An editorial in the Los Angeles Times on July 4 stated the obvious: “This Independence Day, the holiday’s very name seems to mock us.” The grand old document known as the Declaration of Independence trumpeted citizens’ rights to “alter” or “abolish” governments in face of a hostile world. Now this. Americans couldn’t even get the third world to cough up enough gas to roll their cars out of driveways for traditional summer vacations. Stoned teenagers took over the White House lawn. Freedom seemed a cruel joke or an excuse for chaos. The conservative tabloid, the New York Post, intoned that on “Independence Day, 1979 the American paradox is bleakly apparent. As a nation, we appear to have become steadily more dependent on forces seemingly beyond our control, losing confidence in our ability to master events, uncertain of our direction.” And then the editors slipped in this zinger: “The United States is now a victim of a loss of nerve and will, wracked by indecision and groping for a glimpse of inspirational and innovative leadership.”

this is an excerpt from an excerpt from the wsj:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020411970457423839328630403...

When are we going to straighten up and fly right?