Or start researching what is needed in your community and figure out how you can help fill that need. Nothing is impossible with motivation and imagination.

I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.
    Albert Schweitzer

I got an anonymous message today telling me about this video purporting to be the ‘answer’ to the mystery of America’s Stonehenge or The Georgia Guidestones. I was intrigued and watched all three parts. It does give a credible possible answer. Albeit, some of it was a bit tenuous and irrelevant. I think it makes sense as a plausible answer just some of the information provided did not seem relevant. However, all-in-all…I think this guy is onto something.

Here are part two and part three:

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Wikipedia even tells us that MLK Day is not only celebrated in the U.S., it is also celebrated in Hiroshima, Japan by Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, who holds a special banquet at the mayor’s office as an act of unifying his city’s call for peace with King’s message of human rights.

Kudos, Japan. Arigatou (Thank you!)!

And tomorrow is history in the making. It is a monumental for our country, the world and me personally. I am so excited for Obama and for the rest of us. It is challenging to comprehend the magnitude of this event, let alone absorb it. Suffice to say, we have all waited a very long time for tomorrow.

Anyone going to the Inauguration? How cool would that be? I can’t wait to watch it, to see the pictures, the stories… I am almost drooling!

I started to cry when I read that Michelle Obama and Jill Biden will be hosting the “Kids’ Inaugural: We are the Future” at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. and airing on Disney! How cool are they? This is to honor the children of military families. I like these women. They care. It is obvious.

We are fortunate to have not only a new Administration coming in but this one.

Here, let me share it with you…

[begin]

I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.

In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone.

More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.

Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are stricken by no plague of locusts. Compared with the perils which our forefathers conquered because they believed and were not afraid, we have still much to be thankful for. Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it. Plenty is at our doorstep, but a generous use of it languishes in the very sight of the supply. Primarily this is because the rulers of the exchange of mankind’s goods have failed, through their own stubbornness and their own incompetence, have admitted their failure, and abdicated. Practices of the unscrupulous money changers stand indicted in the court of public opinion, rejected by the hearts and minds of men.

True they have tried, but their efforts have been cast in the pattern of an outworn tradition. Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money. Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish.

The money changers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilization. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.

Happiness lies not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits. These dark days will be worth all they cost us if they teach us that our true destiny is not to be ministered unto but to minister to ourselves and to our fellow men.

Recognition of the falsity of material wealth as the standard of success goes hand in hand with the abandonment of the false belief that public office and high political position are to be valued only by the standards of pride of place and personal profit; and there must be an end to a conduct in banking and in business which too often has given to a sacred trust the likeness of callous and selfish wrongdoing. Small wonder that confidence languishes, for it thrives only on honesty, on honor, on the sacredness of obligations, on faithful protection, on unselfish performance; without them it cannot live.

Restoration calls, however, not for changes in ethics alone. This Nation asks for action, and action now.

Our greatest primary task is to put people to work. This is no unsolvable problem if we face it wisely and courageously. It can be accomplished in part by direct recruiting by the Government itself, treating the task as we would treat the emergency of a war, but at the same time, through this employment, accomplishing greatly needed projects to stimulate and reorganize the use of our natural resources.

Hand in hand with this we must frankly recognize the overbalance of population in our industrial centers and, by engaging on a national scale in a redistribution, endeavor to provide a better use of the land for those best fitted for the land. The task can be helped by definite efforts to raise the values of agricultural products and with this the power to purchase the output of our cities. It can be helped by preventing realistically the tragedy of the growing loss through foreclosure of our small homes and our farms. It can be helped by insistence that the Federal, State, and local governments act forthwith on the demand that their cost be drastically reduced. It can be helped by the unifying of relief activities which today are often scattered, uneconomical, and unequal. It can be helped by national planning for and supervision of all forms of transportation and of communications and other utilities which have a definitely public character. There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped merely by talking about it. We must act and act quickly.

Finally, in our progress toward a resumption of work we require two safeguards against a return of the evils of the old order; there must be a strict supervision of all banking and credits and investments; there must be an end to speculation with other people’s money, and there must be provision for an adequate but sound currency.

There are the lines of attack. I shall presently urge upon a new Congress in special session detailed measures for their fulfillment, and I shall seek the immediate assistance of the several States.

