The American Spirit: Its People, Their Dreams, and Their Hopes

Once Upon a Time in America

Once upon a time, in a nation born of ideals and forged through struggle, there existed a unity that bound its people together. There was deep and abiding pride in the flag that waved gracefully in the crisp American air. Democracy wasn't just a word—it was a shared belief that the people held the power to shape a brighter future.

The American Dream wasn't an illusion.

You could touch it—owning a piece of land and calling it home.

 Hard work, resilience, and opportunity made it real.

Freedom of speech was sacred.

Fields were full.

Shelves were stocked.

Scarcity was foreign to the American spirit.

Capitalism wasn't a dirty word but a driver of innovation and prosperity.

Our leaders once understood that a thriving business environment was vital to national strength.

Energy independence wasn't just a policy—it was a reality.

America manufactured.

America exported.

America led.

Some nations have existed for thousands of years—yet few have matched what the American people have achieved in less than 250.

We've built on grit and ingenuity.

Single mothers who worked two or three jobs to put food on the table.

Teachers who bought books for kids who had none.

Fathers who work seven days a week so their families can own a piece of the Dream.

This is the backbone of America.

But That Dream is Cracking

The American Dream has become a moving target—elusive, exhausting, and, for many, unreachable.

Capitalism, once about resilience and reward, now reeks of corruption, kickbacks, and influence peddling.

Policy has been replaced by partisan theater.

Legislation—when it even happens—isn't about principle. It's about payoffs.

Leadership? It's drifted from public service to self-service.

Our economy stumbles under the weight of global dependence, foreign interests, union entrenchment, and bureaucratic chokeholds—all wrapped in the guise of "progress."

We import more than we export.

And we auction off our intellectual property and national security, one industry at a time.

Foreign governments and global conglomerates own American farmland, livestock processors, and supply chains.

We're told our food needs' innovation"—so we add chemical cocktails and call it science. It's not innovation. It's sabotage.

The consequences?

Still "under review."

The outrage? Muted.

Distracted. Numb.

We're Losing the Nation—And the Narrative

It starts in the classroom.

Instead of preparing our kids for a world of intense global competition by teaching them history, writing, and critical thinking, we've handed them over to a system that prioritizes identity confusion over intellectual clarity.

Instead of educating our children, we now indoctrinate them.

We chip away at their sense of self.

We flood them with ideology before they've even learned how to reason.

We ask them who they are—before we've taught them how to be.

Concepts like Critical Race Theory are introduced not as tools for discussion but as frameworks of division—

Teaching children to see each other not as peers but as oppressors or the oppressed.

Not as individuals but as categories.

It doesn't elevate history—it rebrands it.

And that's precisely what the political class and educational elite want.

Confusion breeds control.

The Division guarantees distraction.

If children grow up suspicious of one another, they will never unite to challenge those in control who feed them the script.

We used to teach independence and grit.

Now, we promote conformity and fragility.

Kids graduate, unable to balance a checkbook, defend a belief, or understand the Constitution.

But they've been taught to self-censor, cancel each other, apologize for their country, and fear disagreement.

We've turned our schools into laboratories for social engineering while parents fight tooth and nail to restore basic sanity.

We don't challenge minds—we coddle them.

We don't prepare citizens—we produce dependents.

And higher education?

It's become a luxury product for the indebted—

It is a branding tool for institutions focusing more on diversity metrics and promoting biases than on academic excellence.

Degrees cost six figures and promise little.

You graduate owing a fortune, knowing nothing of value.

A nation that forgets how to educate forgets how to lead.

And we are forgetting fast.

Our supply chains are brittle.

Our industry? Gutted.

Once-proud manufacturing towns echo with silence.

Main Street gasps for air.

Wall Street throws a party for chaos.

And the middle class?

We carry the weight. Again. And again. And again.

This isn't a gap in leadership.

It's the evacuation of it—

Leaders who show up for the photo op vanish when the lights go out.

We are louder than ever—and more silenced than ever.

Our "debates" are scripted.

Our disagreements are terminal for family, relationships, reason, and unity.

We've forgotten how to argue without dehumanizing.

Agree to disagree without destroying.

How to be different—and still be American.

This isn't just a political crisis.

It's an identity collapse.

Who's to Blame for the State of Affairs?

Let's be honest—we can't place the blame solely on the political class.

Yes, they're greedy. Power-hungry. Opportunistic.

But they were also focused, relentless, and aggressive in a way that defined the American spirit.

