America, While You Were Sleeping
by Vincent Fiore
The setting is a common room in Maspeth, Queens, an old and history-laden area within the sprawling metropolis that is New York. In the common room, about 15 to 20 tradesmen await the time-clock’s imminent arrival of 3:00 p.m., and quitting time.
Always abuzz with the day’s doings — job-related tales and technical jargon fit only for the ears of these technocrats of the Trades — I decide to liven it up (once again) by pursuing my favorite topic, politics.
Needless to say, most of the time I am poked fun at by my fellow mates. But once in a while, they seem to tolerate me and my fondness for political pursuits. The areas of discussion vary greatly, from drilling for oil in ANWAR, to whether Rudy Giuliani will run for office in 2008.
But the political flavor of the day this time was — in case you were comatose these last two weeks — immigration. Since the group was fairly representative of New York’s famed “melting pot,” I thought that the discussion would be wide-ranging and informative.
I soon realized that my brother workers — my friends and fellow Americans — cared about immigration about as much as Bill Clinton cared about fidelity within the institution of marriage, specifically his. Yes, that much.
Try as I might — and I raised more than a few hackles here — nobody really seemed to care. I was even patronized by an otherwise even-headed and good-hearted friend who said to me: “Well, thank God the rest of us have you around to fight these battles for the rest of us,” as he snickered aloud, thereby leading the way for the others to react in the same manner.
At that moment, I felt about as angry as I have felt in many a day. Not one to ever be accused of being a wallflower, I expressed my anger and defiance of their attitudes, condemning them and their flippant and grossly irresponsible behavior toward an issue that has generational consequences.
Because we are friends, all was essentially back to normal within two or three days, but not before I drew this little hot iron out of the fire to poke them with: “It isn’t you who will bare the brunt of your cynicism and uncaring attitude towards the real problem of illegal immigration. It is not only your children, but your country which you betray today by your lack of concern.”
Well, I can over-dramatize at times and be conspicuously over-emotional —even bombastic. Some say that is the Italian in me that is speaking out. But is it?
Hardly. It is the patriot in me, the American that loves the country, and the people that are in it. My question is this: how long will the rest of you continue to sleep while America and its ideals erode a little more each day? Not just the issue of illegal immigration, but all kinds of social ills that have crept upon us over the years and blotted out our practical sense of what is right.
America, while you were sleeping:
- We have opened the Pandora’s Box of political correctness, and with no end in sight.
- There have been over 30 million killed; we still cannot agree that two arms, two legs, and a head constitute a baby, but is instead referred to by the pro-choice lobby as “fetal tissue.”
- We have chased God out of the public square, and in His place have erected the hollow edifice of government.
- We have let the mainstream media go unchallenged far too long. The media has now almost become a political party unto themselves, and looks to sensationalize the news on behalf of their chosen political interest.
- We have allowed ourselves to believe that we’re in total control of our government, but are now face to face with the reality of what decades of liberalism has cost — and will cost — all of us in the future.
- We have, for decades now, watched as judges throughout America attempt — and succeed — in making law as opposed to interpreting it. It seems all were lulled into thinking that judges were beyond political calculations. We were wrong.
- We have allowed “victimology” to become a way of life for the country’s so-called minority populace. That would be everyone except white males.
- We have given title and importance to such low-brow political types as Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, Michael Moore, and other liberal notables.
- We have witnessed the agenda of America’s plastic people in Hollywood. That these actors and the like should be paid any heed at all when their entire lives are wrapped up within the elitist and narcissistic bubble they live in, is simply wrong, and wasteful.
- We have given too much latitude and forgiveness to America’s Islamic leadership and citizenry within the United States. Where were their much-needed voices regarding 9/11? Where the hell are they now?
We have watched the Congress of the United States — specifically the Republican-controlled House of Representatives — spend the taxpayers’ money as if it were their own. Over 5,500 earmarked or pork-laden spending items is tantamount to theft. Where are the Gingrich Republicans of 1994? - We have watched the Democratic Party declare that America’s biggest threat is not Osama bin Laden, North Korea, or even Iran. It is George W. Bush. And because of this,
- We have watched as the Democratic Party has, without question, aided America’s enemies through its ceaseless and tireless harangue against the “corrupt” and “scandalized” presidency of George W. Bush. Though nothing has been proven against this president, it is not necessarily intended to. This is done as a spring board for what the liberal Democratic Party hopes for most: the reacquisition of political power.
- We have watched millions of illegal aliens march through the streets of over 60 American cities demanding “immigration rights,” when most Americans know that these marches have nothing to do with “rights,” but with pressuring the Bush administration into granting a circuitous route towards amnesty. And stunningly.
- We have seen the political tin ear of George W. Bush regarding immigration, and it is unacceptable. By his inaction of not securing America’s borders, this president endangers America, a concept that is hard to believe when one views this very same president’s actions in the war on terrorism.
- Finally, we have tragically grown accustomed to the everyday ravages of all of the above, and pay them less and less attention. From the annoyance of trying to remove the word “Christmas” from, well, Christmas, to the ability of the states to take land from one private owner and transfer it to another, (Kelo v. New London) Americans have grown pre-occupied, and calloused.
Don’t look now, America, but your country is in the process of becoming a shell of what it once was. But in actuality, it is we who are becoming shells of what we once were. While you were sleeping, America, the country you once knew has become, in many respects, the stuff of dreams.
Vincent Fiore is a freelance political writer who lives in New York City. His work can be seen on a host of sites, including the American
Conservative Union, GOPUSA, ChronWatch, and theconservativevoice. Vincent is a staff writer for the New Media Alliance and a contributing writer for
NewsBusters.org. He receives e-mail at: Anwar004@aol.com