The Great American Experiment

My parents were raised in country that their ancestors settled in the late 1790s. A couple of Dutch brothers, one a physician, sailed to Indonesia to become a governor and statesmen of a new Dutch Colony. I suppose they could have sailed to the Americas for the same amount of money, but they dreamed of their fortune and opportunity in Indonesia, as your ancestors dreamed of their own land and new freedoms as they were settling here in the Americas. A hundred years later a statesmen here was tested and responded to the Civil War that, “We are now testing whether this nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” I'll let you guess on that one.

Well, another 150 years and are we again testing whether this nation can endure?. Our enemies say no. Our lifestyle is our demise. Too much freedom, idleness and wickedness and we too will fall. It's only a matter of time.

My parent's country, their heritage, their lifestyle fell in their lifetime. Just after the war, an uprising sent all the Dutch packing. Never mind that the lifestyle of the Indonesians had been created by Colonial powers, both English and Dutch. Never mind that generations of families who happened to still have Christian faith and Dutch surnames were ousted from their homes and businesses, often separating families who couldn't read the political climate around them.

As you know, we emigrated to America then, just as Indonesia was demanding their independence from the Netherlands. I would explain it as similar to the American Indians reclaiming America for themselves and ousting all Europeans who didn't share their religion or naming conventions. I'm sure the Cherokee nation could get an audience with the United Nations and maybe get their country back. Maybe the experiment is over, if socialism or marxism takes over America, then we will have failed our test. I'd prefer giving it back to the Indians. What say you?