[Tru Blu Tuesday] It’s Comeback Time!

Think of the United States of America’s history as a football game. On one side of the field we have Team Liberty, the upstart franchise in the world arena. They face the imposing Team Tyranny, flexing its centuries old experience and record of global domination. The winner controls the destiny of the nation – the city on a hill, the last great hope.

At the onset of this match, when 13 American colonies claimed and defended their independence from Great Britain, Team Liberty took an early lead. Their bold new quarterback, the Constitution, put them out in front, shocking the defending champs with a quick score right out of the gate. It was not a clincher, but now they had their game plan to beat Tyranny. The fullback for Team Tyranny, an imposing figure named War, nearly ended the contest in 1812, but an impressive goal line stand held him back. There were still some major glitches in Liberty’s offense, such as the enslavement of an entire ethnicity and the battles in the Supreme Court justice system. This resulted in a few punts. However, the first quarter still ended with more rights and freedom ever assembled for a nation.

The second quarter was brutal, as Civil War brought both sides into a bloody contest with Secession and Slavery threatening to tear Team Liberty in two. Somehow they managed to survive with the lead still in tact, although a few controversial plays had some questioning the validity of the score. Slavery was ejected out of the game as a result of that quarrel, but the bad guys still held a few cards. After that difficult possession, Liberty saw some real strides and began to expand their lead. Infrastructure and Industrial Progress took off like never before giving the people excellent field position. Millions from around the world started to take notice and fill the bleachers, arriving by the boatload to cheer on the new kids. The upset was looking good.

Then came the second half.

Tyranny came out of the locker room angry. Slowly they began to work their way back into the end-zone. It was gradual and Liberty wasn’t sure how it started. It might have been when the visiting team pulled out their rookie backup Federal Reserve in 1913, which began to erode the value of the dollar. But that only put a dent in the lead. War pushed his way through the battle of the trenches yet again. Not once, but twice dragging America into a global conflict. These resulted in establishing the prized country as a world power, while the old world was left reeling in the aftermath. However it came at the cost of injury to Equality when thousands of citizens were sent to internment camps in the name of “Safety“.

Team Liberty tried to keep pace by expanding freedom through the Civil Rights movement, but it only netted a field goal overall as Political Correctness tackled Freedom of Speech short of a first down. War found the goal line once again on an audible after the Vietnam Conflict intercepted a pass from the Constitution. Tyranny then took the lead as the U.S. became a global empire, intervening in the affairs of several other countries. They ratcheted up the score with the Red Scare and Inflation. Corporatism ended a comeback attempt by forcing a fumble by Capitalism as Big Government scooped up the loose ball in the wake of what should have been a touchdown against Communism.  Somehow Liberty didn’t notice the sudden turn of events. It might have been the opposing cheerleaders, the Media, that had them distracted from the battle they were then losing.

It is now the Fourth Quarter.

This period began with a massive hit on the Constitution as the Patriot Act sacked him for a huge loss in the wake of 9/11/01. You could clearly see him limping on his Fourth Amendment after that blow. The hits kept coming too, as the Federal Reserve pumped more money into the economy and Undeclared War sneaked through the line on a blitz again and again. Liberty was down by a lot and hurting immensely. The NDAA sacked the Constitution again for “Safety”, which only added to the now gargantuan deficit.

At this point the fans had quieted down considerably, distracted by the sideline gags and whatever the vendors were peddling.

That’s when the comeback started. At first it was a little grumble from one or two patriots on Team Liberty. They were done being beat up on. They were Irate and Tireless and turned their grumble into a roar. They were sick of being pummeled with the referees not calling any of the violations. Tyranny tried to bully their way down field with their Police State, but Liberty fought back. Ignorance sure was pushing hard, but Education and Awareness stepped up big to stop the rush. The crowd could see the intensity rising.

As the fate of the nation weighed in the balance, Tyranny tried to put the contest on ice forever. Big Government was doing everything it could to bring Liberty to it’s knees, but the kids would not go out without one final stand. Suddenly Team Liberty was able to make a few big plays. Federal Reserve was targeted repeatedly. Then a courageous effort to stop the Police State’s nifty NSA spin move resulted in a turnover.

The ball is now in our hands. We are down by quite a lot, but the comeback can happen! The clock is ticking. All we need are a few more game changers – our future depends on it.

Which side are you on?