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In the 1930s my great grandfather Walter
Lopp made pennies on the dollar as a southern share cropper. Though
the depression was over and the country was beginning to prosper
once again, this part of the deep south would not see relief for
many years. No matter how bleak the future seemed, my grandfather
had a dream: the American dream. He wanted a spot of land to call
his own. He planned to do this with a pair of mules that would allow
him to receive more money while share cropping.
He named this pair of brown-eyed beauties
Dutch and Lyes. They were a ground-breaking powerhouse that worked
long, hard hours beside my grandfather. This team started in early
morning's dim light and worked till the last rays of the sun gave
just enough light to help them find their way home. They were the
edge he would need, the missing piece, with them his dream came
true.
My grandfather kept those stubborn bags of bone, as he called them,
'till the day they died
some forty years later. Why he did not sell them, we never knew.
After all, the industrial
revolution had made them obsolete. However, when he would consider
this plan of action he would remember the sweat that would pour
off their backs in the hot southern sun and the deep soulful look
of their eyes that said, "We're here for you, Walter, We're
a team, lead on." This pair had helped him to achieve a dream
and he would stand beside them just as they had him.
Where is this sense of loyalty today? Some corporations in America
have forgotten the common man who's sweat and blood were the building
blocks that made their businesses great. Big business now speaks
through both sides of its mouth, telling its employees that family
should come first, then starting campaign like 24/7, requiring that
mothers an fathers put families on back burners, leaving a nation
of children to raise themselves. These companies then downsize,
right-size or out-source. They sell out and retirement and pension
promises are not being kept. I am all for free enterprise but when
do we stop and look around us at those who are being hurt by our
choices?
Don't think I am just speaking against big corporations. We the
consumers are as much to blame as anyone. We buy the very products
that these companies are producing. They take your livelihood away
and you buy their products to save a dollar. In our need to acquire
more stuff we slowly smother out American enterprise. Small "Mom
& Pop" shops close daily and we stand idly by while this
county's middle class shrinks at an alarming rate.
We at Flag Force One are asking you to pull together as a nation.
Take a stand for the
country we love. We need to stand tall, stand together and become
a team. A wise man once said: "Be the change you seek."
Let's turn the Me generation into the We generation. Be the one
who stands in the threshold and sees the possibilities of a nation
that puts the common good over personal gain.
I would like to challenge you to send in
stories of true American heroes that have made a
difference. Companies that go beyond what is good for the bottom
line. Companies that
feature and promote mainly American products. Let's help those that
want to make a
difference get the publicity and direction they deserve.
Please join us at Flag Force One and become a patriot
in motion.
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