A Letter of Hope and Fear for My Grandchildren.

My dear grandchildren:

Having recently finished my autobiography, where I have attempted to document for you a life story of one man’s journey to attain the American Dream, my thoughts have turned to wondering if what I have detailed is possibly the last of the available dreams.

I shudder to think that all that was accessible for me will not be available to you.

Will the America our forefathers fought for, and dedicated their lives to, be a relic of a time long ago and far away? Will the intellectual genius which conceived this most remarkable system of government be cast aside for a concept of authority designed to constrict our freedoms, restrain our economic engine and reduce our creative entrepreneurial instincts to satisfy the lowest common denominator?

Or will we continue to grow, mature and expand the appreciation for what made our country the envy of the world and the magnet for all those who dream of living a life limited only by one’s own work ethic?

On the occasion of this writing, your ages range from 3 to 13 years, and it will be some time before you will read my words. Should we the people prevail, and our founding documents not be ravaged by today’s political assault on the rights and freedoms we have come to depend on, this letter may be simply an exercise of forewarning. I pray that is the case. If it is not, however, know that there was a time, in this country, when anyone could aspire to whatever they desired and was limited only by his or her own ability, work ethic and ambition.

Your parents and grandparents are worthy examples.

On June 21, 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into effect. As I write this, our country is in its 221st year of the world’s greatest and most successful experiment with a republic democracy.

It is my opinion that many of us have taken our Constitution and its accompanying Bill of Rights for granted and we have done so at your peril. I am very concerned that you, my grandchildren, will be denied your God-given, unalienable rights guaranteed by these sacred documents that have defined life in our beloved United States of America.

In 2008, we experienced an historic presidential election and our voters chose the first African American president. The election was controversial and confrontational from the very beginning of the new administration. The promised reduction of racial divisiveness has yet to be realized. It may very well have increased.

Our population is becoming more polarized than ever before experienced in my lifetime. And the reason for this? Our president is an avowed socialist, aggressively promoting a progressive agenda. With political jurisdiction of both Houses of Congress and the total control of a willing and compliant mainstream media, he seems unstoppable.

After reading, studying and with due consideration of our current president’s early formative years, cultural background, lack of military or business exposure, his association with radical extremists, his penchant for controlling instead of governing, I believe he is not one of us – he is not an American partisan or patriot.

In less than two years, President Barack Obama has systematically violated our Constitution and ignored the Bill of Rights. Government spending and economic bailouts, with their ensuing government controls over seemingly every aspect of our personal life, has caused our national debt to skyrocket to unmanageable proportions and, if continued, will bring the world’s greatest economy to its knees. These government mandates have been initiated and put in place largely without voter approval and, in reality, against large majorities of the electorate.

A growing number of our responsible citizens are beginning to believe that this is being done on purpose. Why? In the opinion of many, including me, to convince the American people that big government is the only way to save us from economic and social anarchy. Ultimately, the goal appears to be a United States governed by a European global socialistic system with the wealth of the nation redistributed to the citizens in a more equal proportion with little emphasis on equality of opportunity and an imposed priority placed on diversity.

The greatness of the United States was not built on its diversity but by guaranteeing the personal liberty granted by our Creator and by establishing a public marketplace animated by equal opportunity to have your success forged by your own initiative, skills, education and work ethic. It is my fear this opportunity will be, at best diminished, or at worst, forbidden to you; denied to you by a governmental nanny state, ostensibly to cater to your every need, but in reality guaranteeing your vote for the ruling class.

It seems as if we have, in these times, a bewildering and excessive number of situations that are intentionally being mishandled, misunderstood, inappropriately funded and politically manipulated by our president and his administration. This blatant and purposeful irresponsibility is resulting in the circumventing of our constitutional-imposed checks and balances, a growing federal government control, the minimizing of our states rights and sovereignty, a firm refusal to adequately manage our illegal immigration with the hope for political gain and the redistribution of our wealth to support an unwanted version of national health care.

This is all coupled with the promise of a litany of tax increases, unneeded and unwanted corporate bailouts to justify the government take-over of key businesses and economic institutions and the disregard of transparency and accountability on the part of our exhausting expansion of government bureaucracy approaching autocracy.

My dear grandchildren, this is what concerns me. If this comes to fruition, know that it was not always this way. Do something about it — for the sake of your children.

God loves you

— Poppy

Kane is retired from the presidency of an international data communications company and a 27-year, fulltime resident of Naples. He has five grandchildren.