American What?

By Ashley Gill

OCPA Special Projects Coordinator

For the most part, as children we thought that the United States was the “best country” in the world. We stood up in class and recited the Pledge of Allegiance or memorized the words to The Star Spangled Banner with pride. Though we might not have understood the term “American exceptionalism,” we believed in it. 

Has our sense of pride and patriotism since been lost? The polls confirm that the Millennial generation is the least likely to say that the United States is the best country in the world. This loss of perspective is immanent when even our Commander in Chief claims that this great country has “gotten a little soft” and lost its “competitive edge.”  

Perhaps we have simply forgotten and neglected what truly makes America exceptional. The self-evident truth that all men are created equal and are given equal opportunity to succeed is what sets the United States apart from even its strongest allies. Freedom and personal responsibility are the traditional values that historically, have allowed any American to climb the ladder of success. 

Regrettably, the caustic policies of those who forgo such traditional values have empowered Washington at the expense of the people. Officials who are happy to add fuel to the entitlement fire strangle our economy. Equality of results, rather than equality of opportunity, is promoting favoritism. Personal responsibility has become a foreign concept to far too many Millennials. 

Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said this to his audience at the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs’ 2011 Citizenship Dinner: 

“All of the problems that we face can be turned around, but it should anger us that we are even having a conversation about America’s decline. Given our history and dynamic nature, we can turn this around.”

If we are to save what freedom we have left and regain the liberties that have been lost, we must remember the constitutional principles that both define and unite us as Americans. Let’s once again embrace American exceptionalism with the alacrity of our youth.

Brand New State. Gonna Treat You Great!

By Brian Bush

1787 Society Treasurer

To achieve lasting success, leaders must commit to two things simultaneously.  First, they must hold fast to their core values and the principles that ground and guide them.  Second, they must never stop dreaming.  This formula requires finding balance, and it requires dedication.  It is a key ingredient for success in leadership, in business, and in any organization.  And I believe Oklahoma is proof that the same formula is critical to the success of a state.  What makes Oklahoma the best place to live, work, and raise a family today is the same thing that made it a destination for so many pioneers in the days before statehood.  What made those brave men and women come here were their core values and a passion to chase their dreams against all odds.

We celebrate November 16 as Statehood Day and many know that we officially became a state on that day in 1907, but none of that would have been possible without the tireless efforts of people working for years prior.  In fact, a significant statement of who we are came from the Resolutions of the Joint Statehood Convention assembled at Oklahoma City, OK, July 12, 1905.  They outlined to the United States Congress the reasons Oklahoma should be admitted as a state “on equal footing with the other states.”  In that document, those Oklahoma leaders gave these reasons:

1.     “First, our area is sufficient.”  (Our geographic size in relation to other states.)

2.     “Second, our population is sufficient.”  (Our population size in relation to other states.)

3.     “Third, our resources are sufficient.”  (Our incredible natural resources including our coal mines, our “extensive oil fields,” our productive natural gas wells, our “mountains of granite,” our lead, our zinc, our forests, and our fertile farm land.)

4.     “The character of our population entitles us to immediate admission.” (In this section, they discussed the literacy of our citizens, and they focused on the fact that our population contained those “who have the pluck and energy to move.”)

One could not write a more fitting description of our state today, and in this description is the key to why Oklahoma is still the best place to live, work, and raise a family.  Our area is still sufficient.  Our population is still sufficient (and growing).  Our resources are still sufficient, and new technology has allowed us to utilize those resources in ways never before imagined.  But most importantly, the character of our population continues to be the standard by which others measure success.

Though we have been tested by natural disasters, economic hardship, and the tragedy of the Oklahoma City bombing, our people have not wavered.  The same frontier spirit that allowed our ancestors to carve a life for themselves out of this territory and the same spirit that allowed them to unabashedly declare to Congress that we were sufficient for equal footing is the same spirit that carries us today.  It allows us to be united and strengthened by our adversity rather than divided by it.  It is that spirit that builds the Devon Tower, puts an NBA team in the Chesapeake Arena, and builds an economy more stable and resilient than that of most of America and the world. 

The prevailing spirit in our state has held on to our core values and never stopped dreaming.  Our core values are grounded in our faith, and so are our dreams.  It is sometimes hard to describe a spirit like that, but there are two notable attempts.  In the preamble to our State Constitution, we said it this way:  Invoking the guidance of Almighty God, in order to secure and perpetuate the blessing of liberty; to secure just and rightful government; to promote our mutual welfare and happiness, we, the people of the State of Oklahoma, do ordain and establish this Constitution.  In our state song, we say it this way: Plenty of air and plenty of room.   Plenty of room to swing a rope.  Plenty of HEART and plenty of HOPE.

Wrong Road

By Jaeton Cary

OCPA Intern

Occupy Wall Street is a movement that we can all sympathize with from the standpoint that something is wrong with our country. Even House Speaker John Boehner said that he "understand(s) the people's frustrations." However, where many people diverge from “OWS” is over where the blame should go. They say corporate America; the other side says Congress and the White House. This is where the OWS argument breaks down. They blame big business and the “1%” for being “greedy” and not “doing their fair share.” They blame the system of Capitalism and Wall Street while they accept support in multiple forms from the very “1%” they are protesting against.

Even House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a supporter of the movement, blames Washington for the source of the protesters’ frustrations. "The thought was that when we did that [passed TARP], there would be capital available and Main Street would benefit from the resources that went largely to Wall Street," said Pelosi. "That didn't happen. People are angry." Pelosi is right. It’s Washington that sets the rules for the game that Wall Street and the private sector have to play by. The best example of this is the housing crisis in 2008, a result of Congress forcing the banks to lend money to “risky” individuals. Occupiers complain about the bailouts and bonuses handed out to Wall Street, but it was the Federal Government that gave them out. It is big government, not big business that is damaging this country.

One of the staple points of emphasis for Occupy Wall Street is that “big business” is bad and the “1%” is evil. However upon taking a closer look, Occupy Wall Street is really benefiting from big businesses, and big business is benefiting from Occupy Wall Street. The best example of this is Ben & Jerry’s. They fed 600 Occupy protesters on October 11^th of this year. Of course the protesters embraced the support. However, it begs the questions, why was Ben and Jerry’s so willing, in this time of economic hardship, to give 600 people free ice cream? Is it simply out of the goodness of their heart? Or was the marketing opportunity provided by the protest just too sweet to pass up? Let’s look at a quote from Tom Zara, the Global Practice Leader of Corporate Citizenship at Interbrand. “Ben & Jerry's is about celebrating individuality, self expression, and the political process in its good, bad, and ugly forms...It's very much in its DNA to participate in what is a modern version of Woodstock.” So, by embracing this movement, Ben & Jerry’s enhances its brand. When Occupy Wall Street protesters praise Ben & Jerry’s for their “support” they are helping Ben & Jerry’s turn “endorsements of protests…into profit.” As a capitalist, I have no problem with what Ben & Jerry’s is doing. I am simply pointing out the hypocrisy in the Occupy argument.

Occupy Wall Street represents people who are upset with the current condition of this country but who isn’t upset? Their credibility is lost for me, when they fail to see that the very clothes on their backs and the shoes they wear on their feet were made by a big business. While the Occupy Wall Street protestors have a valid complaint, they are going down the wrong road. They should be marching down Pennsylvania Avenue, not Wall Street.