The first night of the Republican Convention held some disappointments and some wow moments. Many speeches fell short, and much of the programming did likewise. However, the convention also had a few shining moments. Among the latter was a speech given by Rudy Giuliani. He asked: What happened to One America? He was talking about Obama’s speech back in 2008. Obama claimed then that there wasn’t a White America or a Black America – but only one America. Giuliani’s question provoked a litany of questions in my mind.

You see, I remember a time not so long ago when policemen and public servants were respected and not demonized. To be sure, the barrel always had its rotten apples. Once those rotten apples were exposed, they were properly dealt with. Today the man or woman who answers a distress call or seeks to maintain law and order is demonized. This happens in the very communities that need them most. And I have to ask – what happened?

What happened to American institutions?

What happened to the world’s finest educational system? The system that prepared us and our children to pursue our dreams…the system that taught us to think and to engage the world around us…the system that employed teachers that never revealed their political ideologies or sought to indoctrinate students into mindless hedonistic, godless, and anti-American citizens? What happened?

What happened to the Democratic Party that once championed the rights of the American worker…to the Party whose president once asked: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country?” For that matter, what happened to the unions that once existed to protect working conditions but now exist to enlarge their power base at the expense of America’s blue collar workers…to the American work ethic that valued hard work and not an entitlement system that the hard work of others must now subsidize? What happened?

Entertainment, rule of law,…

And what happened to an entertainment system that made us laugh and made us think…that made us want to sing and dance…to parents who monitored what was appropriate for their children to watch…to shows that understood and respected humanity…to comedy that emphasized clever skits and not vulgar shock values…to entertainers that respected the country they lived and prospered in? What happened?

What happened to judges that honored their oath of office to uphold the Constitution and not legislate from the bench? And what happened to the Rule of Law based on common sense as well as federalism…to Due Process and blind liberty? What happened?

Statecraft and statesmen

What happened to politicians who believed in serving their constituents and then going home to live under the laws they created…to their commitment to do right and not play-along to get-along…to the men and women who viewed their position in politics as an opportunity to correct misguided laws and make the world a better place for all instead of a place to establish lucrative careers? What happened?

Respect for life

What happened to the overwhelming great majority of human beings that respected all life…to mothers who would do everything within their power to protect the lives of the children growing in their wombs – even inconvenient lives…to fathers who supported their families – financially, morally, and with their very presence? What happened to our families?

Media and debate

What happened to the press our Constitution protects so it can serve as the country’s watchdogs…to the newscasters who never hinted at their political ideologies to their audiences? What happened?

And what happened to the phrase: I might not believe what you’re saying but I’ll defend your right to say it…to churches who dared speak the truth and influence the culture and who obeyed God rather than the politically correct police…to our liberty of conscience and our right to speak against what we believe is wrong and defend what we believe is right, regardless of whom it might offend? What happened?

Respect from strength

Indeed, what happened to the respect this country earned worldwide after World War II…to those that feared America because she was strong…to tyrants who feared us because we were good…to our leaders who believed in America – her ideals, her willingness to fight to correct wrongs, her voluntary philanthropy, her system of capitalism that provided opportunities for all and not just those chosen by the government? What happened?

We lived it

If you understand these questions, you probably have many more that you can add to this list. And you probably agree with Ronald Reagan when he said:

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.

You agree with Reagan because you lived it. You are part of the generation that let freedom slip through its fingers, thinking that the liberty, and the opportunities and prosperity it provided were beyond any threat from enemies either foreign or domestic.

But now you see the American Dream under attack from Trojan horses that have infiltrated every aspect of our lives, and influenced how we think and what we believe. Like me and Rudy Giuliani, you find yourself asking: what happened to the America I knew and still love.

We happened

What happened to America? We happened. We allowed the assaults against all that was right to prosper under the pretense of it being for our own good. Over and over again we elected elitists who somehow managed to convince us that they knew what they were doing and were doing it for our own good. We trusted the wrong people, many times just because we recognized their name and believed their lies without educating ourselves about their records or their history. We became too comfortable with our prosperity. And we thought we had placed our government in good hands – hands we trusted. We shouldn’t have.

From a president…

We elected a president – not in spite of his skin color, but by reason of his skin color – believing that somehow that made us a better nation. We allowed heathens and anti-American forces to teach our children. Worse, we supported a press and entertainment industry that undermined our culture and subverted our principles, precepts, morality, and family structures – all while appearing normal.

…to judges

We accepted judges who blatantly legislated from the bench and corrupted our system of law. We failed to teach our children values, or what was right about our history and how we corrected our wrongs. Instead we let ideologues in our schools indoctrinate them under the pretense of educating them.

What next?

Yes, America, there are many answers to the question: What happened? And only if we will face up to it can we begin to correct the damage our own apathy and complacency has done to the land of the free and the home of the brave. We can start by identifying radical Islamic terrorists by name. More importantly, we must identify the root causes that have weakened America to its very core. Only a strong America can be a safe America.

Robert A. Heinlein was right when he said:

Love your country, but never trust its government.

Barry Goldwater was right when he said:

Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

And Thomas Jefferson was right when he said:

I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.

The crossroads

America is at a crossroads. Only its true patriots can steer her in the right direction. These patriots will not trust their government; will be able to separate well-crafted rhetoric from malevolent or superficial intentions; will not worry when others call them extremists; and will not hesitate to rebel against corruption at all levels. If global warming were man-made, then let the storm that is necessary to correct America’s path be patriot-made. May God continue to bless America.

Reprint from The Daily Rant, copyright 2016 Mychal Massie, by permission