Conjure up a concept for a moment. Imagine the scene of Alexander Hamilton, or any of our Founding Fathers, sitting their children down, and sharing with them the hopes and dreams of a new nation. Picture the pride they felt, at having contributed to the creation of the country we call home. Now think of America as a whole. Is what we have today, what they wanted back then? Does it measure up to their expectations? When they dreamt of a future for their children’s children, is this what came to mind? Most importantly, is America today our Forefathers vision?
Washington wanted a nation united. Jefferson wanted a larger land. Every single Founding Father had their own vision, their own dream for this country. If they were around now, we could only wonder what they would think. Would they be proud or disappointed? The honest answer would be more negative. Washington wanted everyone unified, but even since he was president, our country is divided due to politics. Citizens become hostile, even sometimes resorting to violence, all because someone prefers either red or blue. It shouldn’t be this way, and America’s first president wouldn’t want it this way. Jefferson hoped for an expansion of our country, but he got what he wanted.
As citizens of this country, it is our duty to its founders to carry on the legacy they put in place. We should be proud to live in such a prosperous, successful country, but seeing the news, most of us are embarrassed. Presidents slurring their speech on live television, complete nonsense coming out of the mouths of presidential candidates, and rappers showing up at conventions to perform inappropriate songs. Where did this country’s dignity go? Is it all gone? What happened to smart, confident, likable, political figures? It seems as if politics, and the very real, very hard, very serious job of running our country, has been turned into a joke.
Everyday in schools, teachers and students rehearse in the event that an armed madman barges in. They practice being quiet, huddling up in small corners of small rooms, hoping that makes a difference. Parents and children alike are crippled by the anxiety elicited by the real dangers they face each time they walk into a school. But what happens when the situation actually happens? For hours, panicked teachers and students will pack into a corner away from the door, terrified, hoping the body that a bullet goes into won’t be their own. With shaky sighs, and trembling bodies, they type out last messages to loved ones. Teachers sacrifice their lives, for children not even their own, just to keep their students safe. Parents cry and wail outside of schools, hearing gunshots and praying it’s not their child that the bullet just went into. People pass, schools close, but the problem isn’t necessarily solved.
When our Forefathers thought of the country they were helping create, they imagined a safe, successful, and prosperous nation. America today is not what it was over one-hundred years ago, and it’s not hard to see. Despite obvious technological advances and the evolution of our country’s appearance, this country has declined. It is safe to say that every one of our Founding Fathers wanted successful, educated people to run our country. The figures we have now will not last forever, and it is up to younger generations to pick our country back up. But we cannot have successful, educated people to run our nation, if they are being shot and killed in their schools. Change cannot be done unless change is actually attempted, and one day, hopefully our country will be right, like its creators wanted. So, is America today our Forefathers vision? To answer this question in simpler terms, no. Our country today is not what they wanted, not at all, but one day it will.
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