Miss America?

I Miss America.  

*The following is my opinion.  If you don't want to read what I have to say, then please stop reading here.  If you disagree with what I have to say, thank a soldier, and then voice your opinion.*

**Just to reiterate, in case you missed it the first time, these are my opinions; this is not meant to be a political blog or a political attack against any party or person(s)**

I miss what America used to stand for.  Hard-worker men and women willing to do whatever it took to support their families.  Men who went to war to protect freedoms that we now take for granted; Women working in steel-mills doing jobs that previously had only been suitable for men.

I miss the Reaganomics-era ideas of America.  When Americans were proud enough to go to work, no matter how much they were making.  Now it seems that many Americans would rather sit on the @$$e$ collecting welfare than go to work at a fast-food chain and make minimum wage. When did we become to proud too make minimum wage?  What happened that "hard-work" is less acceptable than taking hand-outs?

*If you are on welfare and are still working [at a job or school], I'm not talking about you.*

Are you to good to support your family?  Does your family not deserve anything/everything that you can give?

Personally, I'll gladly work 3 jobs if it means that I can support my family (thankfully, at the moment, we are limited to my wife & I and three dogs).  And even now, I love them enough to swallow my pride with a  smile on my face (ok, that's stretching it) and call in favors from ex-employers and former co-workers if it means that I can contribute something to my household.  I'm willing to do whatever it takes to support my family even if it is not my most ideal situation.
 

*Just to clarify, an ideal situation for me does not necessarily mean that I have to be the "bread winner," because I really don't give a two $h!t$ who makes the most, but rather my ideal situation would be my wife and I both doing jobs that we are good at and that makes us happy*  

I could have gone at any point and found another, better paying job.  I'm so close to finishing my bachelor's degree through, that at this point in my life my job(s) are school [#1], making sure my wife is happy [also #1 and definitely interchangeable depending on the day of the week] and any job that will work with my school schedule [anywhere on the list after #1]. When Amanda decided to quit her job and was getting started with Anchor Equestrian, I had every intention of supporting her, but the fact of the matter was, the job I had was no longer going to be able to work with my school schedule.

*I, and my wife, realize that finishing my bachelor's degree will allow me to earn more money in the long run versus staying at a job making just enough to stay above the poverty line.  It does unfortunately mean that Amanda will have to go back to work for the time being; It also means that I will have to find a different job making less than I was already making, but will be able to work around my school schedule.*

Who the hell cares who makes the most money in a house?  Supposedly everyone in a house is working towards the same goal in regards to money.  Pay the bills! Save up if you can! And eventually try to get in a better place then you are currently in!

In my house when Amanda made more money, she did so at the expense of being home.  She made more because she had to be gone more often.  She was having to travel all over Texas visiting high schools, and if she was lucky she would be home Sunday night and not have to travel again until Tuesday evening.  I on the other hand worked closer to home and spent more time at home.  So in exchange I did more of the house work.  It seemed only fair.  I mean who wants to come home and do the dishes after having been on the rode for the last three days.  If you've been out of the house for the past three days, it is very unlikely that the dishes in the sink are your's anyways.

So what happened?

Well, in my opinion, Americans heard that they were better than every other country in the world so many times that they we started to believe it as truth.  If I was the best sprinter in the world, that means I win gold every time I race and end of story.  Right?  What about the next race?

Current world record holder, Usain Bolt was recently disqualified for a false start.  What about the sprinter next to him?  Do you not think that the first thing that went through his mind was "My chances for first just got better."  You don't seriously think that person was OK with being second best do you?  The other sprinters in that race did not quit competing just because Bolt was out.

I am definitely not a runner, but if I was a runner who had just placed second in a race, you better believe that I'd head home thinking of ways to to get back in first, improve my jump off of the starting block, buy lighter shoes, shave my head to be more aerodynamic, SOMETHING!

So, if you are already the best, why try to be better?  Because their is someone out there that wasn't the best and wants their chance to stand at the top of the podium.  You try to be better because when you are at the at the top, everyone else is looking for a way to take your place.

That is where we are now.  We as Americans are down, and we even though we want to quit, it does not mean that we are out of the race or that we are not capable of giving the current gold medalist a run for their money.  What it does mean, is that we need to get off of our @$$e$ and find some way to improve our situation rather than hoping everyone else in the race is going to quit too.