They played the game.

But we?

We left the field.

Much of the blame falls on us—the middle class.

The non-elites.

The backbone of America!

For decades, we ignored politics.

We brushed it off as noise.

Background static.

We assumed the system would self-correct.

We assumed someone else was "Watching the Wheel."

We were naïve.

Indifferent.

Comfortably apathetic.

We believed our elected officials would take care of us—And if they didn't?

Well, surely they couldn't do that much damage.

We were wrong.

Our complacency gave them cover.

Our silence gave them space.

They took our money, hijacked our institutions, and used both to build a machine we can barely recognize, let alone control.

The DOGE findings should've been a thunderclap.

A neon warning sign flashing: "They're not on your side."

And when was "USAID" shut down?

Congress panicked.

They scrambled like gamblers caught in a raid.

Deals froze.

Access vanished. Their lifelines—cut.

And, in that moment, the illusion cracked.

They needed these systems.

That was exposure.

If that didn't rattle you—

If it didn't shake something in you—

Then you might already be too far gone.

We Have Become Chattel

Let's call it like it is.

In the eyes of the political and corporate elite, we are no longer citizens, but assets.

Not as individuals with rights, dreams, and dignity—

But as units, metrics, and levers.

To them, we are little more than tools to be shaped, votes to be counted, and consumers to be harvested.

We are revenue streams.

We are polling data.

We are market share and social influence.

And if we step out of line?

We're labeled, boxed, cancelled, and de-platformed.

But they underestimate who we are.

We are judges, teachers, artists, athletes, caretakers, students, professionals, and laborers.

We are workers, veterans, creators, entrepreneurs, and parents.

We are small business owners, truck drivers, and soldiers.

We are Boomers, Gen Xers, Millennials, Gen Zers, and Alphas.

We are Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, and more.

We are from rural, suburban, and urban areas.

We are black, white, brown, rich, poor, and middle class.

We are one—and they know it.

That's why they divide us.

They distract us by race, by gender, by class—by anything they can weaponize.

They sell us division.

They package outrage.

They profit from conflict.

While we fight each other, they loot the treasury.

While we cancel neighbors, they cancel freedom.

They keep us distracted by race, by gender, by class, by anything they can weaponize.

They sell us division.

They package outrage.

They profit from conflict.

They lie, spin, stir—and step back to watch the chaos, knowing that the more divided we are, the more invincible they become.

We aren't just ignored.

We are commodified.

And until we see it, name it, and reject it.

We'll keep getting played.

The Grift of Governance: A Few Greatest Hits

Before I was a Democrat, Republican, Independent, or Libertarian, I was a child of this Republic.

A kid who rode his bicycle, played sports in the street, and dreamed of being the athlete I pretended to be. A young man who proudly flew the American flag on the front lawn—

Long before Nike became a political brand, gender became a surgical business model.

My friends and I lived in a Norman Rockwell painting.

We were rough around the edges, sure, but we believed—

In the land, the people, and the extraordinary opportunity this nation offered.

We had faith in the American government.

Faith in the men and women we sent to Washington to protect the country, not just its borders, but its values.

And looking back now?

That faith was misplaced.

My naivete—our naivete—was a blank check.

This country still has good people.

Even some good politicians.

But far too many aren't here to lead—they're here to control.

To build personal wealth.

To command obedience.

To taste the intoxicating high of unchecked authority.

What follows is just a sample—a short list of some of the greatest grifts ever sold to the American people.

1.     Vaccines are your duty.

Subtitle: Compliance is your Duty

We were told to mask up, line up, and shut up.

Questioning the science? Heresy.

Caution? Selfish.

Autonomy? Dangerous.

So, we complied.

For our families. For our neighbors. For our jobs.

For the greater good.

We rolled up our sleeves. Twice.

Some of us, three or four times—

To keep access to the life we used to live for free.

And for what?

Side effects were swept under the rug.

Questions met with silence.

Whistleblowers were labeled as extremists.

Investigations? Delayed or defunded.

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies posted record profits.

Politicians cashed in on stock faster than they drafted safety protocols.

And anyone who dared to ask, "Is this working?"

Was treated like an enemy of the state.

No transparency. No accountability.

Just a steady drip of mandates, moral lectures, and marketing.

We didn't get medicine.

We got compliance theater.

And while we stood six feet apart, the truth was buried six miles deep.

2.      Climate change is the Existential Crisis of our time.

Subtitle: Do as We Say, Not as We Jet

We were told the planet was dying.

