An America whose Future is Greater than its Past

Some people inspire us to be better.  Abraham Lincoln.  Lou Gehrig.  Martin Luther King.  Todd Beamer. Ronald Reagan.  Jackie Robinson. Harriet Tubman.  Neil Armstrong.  John F. Kennedy.  Lance Armstrong.  These people have inspired us through various means.  Some for their attitude.  Some for their work-ethic.  Some for their courage.  Some for their values.

Not too long ago, I passed the 200 mark for number of blogs written this year.  So I went back and read some of what I had written.  And I noticed that lately, some of my blogs have become more pessimistic and not hopeful about our future.  So, I started to do some research and there are several examples of people that are inspiring us to be better, even today.

I don't want to focus on politics as much as I do.  However, with the current Obama Administration determined on taking away our liberties, it is hard not to be involved and aware of politics at the moment.  With sweeping reforms on so many things such as health care and cap and trade, it is encouraging and hopeful to know that we have a few young freshman in Congress that are starting to make their mark.  One of the brightest up and coming stars in my opinion is Marco Rubio.  In his first floor speech on Jun 14th, Rubio said the following:

"I grew up in the 1980s, a time when it was morning in America. Yet even then, we faced a war on drugs, we lost Marines in Beirut and Astronauts on the Challenger. We faced a devastating oil spill in Alaska and a terrifying new disease called AIDS.
Through challenges and triumphs, the 20th century was the American century.  A century where American political, economic and cultural exceptionalism made the world a more prosperous and peaceful place.
Now we find ourselves in a new century. And there is a growing sense that for America, things will never be the same. That maybe, this new century will belong to someone else.
Indeed, we do stand now at a turning point in our history. One where there are only two ways forward for us. We will either bring on another American century, or we are doomed to witness America’s decline.
A new American century is within our reach.
There is nothing wrong with our people. Americans haven’t forgotten how to start a business. They haven’t run out of good ideas.
We Americans are as great as we have ever been. But our government is broken. And it is keeping us from doing what we have done better than anyone in the world for over a century: Create jobs.
If we here in Washington could just find agreement on a plan to start getting our debt under control, if we could just make our tax code simpler and more predictable, and if we could just get the government to ease up on some of these onerous regulations, the American people will take care of the rest.
If this government will do its part, this generation of Americans is ready to theirs. They will give us a prosperous, upwardly mobile economy. One where our children will invent, build and sell things to a world where more people than ever before can afford to buy them.
If we can give America a government that lives within its means, the American economy will give us a government whose means are considerable. A government that can afford to pay for the things a government should do, because it does not waste money on things it should not do.
If we can deliver on a few simple but important things, we have the chance to achieve something that is hard to imagine is even possible. An America whose future will be greater than its past."

As I read this speech, I thought of JFK and Reagan.  I do believe there is hope.  I do believe we can overcome the obstacles that have been put in our path by Obama.  I do believe we can live in an America whose future will be greater than its past.