Soap Box

As I begin this column, I'm on a business trip to New York City in a high rise hotel looking out at one of the world's truly great cities, an architectural masterpiece, and a technological wonder when you think about the infrastructure above and below ground that lights, heats and moves the population of over eight million human beings who live stacked on top of each other in the countless apartment complexes.

When I contemplate the will, brainpower and downright genius it takes to build and maintain something like a New York City, I have to wonder what has happened to the nation that bred and nurtured the kind of people capable of such things and wonder if there will ever be another "greatest generation" who will continue to boldly travel down the road less traveled and enable America to maintain it's place as the greatest nation on earth.

The spirit that built the wonder that is America was not dependent on a bloated federal government and was not hindered by the voluminous and often times silly restrictions and bureaucratic red tape such a government produces.

The men and women who built America had no safety nets; no union protections and the only person who kept the wolves away from the door stared back at them from their mirror.

When the first hardy souls trekked and fought their way across this continent they had little more than what they carried on their backs, an iron will, faith in their Creator and a burning desire to have something of their own and become a part of something bigger than they were.

The mistakes America made in the early going are well documented and regretted by decent people everywhere. The broken Indian treaties, the shame of slavery and even a civil war have marred our history but as always happens with men of good will, those and a myriad of other mistakes have been learned from, dealt with and America moved on to be a stronger country that learned from the past and then took it in stride.

Today, it is a sad fact that much of America has lost it's ambition, it's work ethic and, saddest of all, the burning, close to the surface patriotism that has been a part of our heritage since we declared our independence.

The easiest thing to blame our national malaise on is the Federal Government and we would not be wrong in doing so, but what is the government but men and women We The People have empowered with our votes and have allowed to become an incompetent, corrupt, indifferent, inefficient, mindless machine who's collective mentality thinks that serving is managing to get reelected every election cycle.

You, me, all of us have allowed this to happen, we have sent the same politicians to Washington and our State Houses year after year, hacks who pay scant attention to their constituency and make the same tired promises term after term, never delivering and never intending to.

People constantly ask me, "You're always telling us what's wrong, but what can we do about it?"

One thing we can do is stop listening to these jaded old self-serving politicians, you know their promises are worthless.

I've made a vow not to vote for anybody running in Tennessee who voted to cut veteran's benefits. I don't care who they are, what party or persuasion, I have only one vote and I will not give it to people who don't appreciate what our military has and is doing for us.

And in the limited way that I'm able I will make known to my fellow Tennesseans who they are, how they vote is up to them.

I am only one person but it's got to start somewhere and I know there are millions of you out there who dislike the way you are represented, don't you think it's time to break away from the crowd, stop listening to politicians make promises you know they'll never keep and cast your vote according to your own heart and not the people who have the most money to spend on campaign adds?

It may be a small gesture but the biggest, out of control fire starts with one tiny spark.

What do you think?

Pray for our troops and the peace of Jerusalem.

God Bless America

Charlie Daniels​