The seas were rising. The glaciers are melting. The end, they said, was nigh.

So, once again, we obeyed.

We sold our gas cars and purchased electric ones.

We changed our habits.

We upgraded our appliances.

We installed panels, bought compost bins, and tried to save a tree every Tuesday.

Meanwhile, they flew private jets to climate summits.

Held $30,000-a-plate galas powered by diesel generators.

Purchased carbon credits like indulgences—buying their way out of guilt while billing us for virtue.

Forests were razed to make way for solar farms that can't be recycled.

Oceans were dotted with wind turbines that destroyed marine and bird life, upended marine ecosystems, and littered the ocean floor.

Your energy bill went up.

Their energy portfolio went vertically.

Climate change isn't the crisis.

Their hypocrisy is.

Because this was never about saving the Earth.

It was about thanking China for their political donations, offshoring our sovereignty in return for campaign cash and cheap labor.

It was about rewarding donors with bloated subsidies, insider contracts, and climate bills dressed as payback plans.

It was about selling fear to the public daily until questioning became unpatriotic and compliance became a moral badge.

It was about buying control of industries, narratives, and you.

They didn't hand us clean energy.

They handed us propaganda—market-tested, grant-approved, and morally packaged for mass consumption.

And while you paid more at the pump and rationed your thermostat, they bought Chinese solar stocks, flew private, and patted themselves on the back at "sustainability conferences" they chartered jets to attend.

This wasn't environmental policy.

It was a green colored grift.

A global game of power, wrapped in recycled buzzwords, and sold to a public too exhausted to ask why their bill keeps rising while the same names keep winning.

3.      Elon Musk is Evil/DOGE is dangerous.

Subtitle: "Your money is ours. Don't ask questions. Just pay up."

The government once loved social media because it gave them power without paperwork.

They used it to moderate speech, suppress dissent, shape narratives, and track those who disobeyed.

They didn't just watch us.

They programmed us.

They didn't need laws.

They had algorithms.

They didn't need force.

They had feeds.

And the platforms?

They complied.

Willingly.

From Silicon Valley to D.C., it was one big unholy handshake.

They censored anyone who questioned government policy.

Anyone who criticized.

Anyone who dared to satirize.

Social media became a government contractor.

A tool for narrative control.

Mainstream media didn't object.

They joined in.

Together, they told us what to think, what to say, and when to shut up.

Then came Elon…

We bought his cars because our government told us to.

They subsidized Tesla.

Paid for the installation of his charging stations.

Called him a visionary.

He was the face of the Green New Deal.

Until he opened the door.

Until he turned on the lights.

Until he pulled the curtain and let us see what was behind it:

Fraud.

Waste.

Corruption.

Influence peddling.

Taxpayer money funneled into NGO black holes.

All of it was orchestrated by the same people who said they were protecting us.

He exposed them.

And suddenly? He became dangerous.

Because it was never about protecting the public.

It was about protecting their monopoly on control, wealth, on speech, on influence—

Musk threatens the one thing more sacred than control: The narrative.

And now?

Now, the politicians and the elite send their pawns into the streets.

To protest him.

To vandalize his cars.

To smear his name.

To destroy his work that's saving the middle class their money.

They slap on the labels straight from the political playbook:

Nazi.

Fascist.

Authoritarian.

And Bernie's thirty-three-year favorite —"oligarchy is running the country."

It's never about the man.

It's about the foundation he threatens.

Because if Musk can challenge them and win—

SO CAN WE!

4.      Orange Man Bad

Subtitle: Let's obstruct the Guy we hired to clean our House

Twelve of the last sixteen years were helmed by Barack Obama—or by a hand-picked hologram rubber-stamped by him.

And what did America reap?

• Governments were so bloated and useless that Ozempic could not help them.

• Division, Weaponized Race hustling,

• Inner-city youth were abandoned, while political elites threw glittery parties and slogans like confetti.

• A shattered healthcare system (but sure, you can keep your plan, Scout's honor!).

• A national debt ballooning so out of control, even China's spy balloon had to hover over for a closer look.

• Global instability, war, ISIS unleashed, and foreign policy so Clueless, it makes Cher Horowitz look like a Rhodes Scholar. 

• Open arms, open borders—illegals welcomed with gift baskets while American citizens footed the bill.

• Taxpayer money shotgun-blasted across the globe like Monopoly money at a Vegas bachelor party.

