America is standing at a precipice. From the edge of a gilded cliff, the choice is either hungry wolves in a den of debt or eagles soaring in the firmament of solvency.
The nation’s $15 trillion debt, saddled with unsustainable entitlements, is cracking the foundation of America’s God-given, hard-won quest for liberty. Liberty is America’s heartbeat but her pulse is getting weaker by the day.
Times such as these have not been encountered since the Civil War when liberty was challenged by her own demons. Today, as then, the downfall of America may not be by any other enemy but herself.
Americans have always prided themselves on the entitlement to live a life free from regulation. They sought to either succeed or fail with the knowledge that if a person’s failure is stifled, so could be his or her success.
Times have changed. Modern day Americans are regulated by entitlements. Liberty is caught in the snare of “give me, give me and the government owes me.” Bitter is the awakening that the government gives yet the government gets - power and a beholden, dependent people. A realization warned of by our founding fathers.
A slow and insidious permeation by the liberal elite has yielded this new American mentality. A tide turning away from the principles of our Constitution has anchored America in the mire of dependency. Americans want their failures obeyed even at the sacrifice of their independence.
Where is reason? Our founding fathers believed that the United States Constitution would prevent the rise of a political party, or a branch of government, from seizing the power from the people.
Our founding fathers also believed in the necessity of an enlightened people, because it would be, “the genius of the people,” who would “sound the alarm,” of encroachment.
The 2012 election has concerned Americans, who recognize the usurpation of power and the drastic effects of national debt, searching for our Abraham Lincoln - a leader who loves the personal liberties of America, more than himself. A leader who is willing to be unpopular, even hated, if that is what is required in order to save the Republic.
Unpopular will be the person who is willing to say the things that are hard to hear. Medicare as we know it should end. Social Security should be privatized. Obamacare must be reversed. The Federal Government should be drastically reduced. Constitutional power should be returned to the states.
Unpopular will be the person who makes this happen. But only by such actions will the nation be saved.
Yet, divided she cannot stand. As Americans look for their Lincoln, they should look at themselves. Washington could not lead a revolution without colonists who yearned for freedom. Lincoln could not have saved the country without a people who valued freedom over slavery. We the people cannot save our country unless we seek freedom.
Today’s Lincoln may be a leader but today’s Lincoln may also be at large. The Lincoln that saves America may be the legend, the bravery, the liberty that lives within our soul.
Examiner contributor Janine Turner is a longtime actress and talk radio show host on KLIF in Dallas. She appears frequently on Friday editions of Fox News' "O'Reily Factor."
