Wake Up, the Members of My Nation!

Some relevant lyrics from the theme song of a tween's tv show, that I believe are realted to the state of our nation (though these lyrics are rather positive and meant to be motivating/inspiring):

"I Know
its time
To raise the hand that draws the line
And be so wonderful

Golden sunshine
I know somehow it's gonna be mine
And feel so wonderful

Show me what you can become
There's a dream in everyone
And it's all real
I'm telling you just how I feel

So wake up the members of my nation
It's your time to be
There's no chance unless you take one
And it's time
to see the brighter side of every situation
Somethings are meant to be
So give it your best and leave the rest to me"
-"leave it all to me", Miranda Cosgrove (and Drake Bell)

Indeed, wake up! There are so many problems, how does one tackle them all? Often God is the one who is turned to in a time of need, who is known to say "leave the rest to me." Who else is regarded by the people of this nation as someone who will take care of your worries?
President Obama.
But people often forget the "give it your best" part that comes before "leave it the rest to me", and it has become "leave it ALL to me", and that is a mighty burden, which President Obama, being human, cannot uphold and make disappear with a snap of his fingers, which, frankly, is what a disturbingly large amount of people have expected. They expected nirvana to descend upon inauguration. I've seen, on tv, various men and women smiling happily as they described how they wont have to pay their bills ever again, how their debt will disappear, how they will be able to by all the nice things they want...when Barack Obama becomes President. Is this even a logical, sane mode of thought? Have they loss touch with reality? Or have they let eloquent speeches and emotions get the better of them?
So it is no wonder that not even a month into office, that President Obama's ratings took a dramatic plunge (normally the "honeymoon" period, as its called when a new president is taken in to the time the festive spirit wears off, is three months) because the economic crisis didnt disappear. This is ridiculous. No one could make it go away in any shorter than...a year, and I think I'm being incredibly generous with this (I admit) very amateur estimate. This is simply not being fair to the man. I think this reaction is a side-effect of what I call "Generation Now" (another post on this later). Everyone wants what they want NOW. They have no attention span, and no patience. Which is ultimately dangerous as it leads to a lack of crital thinking, and an increase in bad decisions from impulsivity and impatience.
It also means an increase in laziness, as people are less willing to work for the things they want, which can be seen in the multitude of giveaways, lotteries, sales, etc, etc, fad diets, pills, everyone wants something for nothing, or as little as possible. Or my peers at school for instance (they may change as they grow older, as we're all just 16 or so, but from looking at college kids and the workforce, its not likely), they want the best grade for the smallest amount of effort, they dont care as long as theyre passing(or if their grade is high enough for mommie and daddie to not ground them). They dont want to do these things to learn for its own sake, they just want to go on the internet (er, guilty, but I blog, they chat...yeah, I know its not that different), or text, or socialize in some other manner....I swaer that's all they live for! To talk endlessly about themselves. But the point is, they have no ambition, they are content with being mediocre, and so mediocre is what they'll get out of life.

What you put into life = What you get out of life

Besides the occasional lucky bastard who wins the lottery or such. But who wants to depend on fortune for their happiness? She's a fickle bitch! Better not.
That's another part of my pessimism "Show me what you could become", and Im always disappointed by what people show me, because it never matches up with their grand dreams. No one who lived a life of ease has a name worth remembering, and never accomplished anything...except perhaps being good parents, but even this accomplishment grows rarer.
So laziness....usually means the rest of us have to pick up the slack, such as taxdollars paying for welfare mothers. Some people actually need these programs. But there are so many who abuse it, my mother qualified for it, but instead she busted her ass to provide for me and my brother, and we managed to get by, but I know the three of us are scarred by the years of poverty and the type of people that were in our life because of our desperate situation. My mom told me once about a woman she knew who only had one kid and was on welfare, and this woman wore designer clothes and lived in a nice little apartment. My Mom has the most pathetic wardrobe of anyone I've ever known, still. Ninety percent of it was composed of scrubs she wore for work. It makes me angry that she works so hard to have so little, while this, this, woman feasts off the fat of society. Yes, Im jealous, and angry. It isnt fair. Nor to other famillies and those who work hard to have nothing. Survival shouldnt be so difficult. Its excess that people should have to strive for. Or what often occurs is that many sacrifice necessities for luxuries. Someone who drives a mercedes could live in a shitty one room apartment, but that's their choice. So the intent with these programs is noble. But they're abused, because they make things too easy. And make people lazy.
So lazy, spoiled children feel entitled to things. As do the people of America feel they are entitled to things from the federal government. Not so. A federal gov'ts only obligation is protection fro outside forces (through the military) and to protect your rights (as listed in the bill of rights and constitution). Your STATE government is the one that is supposed to do more. But....the people feel entitled. So the gov't gives. And just as the saying with god said "the lord giveth, the lord taketh away" so it becomes with the gov't.
The more the government gives to you, the more they can take away.
The more the government takes care of you, the more you depend on them, and the more they control you.
This is the "give it your best" part of the lyrics. Or, the philosophy of Rugged Individualism the founding fathers held. It means to provide for yourself, to pull your own weight, to earn your luxuries. You appreciate them more anyway.
So, a review:

What you put into life = What you get out of life

I also want to point out briefly the lyric "There's no chance unless you take one." I'll be talking about it in another post. So that's all on this. So Wake UP! Wake up your friends, inspire some ambition in your life. What do you want? Earn it! Nothing is free, and every gift comes with strings. Oh, and tell them to read this blog, warning: may inspire critical thinking....

Wanna hear the song? Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTEdyb69CIE the video itself is childish (its from a children/teen channel, so what do you expect?), but the song is upbeat and poppy.