Seniors For Freedom

Commentary by Al Sigman


Revised October 7, 2009



I don't know about you, but I am frightened. Yes, I am frightened and concerned about what is happening to our country and to our fellow Americans. It seems that we are in a tailspin and where we will land and whether any of us will survive is in serious doubt.



I have agonized for a long while about making public my thoughts and opinions about the dilemmas facing our great country which we all love and call home. These thoughts bring me to consider just why, what, and how does our country qualify to be so honored in a way that is, I believe, hands and shoulders above all countries.



My progenitors came to this country in 1738 because of religious persecutions in their homeland of Germany. They came with very little in terms of worldly goods and with very little money. What they did come with was a sense of hope for a better life and the freedom to enjoy it. Little did they know that in some ways they were jumping from the "frying pan into the fire''. Ahead of them were physical hardships that were not expected and a revolutionary war. But, they preserved through it all and for the better.



Because they were strong people, willing to work for a better life and because they placed God first in their lives, they were willing to sacrifice for that in which they believed. This motivation for coming to America was not so much different from thousands of other immigrants who flooded this country in its early beginnings.



I am proud of my heritage and I give honor and respect to those who preceded me in building American into a great land of opportunity and privilege for all who were willing to work hard and suffer for what they had to gain. It pains me greatly to see it all fade away simply because we have seemingly lost sight of what we have fought so hard to gain.



It appears that we have become a nation of "gimmes". "Gimme" this and "gimme" that, has become the expectation of too many of our citizens. We now call this “gimme” an “entitlement”.



I recognize that entitlements for some are necessary. For those who are aged, disabled in some way or otherwise handicapped beyond their capacity for productive work, entitlements are for their good and benefit. Those who have worked long and hard during their life time and have earned a retirement and have paid into the Social Security program deserve the entitlements they have earned. The key word here is "earned'. For those who simply hold out their hands for help and do not fall into one of the categories previously mentioned, I don't have much empathy.



We must remember that we also had some help along the way. I sincerely believe that it was God's plan to make America great. America, a place where freedom and the right to choose our destinies, was God given. A land where He placed a great trust in those who were stalwarts in the great and continuing battle for freedom and other God given virtues. God needed a place where opportunity was available without needless oppression from government or dictators. America was it!



Well, enough of this as I think you get my meaning by now. If you don't then you can probably stop reading at this point and return to whatever you were doing before you began. If you don't get it now, you probably will not get it later.