Back Before Things Got Ugly

Sometimes sitting down to write my column isn't easy. The state of my country is in bad shape. My fellow Americans, especially the younger generations, seem to possess upside-down values or no values at all. World events are horrible and depressing. Crime and filth fill our city streets where once we had safety and cleanliness. I don't recognize American culture anymore. It seems all of Western Civilization is collapsing.

I don't trust the news media. I simply do not believe anything they print or broadcast. Over the course of time they have proven themselves to be liars and willful pawns of the Left, pushing progressive agendas and anti-American dogma. When you lose faith in what we once believed to be a free and fair press it's pretty bad.

The entertainment industry, which once offered escapism from the harsh realities of our lives, has become politicized and woke. Movies, television, music, sports, and publications parrot the Left's socialistic agenda and insert their messaging into all forms of what passes today for "entertainment."

Earlier generations could get away from the Depression of the 1930's (for a little while at least) by going to the movies and watching Fred and Ginger meet cute, fall in love, and dance and sing in the most beautiful of settings. Shirley Temple made us smile. William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles taught us how to be sophisticated. Pure fantasy, no messaging, no preaching, no politics.

During the war years of the 40's glamorous stars like Cary Grant, July Garland, Errol Flynn and Betty Grable made us forget our troubles. Tough guys like Humphrey Bogart, John Wayne, John Garfield, and James Cagney were fighting the good fight for America and helped us maintain courage and morale.

American music created in the last century by the Gershwins, Cole Porter, Rogers and Hart, Irving Berlin, and many others lifted people up and gave them hope at times of stress. Radio shows of the 30's and 40's and television of the 50's and early 60's offered shows featuring Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Burns and Allen, Bing Crosby, Perry Como, Nat King Cole, Dinah Shore, Jackie Gleason, Sid Caesar, Lucy and Desi, and so many more highly talented performers. None of whom felt it necessary to shoot off their mouths and spew out their personal opinions on anything controversial. They entertained us. Period.

Although the United States was always a melting pot of people from every corner of the world, Americans had a common culture. We all celebrated Thanksgiving. We all loved going to a baseball game and eating hot dogs. We watched the same movies, listened to the same music, and laughed at the same comedians. We were all happy and proud to be Americans.

Of course, not everything was perfect, but when we recognized a problem, we as a country attempted to correct it. The ideals of the United States of America were strong and right. Freedom, liberty, justice, and human rights were G od given. Responsibility, decency, and the golden rule were practiced. Belief in G od wasnÕt debated, it was what made our country great and our people good.

Then, somewhere around the mid-sixties things took a turn for the worst. It really started decades before that, but hard core progressivism and culture change accelerated in the 1960's. Today our country would be totally unrecognizable to any of the Founding Fathers if they saw it now. Everything is upside-down.

So, yes, it is hard to look around today and see what has happened to the greatest country on earth. The fact that our younger generations are being taught hate and division in our schools is hard to fathom. Watching thousands of college students chanting "Death to Jews" is beyond heartbreaking, it is literally terrifying. Writing about it is just so damn depressing sometimes. But I know how important it is to shine a light on this hate and ugliness.

And I will continue to do so.

(COMMENT, BELOW)