America is heading down a very dangerous path.  We've abandoned our forefathers' belief in a bible-based country.  We've abandoned our belief that capitalism is the driving force to prosperity for our nation.  And in place of nationalism, we've selected individualism.  These few factors, if left unaddressed, could ultimately undermine and destroy our great nation.

Our forefathers recognized the importance of separation of church and government.  They recognized that religions had a way of taking over a nation's identity.  Even so, our forefathers recognized the value system embraced by the bible and chose to emulate those values in both doctrine and practice.  If the writers of our Constitution had wanted the abolishment of religion from everything except a church, don't you believe this argument would have been resolved over 200 years ago?  We give these men a lot of credit for writing one of the greatest documents in history.  Yet, we don't give these men the credit for understanding the interplay of government and religion.  Religion today is no different than it was 200 years ago.  What has happened that requires us to abandon the Ten Commandments, prayer in school, and freedom to express our Christian beliefs?  Do we Americans really believe our government has missunderstood this topic for the past 200 years?

Capitalism is slowly being replaced by the crippling ideal of Socialism.  We are continually told that we have a right to the wealth of every American.  We are continually told that the wealthy have their money at the expense of the poor.  These teachings couldn't be further from the truth.  History has clearly shown that reward for one's own labors drives a man to betterment.  Today, we are told we deserve as much as the next man regardless of our efforts.  Ultimately, these false teachings will weaken our nation to the point of collapse.        

Finally, America has become a nation of individuals.  No longer is it good to be an American.  We must define ourselves as a unique part of the country.  Everyone seems to be a Native-American, or an African-American, or a Mexican-American.  What ever happened to being a proud American?  What ever happened to the pride in knowing that you were a part of the greatest nation on the planet?  One hundred years ago, people came to this country and embraced being American.  They learned the language, they worked hard in the community, and they chose to serve the nation.  Today, people come to serve themselves.  Immigrants are not assimilated as they once were.  They may become taxpayers, but they are not made to become Americans.  If we continue to allow the practice of citizenship without service, we are destined for a slow decline into obscurity.

Despite our problems, America remains the hope of all nations.  We possess the drive and intellect to define our shortcomings, overcome our obstacles, and improve our world.  We need to change the path we are currently on.  If we choose to remain on our current course we are destined to the fate of history's once-great nations.