Chapter 1 Unity... Not long ago a Nor Easter tore a hole in the stone pier near The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Yesterday a friend brought a board to The Hole so we could cross the hole in the pier and make it to the end of the rocks and fish in the best spot. Once on the other side the board came with us. A little while later along came a man with a ladder. He crossed the water filled hole too, but he left the ladder in place for anyone who wanted to cross with him. The next day I fished The Hole and this time there were no friends with boards or ladders... just a stretch of water and a cold breeze standing between where I was and where I wanted to be. So without hesitation I jumped into the water and pulled myself up on the rocks and went on to fish my favorite spot on the rocks. Cold and wet? Yes a little, but I was happy to be in the spot that I wanted to be. At the end of that day... I thought about how much beauty and magic there can be in a ladder. The stone pier was never repaired and over time most of the pier has just fallen into the sea. Now nobody gets to fish in the best spot. A permanent crossing for everyone was never devised so a great spot... once built of stone, is now lost to all. Over the years I watched storm after storm batter the stone pier until there was almost nothing left of it. To me... The Stone Pier has become a critical metaphor for an America today that has fallen into disrepair on so many different levels and it feels like we are unable to do much of anything... but brace for the next storm. The obvious question is... How many more storms can a divided America really take? On Patriots Day... also known as Marathon Monday, dreams were very much coming true. Money was being raised for charity, African athletic dominance was on display for the whole world to see. And for thousands upon thousands... months and sometimes years of very hard work had a finish line that was finally in sight. The Secret behind making any American Dream come true is the willingness to pay the price for the dream... in Blood, Sweat and Tears. On Marathon Monday 2013, that secret was being shared with the world... until EVERYTHING came to a bloody stop. For a time, the two brothers who brought so many dreams to a horrific end with their dream of glorious jihad... well, they pursued dreams in America too. But All American Dreams have periods of doubt and disbelief... and thats when The Disease of Muslim Extremism shredded their hopes and dreams. The Radicals always insist that it isnt the fact that the would-be terrorists wisdom and beliefs dont measure up in this modern world... but that it is Our World that is corrupt, dirty and unclean. In their twisted view of things, in order to prove fidelity to God, you must be willing to purge the world of infidels... and thats where the murder of innocents comes in. By the time the bombs when off... the elite runners had already crossed the finish line and were well out of harms way and thats when the horrific symbolic irony became crystal clear: The type of character that it takes for an average runner to complete a marathon... IS THE EXACT SAME CHARACTER that it takes for any average person to achieve their American Dream. Its the type of Character these two murderous thugs stopped developing when they allowed The Disease of Muslim Extremism to take control of their souls. The reason Muslim Extremism is so seductive is because the unholy narrative of the terrorist Puppet Masters has would-be terrorists believing that the Blood, Sweat and Tears... should be that of anyone but--- THE PUPPET MASTER in charge. And by buying that line, even though they thought they were serving God... these two brothers Made a Deal with The Devil. If you have never felt the sting of humiliation, then you probably dont yet fully understand just how seductive The Islamic version of The Blame Game can be... and why its so necessary today for All of US to finally join together and once and for all, take control of the narrative and make this fight... a fight over Dreams. Why? Because America is still... The Place Where Dreams Come True! Ask Americans what ideals comprise The American Soul. That central part of US that We All cherish and keeps US Safe, Prosperous, Inspired, United and Faithful to each other as lovers of The Idea of America. The final list will surely include in some order all of these eight ingredients... Democracy, Military Power, Capitalism, Faith, Family, Moral Authority, Equality, and a Level Playing Field. These ideals bound and united our ancestors of different faiths and origins to the ideas first and then and only then to each other as Americans. No matter your religion, political ideology, race, ethnicity, class or national origin if you hold these eight ideals precious then they bind you to the people of America. These values are... The American Way. If you are sickened, angry, disappointed or disconnected by the current state of America... know in your heart and soul that the pain and shame resonating at the deepest level comes from the manifest recognition that these ideals are splintering and chipping creating a very heavy burden for US all. Political Demagogues and other tyrants of the human spirit have landed a multifaceted, modern day assault on our senses and sensibilities using Intels fastest chips to speed their advance. This is a painful process to be sure, taking a good hard, long look in the mirror when there is overwhelming evidence to support the need for one. If your inclination is to blame George Bush or Barack Obama for this dis-union... you would be in part right, their policies have played a role. But in the end you wouldnt be right. Because no single man or President no matter how divisive, could tear America from herself and the World. The only thing that could, is finding out that the ideals that once bound US... Dont Anymore. For too many Americans bad things are about all they can think