I was at a friend's house last week and we were scanning through his Tivo list for something to watch when we came across the new HBO show "Newsroom." The opening segment of the show was extremely powerful. While the video below is a slightly edited for time version of the opening, the most important moment of the scene is captured in full. A college student asks a news reporter, who is known most famously for keeping himself indifferent on almost every topic,
"Why is America still the greatest country in the world?"
In a moment of honesty he unleashes the truth that most Americans know in their heart today but do not discuss but you are considered "unpatriotic" if you do. The stupidity of that notion is like ignoring your child when they misbehave because even bringing up the topic of their misbehavior would mean that you don't love them.
I am a younger American who has been left with a bill for a 50 year spending binge that was put on a credit card. The outcome of that situation is going to be a lower living standard for this generation at best and a complete breakdown of the American society at worst.
I think about leaving the country all the time. I can project forward into a future that most people cannot see today, and I try to imagine my children living in that world. America is not the greatest country in the world today, but it could be. And that's why I'm still here, for now.
For more on this topic I would recommend reading an excellent article posted in The Atlantic this week titled To Make America Great Again, We Need To Leave The Country.