Through this program of action we address ourselves to putting our own national house in order and making income balance outgo. Our international trade relations, though vastly important, are in point of time and necessity secondary to the establishment of a sound national economy. I favor as a practical policy the putting of first things first. I shall spare no effort to restore world trade by international economic readjustment, but the emergency at home cannot wait on that accomplishment.

The basic thought that guides these specific means of national recovery is not narrowly nationalistic. It is the insistence, as a first consideration, upon the interdependence of the various elements in all parts of the United States—a recognition of the old and permanently important manifestation of the American spirit of the pioneer. It is the way to recovery. It is the immediate way. It is the strongest assurance that the recovery will endure.

In the field of world policy I would dedicate this Nation to the policy of the good neighbor—the neighbor who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others—the neighbor who respects his obligations and respects the sanctity of his agreements in and with a world of neighbors.

If I read the temper of our people correctly, we now realize as we have never realized before our interdependence on each other; that we can not merely take but we must give as well; that if we are to go forward, we must move as a trained and loyal army willing to sacrifice for the good of a common discipline, because without such discipline no progress is made, no leadership becomes effective. We are, I know, ready and willing to submit our lives and property to such discipline, because it makes possible a leadership which aims at a larger good. This I propose to offer, pledging that the larger purposes will bind upon us all as a sacred obligation with a unity of duty hitherto evoked only in time of armed strife.

With this pledge taken, I assume unhesitatingly the leadership of this great army of our people dedicated to a disciplined attack upon our common problems.

Action in this image and to this end is feasible under the form of government which we have inherited from our ancestors. Our Constitution is so simple and practical that it is possible always to meet extraordinary needs by changes in emphasis and arrangement without loss of essential form. That is why our constitutional system has proved itself the most superbly enduring political mechanism the modern world has produced. It has met every stress of vast expansion of territory, of foreign wars, of bitter internal strife, of world relations.

It is to be hoped that the normal balance of executive and legislative authority may be wholly adequate to meet the unprecedented task before us. But it may be that an unprecedented demand and need for undelayed action may call for temporary departure from that normal balance of public procedure.

I am prepared under my constitutional duty to recommend the measures that a stricken nation in the midst of a stricken world may require. These measures, or such other measures as the Congress may build out of its experience and wisdom, I shall seek, within my constitutional authority, to bring to speedy adoption.

But in the event that the Congress shall fail to take one of these two courses, and in the event that the national emergency is still critical, I shall not evade the clear course of duty that will then confront me. I shall ask the Congress for the one remaining instrument to meet the crisis—broad Executive power to wage a war against the emergency, as great as the power that would be given to me if we were in fact invaded by a foreign foe.

For the trust reposed in me I will return the courage and the devotion that befit the time. I can do no less.

We face the arduous days that lie before us in the warm courage of the national unity; with the clear consciousness of seeking old and precious moral values; with the clean satisfaction that comes from the stern performance of duty by old and young alike. We aim at the assurance of a rounded and permanent national life.

We do not distrust the future of essential democracy. The people of the United States have not failed. In their need they have registered a mandate that they want direct, vigorous action. They have asked for discipline and direction under leadership. They have made me the present instrument of their wishes. In the spirit of the gift I take it.

In this dedication of a Nation we humbly ask the blessing of God. May He protect each and every one of us. May He guide me in the days to come.

Source: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933, as published in Samuel Rosenman, ed., The Public Papers of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Volume Two: The Year of Crisis, 1933 (New York: Random House, 1938), 11–16.

Despite taking on some of this guilt, I have defended my country arduously, particularly, in the last eight years. I will continue to do so now. We are not our television programs. We are not our franchises. We are not our Government, no matter how corrupt it may or may not be. As much as any other country in the world, we are victims of the same mindless, detrimental crap. And despite all of this, I am not at all convinced this corruption stems from us anyways. Certainly, we play our part in the grand scheme but with a little research, it is easy to see we are hardly the cause.

Let’s begin with the evil franchise. Yes, we have built parasitic empires now thriving the world over (McDonald’s…Starbucks…Microsoft). We are guilty of being extremely successful in “franchising” but we are hardly responsible for its invention. This concept has been around a long time, folks. The first documented franchise was in France in 1232. ³ So, I say, let’s blame the French.

