A Wrong Turn to America's Destiny

by Ed Mattson

Those who have read my columns in the past have probably concluded that I am not much on government conspiracy theories because I believe those inside the Beltway couldn’t keep a secret if their lives depended upon it, and are far from the brightest minds America has to offer. On my list of the 40 things wrong with America, I’ve reach the conclusion however, that three problems on my list have underlying aspects that many can place in the conspiratorial category, because history is filled with examples of similar undertakings.

When dictators normally begin their ascent to power they must first make sure the citizens are not armed, that the government thoroughly controls the education of the country’s youth, and that the family structure is either eliminated or weakened to the point that everyone looks to the government as the primary provider of family security.

For those who doubt this is true, just look to Hitler’s Germany, the Soviet Union, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran and countless other countries where tyranny prevails. Then glance around at the United States as following blinding down history’s path, whether or not intentionally or by happenstance.

The United States has become almost permanently divided between those who wait on bated breath for the next government handout, let government make all the decisions for them and do not want to take responsibility for any of their decisions and those who cherish individual freedom and self responsibility. It didn’t happen overnight, but through a progression of creeping incrementalism that has taken apart our society one step at a time.

Destruction of the family unit: Divorce has always been a part of a civil society because we are human and sometimes we don’t always make the right decision, particularly decisions dealing with matters of the heart. Divorce once even had the stigma of “failure” attached to it, but those days are gone. Half of all marriages end in divorce. This has been popularized and actually glamorized by the Hollywood crowd where a long term commitment is measured in the time it takes to finish the shooting of a movie. Kardashian’s marriage lasted just 72 showers (days), not the shortest on record, but is typical of the Hollywood bimbos.

Today 40% of the births are to unwed mothers. 50% of the families with children end up in divorce, and many of those in such circumstances look to government programs for help. Little responsibility is taken by the parents who end up in and out of court dodging the financial obligation to pay for their children’s upbringing. The government in essence, becomes the provider with welfare benefits doled out at breakneck speed. This often leads to a life of government dependency which has been made “okay” by the media which used to cast a shadow over those on the dole.

How has the government encouraged the destruction of the family? They have developed 100’s, if not more, government handout programs that reward bad or irresponsible behavior. Couples that have children are not encouraged to stay together with counseling…it’s just easier to make the split, and many of those have figured out how to “game the system” by splitting up, then living together so mom can get all the government handouts and dad can still be out making some money. With no requirement tied to the handouts, like the requirements to do community service work, go back to complete an education, drug testing, even looking for a job, families are left to further destruction through drug abuse, and other irresponsible lifestyles while the kids run free and become the next generation of ne’re-do-wells, and government-handout parasites.

The Department of Education: This is an example of government malfeasance. The top-heavy bureaucracy, has burdened the taxpayer with an ineffective and nearly totally useless pile of programs and class work which waste money, and provide little oversight for one of the most important requirements of growing up…getting a good education.

The United States spends far more money per student on education than any other country outside of Switzerland. Do you want to know what we get for it? 25-50% drop-out rate in some school districts which leads me to the conclusion we get very little for our tax dollars…so little in fact there are videos on the Internet, “the man-on-the-street” type, that ask very simple questions of passersby. Keeping in mind they are products of our educational system you’d be astounded by the stupidity amongst us. To think these people actually have the right to vote is scary! Makes one wish for a further thinning of the gene pool.

Sample questions posed in a typical man-on-the-street-interview of regular citizens:

1. Name a country starting with a U? One country would be enough, but most couldn’t come up with an answer. One respondent said “Europe”! Another was “Utopia”
2. What is the Coalition of the Willing?  No one knew
3. What’s the religion in Israel?  Answers ranged from “Israelis” to Muslim
4. What religion are Buddhist monks?  Not a clue
5. Who won the Vietnam War?  One guess was the US (we’ll give her an “A” for trying)
6. Who is Fidel Castro? No idea
7. How many sides does a triangle have? Answers…none, four, “I don’t know”
8. What is the currency used in the UK?  “The Queen’s money”
9. In terms of the war on terror, who do you think should be the country to invade next? Italy, Saudi Arabia
10. Where is Sri Lanka? Even with a global map most couldn’t find it
11. Where is Iran? Couldn’t find it
12.  Where is North Korea? A map showing Australia with the name “Korea” got everyone to point to that as Korea
13. Where is France? Change Australia to France, and that was the location picked
14. Kofi Anan is a drink. True or false? Said to be a coffee drink
15. Who is Tony Blair? Linda Blair’s brother
16. Which countries are in the Axis of Evil? New York, California, Florida
17. Who was the first man on the moon? One person got this right
18. What is a mosque?  An animal?
19. How many kidneys does a person have? How about one
20. What is “collateral damage”?  No idea
21. How many World Wars have there been? I must have missed one because one of the guesses was “three”.
22. Which state does KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) come from?  No idea
23. Star Wars is based on a true story. Yes or No?  Guess… “Based on a true story”
24. What are Hiroshima and Nagasaki famous for? Sumo wrestling
25. How many Eiffel towers are there in Paris? How about TEN
26. What is the Al-Qaeda? No idea
27. Where was the Berlin wall?  No idea
28. The language spoken in Latin America is Latin. True or false? Explain. “Obviously it is Latin”…for sure, for sure!
29. What state is due north of South Carolina?   No idea
30. Who is the Vice President of the US?  Bin Ladin
31. What countries border the United States?  Did you know the answer was South America? Someone shouted out Canada, but she was put down with the response, “Canada is a state you idiot”.
32. How many states are there? Most said 52…Obama said 57…so go figure! I guess this is trickle down education at work!

