BY GLEN MOLLETTE
What Do Americans Want?
This question is always relevant and politicians now in the heat of rhetoric war each believe they have the answer. Americans have wants and we have desperate needs. We don’t always get what we want. A friend of mine used to say that people in hell want ice water. What we want, what we need and what we end up with in America are not always going to be the same.
Americans do not want war with Iran. We don’t want the Iranians bombing oil tankers and shooting down our 130 million dollar drones either. Iran is in the Middle East. Here we go again with the subject of oil. How much killing is going to go on over the world’s relentless thirst for oil? America doesn’t have another trillion dollars and two or three thousand lives to throw away on another war. However, here we are again in the Middle East boiling pot.
Iraq? Afghanistan? Iran? Is there no end?
Most Americans would like a peaceful existence. We would like to work our 40 years, have a retirement and collect our social security. We would like to have medical insurance so we can go to the doctor. A meaningful existence of fulfilling daily activity, family and friends are important to most Americans. It would be very nice if we could have good roads and bridges which are crumbling in many parts of the nation. We want good and affordable education for our families and a military and police force that are strong and have what they need. We must have secure borders. People must come legally and orderly to our country. A good wall, strong security forces and deportation of those who come unlawfully are imperative for our nation’s security.
America must still be the land where people can genuinely dream and pursue a better life. People who have sneaked into our country are desperate for a better life. However, they need to understand there is a right and wrong way to enter America.
We can’t live in the past in this nation. You can come to a standstill in your life if you are always looking back. You can’t really drive forward if you are always looking over your shoulder. We can’t change the past. Make amends, give or seek forgiveness if necessary and then make today and tomorrow better than yesterday. None of us living today can change anything that our nation did a hundred years ago. We can though treat all people equal today with equal opportunities for all people.
It all sounds simple. Work hard. Treat others the way we would like to be treated. Help each other in this nation. Work to live at peace in the world. Don’t squander our nation’s money and resources. Keep America free. Live in peace and pursue our dreams. Mostly, this is what Americans want.
(Glenn Mollette is the author of 12 books and his syndicated column is read in all 50 states. Contact him at GMollette@aol.com.)