And what about all the good things we’ve given the world? Here is a list…perhaps not even a complete list, but a fun list:

The Computer, google, iPods, roller skates, mechanical refrigerators, water towers, oil wells, the burglar alarm, the motorcycle, the vacuum cleaner, the subway, the telegraph, the telephone, even the mobile phone, dentist drill, cash register, hearing aids, electric fan, fountain pen, the skyscraper, the electric iron, the fuel pump (gas station, petrol pump — station), blue jeans, the electric motor, the Ferris wheel, the escalator, the smoke detector, radio (although this is disputed), the tractor, cotton candy, the volleyball, the zipper, crayons, windshield wipers, the first safety razor, the spray gun, the coffee pot, the lock-stitch sewing machine, the combine, the motorcycle (aka the motorbike), toilet paper, Coke, the record (vinyl), the revolving door, the Popsicle (aka the Icy Pole), tea bags, Self Starter (for cars — replacing the crank), Wirephoto (think Western Union), BAND-AIDs, tape (both masking and scotch…aka cello or sticky), Liquid-Fueled Rockets, the Bread Slicer, the jukebox, Bubble Gum, sunglasses, frozen food, the bathysphere, the Chocolate Chip Cookie, the particle accelerator, Radio Astronomy, the chair lift, the photocopier, nylon, the defibrillator, the microwave oven, The Polaroid and digital camera, the video game, radiocarbon dating, the disposable diaper (aka Nappies), the heart-lung machine, the nuclear submarine (inventive, not necessarily good), the Polio vaccine, birth-control pills, the laser, the computer mouse, the internet (TCP/IP), operating systems, the wide-body airplane, optical fiber, e-mail, the electronic calculator, barcode for products, human-powered flight, space shuttles, GUIs, The Red Cross, the artificial heart, the Hubble Telescope, the Galileo, stem-cell line, HPV vaccine and last but not definitely not the least important…Scrabble!!!

So, I dare say…that McDonald’s and Jerry Springer do not make up the majority of what we’ve given to the world.

We will accept three-quarters responsibility for George W., since he was born and raised here and some of our constituents actually did vote for him. However, he was elected under the most dubious of circumstances and the process was fraught with deception and illegal tactics. We are sorrier than you can imagine about George W.!!!⁴

Let us not forget the many unpleasant people who did not come from the United States of America. We can thank Australia for Rupert Murdoch, arguably one of the most evil people on the planet. Our beloved Jerry Springer is a London-native brought over at the age of five…after his most-formative years cemented in British culture.⁵ And while we are pointing our fingers at the Queen’s home, I will go ahead and mention that most of our mind-rotting television programs originated in London. We are simply copy-cats in that regard. From “Three’s Company” in the 1970′s to the influx of ridiculous and most-obnoxious “reality TV” shows permeating every channel today…i.e. “American Idol”, “Survivor” etc. all stem from British TV. So, we could blame the Brits for the rotten television we now produce.

But is it really any one country’s fault the world is changing? Societies are melding into less personal, more commercial groups of disconnected peoples. This is reality. Who is at fault? The French who gave us franchising and an excessive need to accessorize? The Belgians who gave us the “french” fries? The Germans who gave us the “hamburger”? The Colombians for their coffee bean? The Brits who gave us poor television programming and well, they are the parents of the U.S., are they not? The Australians for giving us the most-evil social conservative ever (Rupert Murdoch)? The Americans who run far and wide with ideas, good and bad? The Chinese with their lead-riddled products falling apart in every corner of the globe? Or the Japanese with their excessively-small electronic parts and economic-cars clogging up every street and landfill?

I think it is all too convoluted and interconnected to disentangle the roots of blame.

Let’s just blame Canada⁶.

We each have a place in this new amalgamated culture permeating the world. We each have our responsibilities and contributions to the enmeshment of our societies. So, love us or hate us… we are not to blame for every ill in your society. Many of your countries had their own social-diseases long before we even became a country. We are the not perfect but we are not the root of all evil either.

So, get a new excuse on why your country is falling apart, why your children seem to have lost their moral compass, or why your alarm clock doesn’t wake you up in the morning. =)

1. http://www.americans-world.org/digest/global_issues/globalization/culture.cfm
2. http://www.loveushateus.com/main.asp?id=88
3. http://ezinearticles.com/?Buy-N-Sell—History-of-Franchises&id=1661033
4. For the record, I did not vote for George W. Bush in either election and I did vote for President Elect Barack Obama!!!!
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Springer
6. Just kidding! A little South Park humor … something someone told me once, I never seen the episode myself