I ask myself this question from time to time and I just don't know anymore. I agree with Abraham Lincoln in that the United States is the “last best hope of earth.” Serving my country overseas for over 30 years now, I have also gained a unique perspective on what the rest of the world has to offer. Lincoln should have added “only” to his infamous quote as no other country can come remotely close to the level and breadth of impact the United States has had on the world. We've shown the world the way, the path, to all sorts of freedoms, peace, and prosperity. Types of freedoms we deem “natural” and protected, rights that all humans are guaranteed to have and that no one, no government, can take from them. We've secured and documented these truths through our own blood and sacrifice and proven these facts time and time again. We've even sacrificed our own countrymen, our families, so that strangers in faraway lands could be set free from tyranny and oppression and have a least a chance to live a free life.

With these truths before us - with all of the evidence of just how important the United States has been to global stability, prosperity, and human progress - why is our government so willing to discard these truths and reform and remodel the United States to look just like another other third world country? And we are not just talking about the current government, but we include the past President, past and current Congress, and even many federal judges who all have been dismantling the basic pillars of our society, bringing us closer and closer to a place, where if you spun around five times and took off the blindfold, you would think you fell into land of mixed nuts and failed socioeconomic policies. You'd be more inclined to believe you were in eastern Europe or Central America than in the United States.

The United States moves forward. Europe and Latin America move sideways. And China has been cheating, by grabbing our economic models and sustaining themselves with rickety totalitarianism (but just like most Chinese-made products, they too will be recalled and will have to start all over.)

The United States rewards success, promotes the highest standards, and runs past failure. We embrace independence. We tell our children what we expect of them, to raise the standards even higher, and move the country forward again. Well, that was the past. Now, we teach our kids that failure in just about everything is acceptable. Self-esteem is more valuable than self-sufficiency. Interdependence is promoted over independence. If you are successful, it is the government's responsibility to shame you into submission, and if that doesn't work, they'll force your property from your hands and bring failure on par with success.

Granted, there a millions of Americans who need our help, ones who cannot help themselves. Our country was founded on the human spirit to do what is right, to help our fellow human beings. That idea is now dead as well. We've taken personal responsibility and handed that over to the government. Why volunteer to help the homeless? Why donate to my local church? The government has it all under CONTROL.  Remember, when the government gains additional authority, such as new powers or greater controls – where do you think they are getting them from? From whom are they doing the taking?

The United States right now is like a severely wounded lion, where hyenas and vultures have started to pick at the meat and bones of the dying carcass. The lion is still alive, so do we rush in, scare off the scavengers and rescue the wounded King of the Jungle? The last remaining species of its kind? Or do we walk up to the lion and put a bullet in the back of its head ?

For me, I am still sitting in the back of the land cruiser, taking pictures.