about these days. Some people call it The Law of Attraction. I call it common sense, what we think about expands... good or bad. Its really no secret, perpetual war and the passions that are tied to war are a tremendous drain on life and treasure. No matter how prosperous a nation might be before the first shot, its only a matter of time before the negative consequences of endless war permeate everyday life. Over time, just about all everyone wanted to do is fight and once We started to fight among ourselves, well that was a dream come true for Al Qaeda, because they could never have inflicted this type of damage on America all on their own. So its finally time for Americans to stop fighting with one another and start working together to Help Save The American Dream... before its too late! Americas pre-9/11 prosperity was born of a dream. The American Dream. And for those who believed that anyone could achieve The American Dream... The Law of Attraction kicked in. Only no one called it The Law of Attraction in the early days. They called it Blood, Sweat and Tears... and the willingness to pay the price for The Dream. For lots of reasons, in the last decade or so, belief in The American Dream has waned and thats a shame... because with all the bad news out there, no one heard the news that the lost secret to The American Dream has been found. If true, then this just might be the good news that America has been waiting for... because news feeds on itself. Unfortunately, right now the news is bad... and every bad news economic story comes with a sometimes hidden, very dangerous underlying message that The American Dream is dead or on its last leg. The purpose for this book or at least part of it anyway is to help expose that lie and others and bring to light the secrets that keep The Dream alive. No single person... no matter what they say or how much money they spend can control the direction of the economy, but we can all control what we choose to believe. If you turn your attention towards The American Dream and away from all the nonsense of the day then you become The One... instead of The President, who gives US reason to Hope for a better day. The American Dream is a vision that was born out of the promise that every person is entitled to the pursuit of happiness and the expectation that our leaders will do the right thing, when the right thing needs to be done. If and when the day ever comes when every American begins working towards their American Dream... Well, lets just say the good news about that will spread and the vicious economic cycle will finally come to an end, one inspired storyline at a time. The really good news about The American Dream is that dreams are free and happiness becomes the state of mind of those who believe they are tracking towards their dreams. And it doesnt matter how far away they may actually be, when each step forward, no matter how painful brings a peace of mind that comes from knowing that... Things are only getting better here in America. Our Shared Opportunity... Our Shared Responsibility... Our Shared Mandate is to lead a resurgence of American Spirit so that we may again live in an Inspired America. Unfortunately, right now things look bleak. Dont know what I mean? Take a quick look at The Post 9-11 World... Millions of lost jobs, unsustainable worldwide debt, rampant political, economic and social corruption... Nuclear Proliferation, nuclear meltdowns, bloody unrest, chaos or danger in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, Pakistan, India, Egypt, Palestine, Israel, North Korea, Yemen, Sudan, Darfur, France, Greece and Norway. The London Fire... Famine in Somalia... Child Bullying... Internet Predators... School Shootings, Sky High College and High School Dropout Rates... Obesity... Red and Blue States... The Drug Wars in Mexico... The occupation of Wall Street... The Super PAC attempted takeover of American politics... Pink Slime fed to school children... The Patriots Day Boston Marathon Attack... And after all that, Americas president wanted to attack Syria. How did we get to this ugly place? A universal shift of consciousness took place when our attention turned towards the darkness of terrorism and war and the costs of war and away from meeting our sacred obligation to pay close attention to the times we live. September 11th or not... new technology, specifically social networking technology was going to have a deep, dramatic impact on humanity for good or for bad. It was our responsibility to make sure things went well. But after 9-11... We all dropped the ball. What America desperately needed from our leaders in the twelve years that followed the attack... was the absolute very best that they had to offer. What we got was a great deal less than that. What we got was The Great Leadership Crisis. At least thats what I call it. You might call it... The Unemployment Rate or Our National Debt or Illegal Immigration or The Education Crisis or The Great Recession or Political Polarization or The Housing Crisis or The Health Care Crisis or The Debt Ceiling Crisis or The Infrastructure Crisis or The Energy Crisis or The Climate Crisis or The Trade Deficit or The Price of Oil and Gas or The Cost of Higher Education or Endless War in Afghanistan and Iraq or... The Rise of American Decline or... The NY City Soda Ban. You might even call it... The Fiscal Cliff or The Sequestration. No matter what we decide to call it... the fact is, America is a mess and its no accident. Whats the moral of--- The Post 9-11 Story? We are where we are today not by bad luck or chance... No, we were led to this dark place by leaders who chose wedge issues over uniting purposes and it doesnt much matter what side of any issue you decide is right... We will all continue to pay an enormous price until the day finally comes when we decide to unite America in order to finally end... The Great Leadership Crisis.
Posted on: Fri, 25 Oct 2013 20:15:36 +0000