We get a glimpse of the quality of education sanctioned by the Department of Education, endorsed by the Teacher Unions, and given a “pass” by an unconcerned and ignorant media, in spot questioning of the average American. If this is the education being turned out by our unionized teachers who we cannot fire, and who fight school choice with no competition allowed for excellence, is there any wonder jobs are leaving the country and we are developing a permanent underclass. Ignorance IS NOT BLISS. It is downright dangerous! This is one government bureaucracy that needs to be dismantled and their duties reverted back to the states.

The Second Amendment:The third most important weapon governments use in their quest for tyranny, is to disarm the citizens. The Founding Fathers warned of this and hence gave us the Second Amendment.  It is our protection against those who wish to destroy our country. Little by little the governments at all levels have tried to restrict gun ownership, in fact, if they can’t outlaw weapons, then the next best step is to tax and regulate it to death.

I received this bit of information this past week and it was spot-on to the point about gun ownership in the United States. America’s hunters make up the largest “army” in the world, which may have played heavily on Japan’s non-interest in an invasion of the United States, which has been the center-point of many discussions in the past. Whether an armed citizenry had any deterrence effect at all, does not detract that we have living examples before our very eyes…”From the Viet Cong to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, it has been proven much more recently that peasants with guns and a cause they believed in can thwart the organized might of the world’s greatest military superpowers”. (http://www.warhistoryfans.com)

There were over 600,000 hunters this season in the state of Wisconsin.  Allow me to restate that number, 600,000, and add more men under arms than in Iran.  More than France and Germany combined. Yet Wisconsin pales in comparison to the 750,000 who hunted the woods of Pennsylvania and Michigan’s 700,000 hunters, all of whom have now returned home safely. If the numbers were added for all the other states, it would amount to tens of millions. When I mentioned this down at the barber shop, some dufus (A colloquial term for an inept or stupid person) commented, “gun owners are just a bunch of macho guys who use defending the country for they reason to keep their guns, but any real army would walk all over them in a heartbeat”. That’s what the Russians thought in Afghanistan.

A large percentage of gun owners in America are military veterans, and members of the National Guard and Reserves. There are about 350 million guns owned by US citizens, most in the hands of competent shooters. So if push came to shove, it would amount to quite an obstacle for anyone invading the US. We all hope that such a scenario would never have to be played out on our shores, but it is the same principle as to why we have nuclear weapons. After seeing the totally destructive power wrecked upon Japan in World War II, just being the biggest, baddest, guy on the block in the nuclear department, is the best deterrence to having to use them. I for one would never want to be number 2.

If we stop and eyeball the situation presented here, how else can one explain the strange and pointed events tearing this country apart. Is it part of a “master plan” of the globalists? Is it just naivety on the part of half our population not carrying about success and seeing their families rise from poverty, or is pure and simple stupidity brought on by the “dumbing down of America”?

Ed Mattson

Following his service in the Marine Corps Ed Mattson built a diverse career in business in both sales/marketing and management. He is a medical research specialist and published author. His latest book is Down on Main Street: Searching for American Exceptionalism

Ed is currently Development Director of the National Guard Bureau of International Affairs-State Partnership Program, Fundraising Coordinator for the Warrior2Citizen Project, and Managing Partner of Center-Point Consultants in North Carolina.

Mr. Mattson is a noted speaker and has addressed more than 3000 audiences in 42 states and 5 foreign countries. He has been awarded the Order of the Sword by American Cancer Society, is a Rotarian Paul Harris Fellow and appeared on more than 15 radio and television talk-shows.