We have a lethargy problem in our country. It’s not surprising if you think about it. Post World War II, we set a goal to be the biggest and most powerful country in the history of the world. In the decades since, we’ve achieved just that.
Great. Now what?
I say “we” knowing it wasn’t necessarily a vote that was cast by the populace. We didn’t all band together and collectively provide input on what we wanted to achieve. There was a sense of pride and dedication to the goals set forth by the leadership in charge. We all understood our role and embraced what needed to be done in order to win the ultimate prize.
During my parents’ childhood and mine, that prize was the defeat and eradication of Soviet Russia. We had nothing against the people of Russia necessarily, but we were fed a daily dose of patriotism designed to instill pride in our country and a deep sense of loathing for our enemy.
Looking at this from an individual level, most of us at some point in our lives have had goals. A goal to lose weight, graduate college or perhaps reach a milestone in our annual salary. What happens when you reach them? Do you continue to push harder or do you back off, knowing you’ve worked so hard to get what you wanted?
The answer isn’t the same for everyone. If you had a goal to run a marathon, you may have run one then decided to become a marathon runner. That’s the ideal situation. A more likely scenario would be that you completed the marathon, felt a sense of euphoria for a period of time, and then slipped back to your normal way of living.
We need goals to keep us motivated. The key is setting goals that are attainable but can be stacked on top of one another to create building blocks based on the original foundation. This explains why diets will always fail. Setting a short term goal to lose 5 pounds only to put it right back on once you remove the restrictions you’ve placed on yourself is never going to work. Consistently eating healthier would be a much better long term strategy for success.
America has a motivation problem. We’ve become the wealthiest nation with plenty of enemies to be sure, but no clear agitator to keep us engaged. If I took a survey of 50 people and asked them “who is America’s biggest enemy in the world?” I’d get responses ranging from Iran, China and Russia to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and even Israel. Worse yet, I’m sure there would be plenty of “I don’t know” responses as well.
Why does this matter? What am I saying? Do I want to go to war with another country? Absolutely not. I want peace, just like anyone else. I want peace for myself, my kids and all generations that will come after me. I’m just stating what I believe to be a fact.
In order for a country to thrive, you need to have goals. The same goals that would apply to each of us individually applies to the health of a country as well. If you’ve reached what you were striving to accomplish, complacency will inevitably sink in. America reached the ultimate goal of defeating communism 30+ years ago, we’ve been on an inevitable downward spiral ever since.
Patriotism is built on a shared premise to either defeat an enemy or reach a long term goal. Not all goals are shared, the war in Vietnam is a perfect example. There are others that are universally shared, WWI, WWII and 9/11 would fall into this category. Without a shared goal or stated desire to reach for something greater than ourselves, we become lazy and satisfied with what we’ve been able to obtain.
We did it. There’s nothing left to do.
The problem is, there’s plenty left to do.
We’re just too complacent and eventually we’ll pay the price.
