Where I came from.

Last week I decided to go back to where I grew up.... What a place. It is a prime example of the death of the Small Town in the United States. A once decent small town supporting a military installation has become the beginning of a ghost town. The base allowed to close due to the apathy of the Clinton administration and the congressman that the area selected has placed the people and the town on the fast track to extinction. The population seemingly unemployed, small business barely surviving. Hospitals populated with providers that are lacking the tools to provide quality care to their patients. While I have not been to all the towns in America it seems this is the problem that is growing all over.
The base I grew up next to, because my father was a member of the Air Force, is now a ghost town with a flightline. I took the time to drive through the base to see what a nice place the city council had turned it in to. Well, to my disappointment it was turned into nothing. The buildings are falling apart, Some in use by small companies that are probably wondering when they will have to close. What a waste of space. An area that could have provided many industries with a great place to start or expand and a wealth of potential employees in the area. Still nothing. Not to mention that the state of California is anti-business. The taxation of the people with out proper oversight has ruined this once great state although it has become what the hippie population wanted it to become. A communist wasteland.
The City of Atwater just another victim of politicians not caring. Elected Officials not representing the people who gave them the career they dreamed of and now abuse. The city itself has ample room to grow commerce, many people wanting employment and plenty of housing for those who wish to go there. But where is it? Is the city council inviting anyone there? Trying to entice business? It doesn't look like it. Mired in squaller with growing unemployment and no entertainment Atwater has become the beginning of a ghost town.
I don't claim that Atwater was ever a booming metropolis filled with entertainment avenues. It wasn't. But it was alive. Agriculture the primary source of revenue in the area was the key. Still present and probably stable for those who wish to continue in the industry, but what of others. The largest employer in the area could possibly be the SaveMart. What does that promise to the people that live there and try to survive this economic downturn that the President proudly states will probably decline farther before it rises from the ashes into what he wants to make it.
The people of the United States are a very complacent lot. As long as it doesn't affect them no one sees it. Worried about polar bears and starving children in Africa forgetting about the losses and struggling here in their own small towns.
I have been Struggling here in my own small town to build a business. A small business but a specialized business. Something very lucrative should I be able to pull it off. I send out post cards and put out my adds make phone calls. Still nothing. I am grateful for the income we have or I would be in the same place as many others. However this is not moving the way I expected it to when I started in 2008 just before the crash of the economy. Wondering if this is the life my God has placed upon me? I am concerned for my own existence, although I am concerned more for the existence of those I left behind in the town where I became who I am today.
This town taught me the benefit of hard work and showed me how to look outside the kingdom walls for something better. The places that I worked are no longer in business in that town. The buildings empty and in disrepair. The Vineyards replaced by empty housing units. The irrigation canals full with nothing to irrigate. The stores empty and boarded up. Some places still exist and run. But for how long.
Living in San Diego County we feel the same loss of small business. It is not as prevalent however it is ever present and growing. Corporations looking for another place to make their fortunes since the state of California is working hard at putting everyone out of business and the greed of the corporate wolves placing people out of work. Union lobbyists ruining our companies and building an empire through the government. This is a shame.
If it truly is the way of the world. We are in big trouble. I don't want anyone to pay my way I want to make my own way. And I will. But I wish most of all is that, the people of America find what is in themselves that made this the richest and strongest country in the world. What made us who we were and put us at the top of the heap? How did we get here and where do we want to be? Is the direction the government is taking us where we want to be? We need to care about our environment that is true, no one wants to live in a smoke cloud, but there are many other things that need attention. We need to fix the economy and pick the people up before we begin trying to fix other things. Our military constantly works at picking up the people of other nations while our government allows our own to fall. Maybe it's time we came home and picked up our own, and those who don't like it can go somewhere else. If you want your country to be like Europe, Africa ,Middle east, Amsterdam? Well, here's a thought, Get your passport, pack your bags and go, leave the best country in the world to those who want it and you go to your dream place. This is not Europe, this is not Russia and it's not the middle east this is America, THE Greatest Country on the planet and it is reserved for those who love life and wish to preserve what our forefathers fought for; life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This is not a place of Divine right to rule it is the country of freedom.
Good luck to the people of Merced County, and all of the residents of small towns throughout the United States, in peril; with strength, god and patience we will prevail.