They Want Their Country Back

Obama didn't lie when he declared to the world on 11/4/08 "Change has come to America."

The web definition of conservative is: "resistant to change". The 2009 remix on conservative playing at healthcare town halls near you is: "resistant to change & highly pissed."

My honest reaction to these outbursts? Somewhere between laughter & pity. But these aren't a bunch of Joe the Plumbers looking to milk their 15 seconds of fame. The anger behind the mayhem is from-the-gut honest. Anger like that metastasizes. It elects Republican presidents like Reagan and George W. Bush to 2 terms in the oval office. Anger like that needs to be watched carefully.

Conservatives are crying out because they're losing "their" country - an America that reflects their values, their culture, their skin color, their religion.

They're right.

Let me break it to them gently: getting disorderly @ these meetings can't abort the end that's been building for decades. After the 2010 census numbers are crunched, the inevitable future so many conservatives fear (maybe even hate) will be confirmed:

21st century America is brown, bilingual & speaks with an accent.

It has a Black President. It actively intervenes in the markets to prevent the collapse of mega-companies whose failure could trigger global catastrophe. It participates in a world economy increasingly dominated by developing Asian countries. It doesn't "call the shots" the way it used to. The America you long for is never coming back.

Conservatives, if you learn nothing else, learn this one truth before you die: Change is the ONLY thing that is guaranteed. All empires rise & fall. The world is changing. America can evolve to adapt or die. (It's evolving anyway. Adapting is a choice.)

Conservatives, your children will have the privilege of witnessing first hand what many of your parents went through as new immigrants to America. They'll live among a fresh wave of immigrants assimilating into America, beginning their pursuit of this American dream, enriching our society with their experiences & their culture.

If the truth is too devastating to accept, I urge you to pray the serenity prayer to help you deal. Maybe one day you'll see the beauty of this new evolution in 21st century America.