, for the more people who are dependent on them the more people they can control. We still see that drive, that willpower around us, but all too often it's being displayed by immigrants, or those new to our society, our culture, who know how rough it is in other places. They work hard, long hours, and get ahead. They display that spirit that our forefathers showed when they opened up new frontiers in this great country of ours, for this is their frontier, and they are pioneers in their own right. We need to regain that spirit, that drive, that willpower, and reclaim our birthright, our country, and our dignity. We need to take back our government from those who have abused it for far too long, and return to our country the pride we've stripped it of. But it starts with an individual choice. It starts with you. It starts with me.
I realized that just as I can make bad choices I have the power to make good choices too. I just need to step up. So I dragged myself out of my recliner, put the Milk Duds away, and got out some blackberries and baby carrots to munch on. Healthier, yes. And surprisingly good. And I felt full and content, better than all candied up. And this morning I was rewarded by being two pounds lighter than yesterday...
I thought, "I hope I can continue this", then realized that it doesn't have to be a "hope", rather it is a choice to continue, it is a choice I have the power to make. I just need to exercise self-control, or more basically, willpower. I can choose to do it, rather than hope it will happen. I can choose to change and change will occur. It has to. It has no other option. And I will be better for it. One man, one choice, one day at a time. Perhaps tomorrow it will be two people who decide to exercise their choice, then four, then eight, and on and on... What will Washington do if it finds itself with no one depending on them? They might just get tossed out on their ear. Lookout then, for we might just end up with a government by the people, for the people... Now why does that sound familiar?...
Food for thought...