America... F**k Yeah... (yeah right)

To the 74% of my followers from the US, happy President's Day.  To the remaining 26%, happy Monday.  (And happy Tuesday to my Aussies, New Zealanders, and Eastasian fanbase)

This is my first President's Day in Idaho, and wasn't surprised to see an american flag planted in every yard on almost every street this morning.

Well, every yard but mine.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not unpatriotic, I'm just poor.  I don't have a flag.  But even if I did, would I hoist it up like the rest of the masses?

I'm not exactly sure if, based on this century so far, I am necessarily 'proud' of my country.

It seems that, over the past 10 or so years, the pride (as well as ignorance) of the US has escalated beyond belief.  We truly believe, no, we KNOW we are the central hub of this Earth, and other countries look up to us.

The title speaks for itself

Meanwhile, our country's debt has escalated more and more since GW Bush took office, and it's not really getting better under Obama.  It's hard to tell if he is trying to push back and stop the financial avalanche, or if he's just riding the wave and hoping we all survive when the rocks stop falling.

Then again, depending on who you ask, the financial problems of the last 8-10years are all Obama's fault.

Like I said, it depends on who you ask:

I think, as a nation, we need to put down the apple pie and take a big swallow of some humble pie.  Stop thinking we are the World Police, and become one of the many world leaders, instead of the self-appointed world leader.  

For a country that was founded in democracy, it makes me ill when I hear so many people in grocery stores, on the radio, or just chatting in the mall saying which world leaders we should throw out, which countries are the next big threat, and then complain about our government's financial crisis.  People tend to forget that wars are expensive, and our defense spending is still a MAJOR chunk of our upside-down budget.

And the budget talk around the water cooler makes me laugh even more.  It shows me how many people didn't do very well in Math and Economics in school.  Raising taxes is not an option, because people don't want to give the government any more of their money.  Spending cuts aren't an option, because our population is growing too fast to absorb cuts in health care, social services, education, road upkeep, etc.  So... what IS the option?  Complaining, it seems...

I'll end on this note.  The last time our country was truly booming was the Eisenhower era.  Education levels were on-par with the rest of the world, we were expanding our roadways to counter the rising populations, and our hospitals, police staff, and social services were well taken care of.  The income tax rate for the median household was 48.23%.  Now, in the 21st century, roads are cracking.  Hospitals are overcrowded.  Social Security is failing.  Our national debt has risen more in these past 10 years than at any other point in history.  The income tax rate for the median household is about 25%.

Let it sink in a bit...  Happy President's Day, my fellow Americans.