Where do I think America's going and why?

That was a "thought question" posed to me. Here was my response:

Well here's the thing. I think America is putting its nose in places it doesn't belong. I've long thought that we need to take care of our own ills before solving everybody else's problems.

But I also understand the need to flex muscles once in a while so the bullies don't pick on us.

I guess I'm conflicted. I mean, 9/11 scared the hell out of me - and I was on the opposite coast. I go along in my safe little world, caring little about what doesn't directly affect me when WHAM! the whole world as I know it gets picked up, shaken around, and left for dead.

Now suddenly I listen to NPR in the car so I'm always up on the latest news (can't stand watching TV newscasts - don't even get me started on the spin they put on things). A coworker's daughter gets shipped off to Kuwait so now we're all on edge every time we hear about the latest round of deaths. And my idyllic little world is gone forever.

Our president is making decisions that will radically affect diplomatic realtions for centuries, and he seems to be doing it carte blanche. Weapons of Mass Destruction? Can you say Boogey Man?

Meanwhile our nation's economy is only beginning to smell the faintest aroma of recovery, but still we send billions of dollars to foreign countries so we can buy a reputation - and it's not even a popular rep!

America - we used to be the Land of Opportunity. People die trying to make it here from all over the world, just to step foot on the "promised land". Lady Liberty says we're a melting pot for the poor and oppressed. Not any more. We've melted so much that we no longer have any distinction. We're not a Land of Opportunity anymore. We're a Land of Mediocrity. The only people left who value America as the Land of the Free are those who come from other places, and those who choose to defend our land - though they get little thanks for it.

Who says democracy is the be-all and end-all of governmental choices? And who are we to make others play our game? Dang, I rarely examine these things so closely. I didn't know I was so passionate about all this. And Mad! And sad, too. This should be the greatest place in the world, but it has degraded into somewhere that's laughed at - and a nationality to be afraid to claim when travelling abroad.

It's scary out there in the Real World.