A Nation Divided

Top picture: St. Louis, Missouri, citizens honoring the returning Iraq War veterans.

Bottom picture: Not Damascus but Oakland, California, "occupiers" desecrating the American flag on the steps of City Hall.

Same day. Yesterday. Same Country. Americans all. But two different Americas.

Take a good look at our America today in the pictures above. Patriotic. Angry. Law-abiding. Criminal. Positive. Negative. Appreciative. Disgraceful. Broken.

Is this the embodiment of President Obama's blueprint for "hope and change" in the USA we voted in three plus years ago?

In Charles Dickens timeless classic, A Tale of Two Cities, written in 1859, Dickens' words are now fittingly apropos to America today:

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, the the superlative degree of comparison only."

To the citizens of Oakland, WAKE UP AND RISE UP from your fear and your passivity and take back your once glorious city from these revolutionaries. How long has it been, 3-4 months of violent unrest in your city? Oakland riots look more like live feeds from Egypt than California. The rest of the country is looking upon you incredulously. If the local, state and federal authorities can't restore order and safety, then, you as taxpaying citizens should do it before it is too late or abdicate leadership to the insurrectionists.

St. Louis, you remain a beacon to what the "shining city on the hill" metaphor still represents. Sure you have serious problems but decency, rule of law and appreciation for those who serve us all still abide amidst the modern day struggles.

Is this the new divided America Obama wants? Class warfare. If so, then bring it on! Fasten your chin straps. This will be a helluva fight to November to either validate his policies with four more years or repudiate his presidency with one term.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."