We can go on and on…

Then everything changed…

America met a man with orange make-up, unique haircut, a mouth blessedly free from the chains of political correctness. Most Americans fell in love with him, and many others wanted to.

Not because he was flawless.

Not because he was perfect.

But because he refused to play their corrupt, rigged little game.

He skipped the cocktail circuit.

He didn't grovel before donors.

He took their sacred list of "Rules for good little Presidents," crumpled it up, and fed it into the nearest garbage disposal.

Then he did the unthinkable—

He looked past the media filters, through the lens, and directly into the soul of the forgotten American voter.

He spoke—really spoke—to the American middle class.

And the Establishment?

They wet their pants (pants suits) and lost their minds.

In panic mode, they unleashed every dirty trick they had:

• Schemes.

• AG's Lawfare.

• Censorship and Denial Disguised as "Russian Disinformation."

• Witch hunts that would make Salem blush.

• Impeachment after impeachment.

• The Mainstream Media is hammering the Ka-ching button as they blast anti-Trump hysteria around the clock.

  
  

And now, their newest weapon: Juris-Dickus.(Yes, crude — but true.)

They yell, “We will stop you!” as they stick it to the President with every legal dagger they can forge.

And while they weaponize the courts, they shriek:

“We must stop him! No matter what it takes!”

Is not about protecting the law.

It’s about protecting the status quo — the Swamp.

The mediocre, two-tiered caste system of elites and politicians vs. everyone else.

And what these so-called “saviors of democracy” don’t realize is this:

They’re not just sticking it to him.

They’re screwing the American people.

But here's the truth:

It is not about Trump.

Anyone, anyone—who bulldozed their system, exposed their rackets, and spoke directly to the people without kneeling first would've been hunted down too.

Not because they're a threat to democracy.

But because they're a threat to them:

• Their money.

• Their power.

• Their rotting, absolute control.

  
  

He's the Red Pill they don't want you to swallow.

Because he shows the American citizen the truths they've worked so hard to hide:

That the system is broken.

That the elites are in control.

That America isn't being led—it's being looted and dismantled by the very class we entrusted to safeguard it.

They would rather burn this country to the ground than lose their grip on it.

And in the end, they'll realize too late—ashes don't obey kings.

Built by the People. Reclaimed by the People.

We, the American people, are standing at the crossroads of history.

There is no debate. No excuse.

If we stay on this course of division, decay, and denial.

We will forfeit the very future our forefathers bled to secure.

America doesn't fall in a single moment.

It crumbles slowly.

Piece by piece.

When good people—when working people—stop showing up.

This is not a call to rage.

It is a call to resolve.

A call to rebellion of spirit.

A call to arms of the mind, the will, and the heart.

Truth over comfort.

People over politics.

Freedom over fear.

And still—standing.

We have been given a rare gift.

The sacred title of being called an American.

Born or naturalized—it makes no difference.

What matters is what we do with that gift now.

No politician will save us.

No party will deliver us.

It must come from us—the people.

The workers.

The builders.

The everyday citizens who carry this country on their backs without asking for fame or fanfare

By truckers and teachers.

By nurses and small business owners.

By factory workers and farmers.

By cops, carpenters, mechanics, electricians, welders, and roofers—

By mothers and fathers who build tomorrow every single day.

They didn't ask for fame.

They didn't wait for permission.

They showed up.

And they built America with calloused hands and unbreakable hearts.

And we will rebuild it again.

If we have the courage to remember who we are.

We must reignite America's spirit.

We must rip capitalism back from the claws of cronyism.

We must transcend the noise.

And lead with courage.

Not slogans.

Not performance.

Action. Sacrifice. Resolve.

The American Dream is battered—but it is not broken.

It does not belong behind glass in a museum.

It lives—if we have the fire to fuel it.

We are not victims of decline.

We are the architects of revival.

If—and only if—we choose to be.

And revival will not begin in ivory towers.

It will begin where it always has.

On factory floors,

In small businesses.

In classrooms.

On farms.

In firehouses.

And in every home where an American still dares to dream.

I am proud of the American people.

We didn't vote for rulers.

We voted for servants.

We voted for principle, not popularity.

We chose leaders who promised transparency, fairness, and America First.

And now, we hold them to their word.

Because the American Dream still belongs to us.

If we dare to seize it.

We built it once.

We will build it again.

Because we are still America.

And America still belongs to the people.

This is America.

Built by the People.

Reclaimed by the People.

Photos by iStock

(Nice site.)