Blame

Alright. I've had enough. I'm sick and tired of people blaming one person for America's problems. Yes, the cost of everything is going up. Yes, it's really hard to find a job these days. No, we don't produce as many things in America as we should.

But you know what?

OBAMA ISN'T THE ONLY ONE TO BLAME.

Neither was Bush Jr., nor Clinton, nor Bush Sr.

First off, let's look at the facts. An American president, while being the highest authority in the country, is ELECTED by the people. Yes, we know that the options were flimsy at the time, and we also know that the electoral colleges are a giant bunch of bullshit. However, ultimately the American people are the reason why these people get into office. We had a perfectly viable candidate that seemed to care about the American people, was against the war, and wanted to strengthen the economy (Rand Paul, by the way), but the general public dismissed him outright. Why? Do we want to get to shore, or do we want to sit around and complain about how much salt water is on the ship?

Secondly, did everyone just forget about Congress and the Senate when accusing Obama of "ruining the country?" We have entire buildings full of people who sit there, suck up funds, and write laws that people hate. These people have all sorts of corporate interests, lobbyists, and other things that influence their decisions, many of which are to line their own pockets. If you want to look at a pit of improperly spent money and bad decisions, there's a good starting point.

Speaking of improperly spent money and bad decisions...big businesses all over the world have become our ruination. The advent of outsourcing labor, importing cheap goods from foreign countries, and paying much lower than reasonable rates for hard work has made the majority of us have to live hand to mouth. Those of us who want to start businesses ourselves and escape the wage slavery that keeps us all in bondage are assaulted with fees, permits, fines, taxes, and regulations that are nigh impossible for the average person to pay. And so, we painstakingly watch our pennies, usually being forced to give them away before we can have more in order to survive in this artificially inflated economy we are subject to.

However, the ultimate fault for the demise of the country falls upon a very uncomfortable source. To quote a very famous actor, "truth be told...if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror."

You see, no one man can be responsible for destroying the infrastructure of an entire country. Many blamed Caesar for the downfall of the Roman Empire, but historical analysis reveals that there were a whole lot of small errors, bad decisions, and cultural conflicts that eventually caused it to crumble. The same can be said regarding America. We have become docile, preferring to grumble, complain, and blame instead of fixing these problems ourselves. We have decided to take the easy way out, letting other people run our country for us instead of taking charge. Whatever happened to the classic American vision of independence, intelligence, indomitable fortitude, and freedom?

The answer is simple. To quote another famous person, "You know the thing about chaos? It's fear." After 9/11, the government used the media to make you feel the need to rely on them more and more in a world that didn't fit our conception of a normal sphere of events. Images of horrifying things were implanted into the collective consciousness over and over again, the thought of the possibility of everyday life being shattered by some tragic event being hammered into our minds. Now, everyone with a beard and a turban was a potential enemy, and some boogeyman hiding in caves halfway across the world was magically able to attack every suburban and rural domicile. Suddenly, diseases of all types were being talked about and overblown (H1N1, Swine Flu, etc.) while the ones that really need to be addressed were left by the wayside.

In short, those of you who were old enough to do anything at the time decided to give the control we had away to a bunch of people with ulterior motives.

I was twelve. This was not my fault, yet I am suffering as an adult because of it.

"I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn't be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense."

However, now that they're not doing what you want them to do, you blame one man. Now that they have taken what they have been freely given and done with it what they wanted, you want to blame one person for the faults of an entire system.

How dare you? How dare you grumble and complain while you sit on your ass and don't do a damn thing to fix anything? This was your doing! How dare you leave the detritus of your idiocy to my generation and the ones that come after me? How irresponsible can you be? You have all ruined the country for us, and we may see its downfall because of your laziness and stupidity! Now, the youth have to work harder and harder just to survive, and many will not make it at all. You have doomed us, you sleeping, self-entitled Gen X'ers, Baby Boomers, and elders who have let the country fall apart at the seams.

STOP. BLAMING. OTHER. PEOPLE.

FIX. THE. PROBLEM.