America could be on the road to becoming exceptional by remaking itself into a nation that rejects the doctrine of military force and finds way to leave in relative peace with the other nations of the world. We have seen signs that this can actually happen when the people strongly rejected President Obama's call for a missile strike on Syria. That's a good, solid beginning and we need to keep up this kind of pressure on this government and this president.
But the people also need to do a lot more and continue to strongly oppose government policies and actions that are highly detrimental to this nation. We need to free our minds of the intense pressure that the government and its media lapdogs use to keep us in a passive state. H ere are some initiatives that we can take to make this happen:
We need to stop watching the corporate-controlled media and listening to biased political commercials. We need to make up our minds that we will never allow anyone to control our thoughts. Don't read the editorial sections of newspapers that involve politics because they almost never involve objective discussions. Use the internet instead to find the most expert, factual, and objective forms of journalism. Here are several excellent websites involving this kind of journalism; opednews.com, truthout.org, alternet.org, commondreams.org, and antiwar.com.
We Americans must get out of the deep hole we have dug for ourselves and then use it as a grave to bury those conditions that are the root cause of this nation's myriad of problems; the corruption of Congress, the power and influence of those who operate the machinery of war and empire, the iron grip that Corporate America has on this government and nation.
Once we get the majority of Americans thinking in these directions the opportunity to turn America in a new direction will be there. Cleansing our minds of these negative influences that have dominated this nation for far too long will have the effect of opening the door to new thinking, creativity and innovative ideas. You've heard the sayings, "Anything is possible if you put your mind to it." If we think that we can't make it happen, then it won't; make up your mind that you will make it happen and it will.
We need to restore this nation's integrity and reputation, change it from the world's most feared nation to one that, once gain, takes its place as a respected leader of the world; not in name only but in words, deeds and actions that benefit this country and the world. And, if we ever get to that point, then we can all say that America is truly an exceptional nation, like no other on this planet.
Michael Payne
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