I met a couple from California yesterday. The husband said, “Our state is broke and I just want to know where our tax dollars are going.” It seemed to be difficult for him say that his state is broke. He said that their taxes have been raised and teachers have been losing their jobs. He wants know why his state government is making the choices they are making with his money. I met another man from California who told me that Californians are not as the rest of the country pictures. He said that their state government does not reflect the values of the citizens.

In the rest of the country, we feel the same way. We see taxes go up, and sometimes taxes go up and we do not realize it because the way politicians raise the taxes. We see that our country is in debt. We see that other countries are losing faith in the dollar. We wonder where are our tax dollars are going. We have seen the bailouts, and we wonder, “Why is our government making these choices with our money?” We look at our politicians and know that their decisions do not reflect our values of freedom and responsibility.

Our country was founded to be a country in which the values of the people were reflected by the government. It is a country in which the people hold the politicians accountable. On July 4, we will stand up and say, “Enough already.” We want our politicians to know where we stand and that we going to hold them accountable. If they do not listen to the people, they will find out what it is like to be unemployed.

It is wonderful to be in the greatest nation in the world. I am thankful to have been born in the United States of America. However, with the government takeover of the banking and car industries, with czars that are accountable to no one except the president, with a tax system that stifles opportunity, and with a mountain of debt that we will be passing on to our children’s children, the future of the country looks bleak. In this situation, we could find ourselves asking, “Why me?” We could find ourselves saying, “All hope is lost.” We can choose to say, “There is something I can do!” We can choose to say, “I was born for such a time as this, so I will stand up and take my nation back!”

This is still the land of the free and the home of the brave.   We still have the freedom to speak out and let our beliefs be heard. We still have the freedom to choose our leaders. We still have the freedom to say, “We’ve had enough!”  The well being our children hangs in the balance. If we want our children to enjoy the freedom we have enjoyed, we must speak out. If we want our children to enjoy the freedom for which so many people have fought and died, we must speak out. Are we brave enough to take a stand for the future this nation? I think we are.