America the Beautiful

In America today we are constantly bombarded with advertisements promising happiness and contentment through purchasing certain products. If we turn on the news we are inundated by umpteen scare stories that may leave a viewer mentally drained, fearful and anxious. We are reminded daily of the current issues that inevitably divide us and we are now gearing up for yet another election which will keep us debating and arguing until we go to the polls. And we are often reminded of how great a democracy we live in, but how we need to protect and defend our liberties, rights and freedom - putting more pressure onto an already mentally overburdened populace.
Anyone who watches television, reads the paper, drives a car and listens to the radio cannot escape these messages which have become almost an integral part of our daily existence.

Yes it is important to keep abreast of current issues and to be reminded that we do in fact live in a free society. The advertising of products will never cease, so the best we can do if it does annoy us, is to try and tune them out. And debating issues and political campaigning comes with living in a democracy and we will inevitably hear about candidates and hot political topics in the media - whether we like it or not.
There are indeed flaws in the system we live in and many people are left behind or totally eliminated from serious pursuit of the American Dream - whatever its definition. On the flip side it's possible to really catapult ahead with a combination of talent, luck, good contacts hard work and perseverance in this country.

But whatever your politics, religion or income level, all Americans should be united on one front - this country sure is pretty!
And we are all equal in the fact that we have access to the same national and state parks, monuments, lakes and mountains that abound in our own backyards. Furthermore it costs very little to see some of the most spectacular places possibly in the world, and we don't need an ad agency, politician or campaign manager to sell them to us either. We can see and appreciate their beauty and worth for ourselves.