Taking Back Our Country?

Ok, did I miss something? People are rallying across the nation with calls to "take back our country." Exactly who do we need to take our country back from?

Were we invaded by a foreign power and nobody told me? Were we conquered by a roving band of barbarians and I missed it? Did we become a colony of another world power and I am just unaware? Obviously not, since I think Iraq and Afghanistan would take a back seat to a foreign invasion of United States soil.

So did we have an insurrection within our borders that transferred power to a king or dictator? Are we living under martial law? Have we come under the control of aliens from outer space?

As far as I can tell, we still have our sovereignty and enjoy the same rights and privileges that we have for the last 223 years. The Constitution IS still in effect. We STILL have freedom of speech, religion and assembly. We are STILL protected against unreasonable searches and seizures and arbitrary law enforcement. We STILL have the right to own personal weapons. We STILL have the right to vote in local and national elections. We STILL have the right to live and work where we choose. We STILL have the right to travel freely throughout our country. We STILL have the right to raise our children with our values. There hasn't been one Constitutional amendment or principle repealed since prohibition was repealed.

We STILL have a vibrant press that allows the expression of political ideas covering the entire spectrum. We STILL have a peaceful transition of government as political leadership moves fluidly from one party to the other through the years. We are STILL a nation operating under the rule of law. We are STILL the one nation that immigrants from around the world most want to come to. Current hardships not withstanding, we are STILL a prosperous and affluent nation.

So just exactly what is that needs to be taken back? Is it a longing for the good old days? Do we want to take back the years and rollback to the days when racism was prevalent and in fact restricted the rights of large groups of people? Do we want to go back to the pre-World War I era when women often weren't even considered citizens, but rather property? Do we want to take back the safety net that has been created to help the most needy and vulnerable portions of our population? Do we want to take back the advances in education that changed a system that often denied a reasonable education to many minorities? Do we want to take back the advances that have reduced the ability of business owners treating employees in unfair and capricious manner? Do we want to take back our welcoming nature and stop accepting immigrants from other countries...especially those that don't look like us? Do we want to take back our civility and return to the frontier days when often times the law was made by he who had the quickest draw? Do we want to take it ALL back and return to a long gone time when any mob with the greater strength and weaponry could seize the government?

Honestly, I find this whole idea ridiculous. Our country operates under the same principles as it always has. Certainly it's facade may look different from year to year, generation to generation, but the core remains the same. Throughout our history there have been movements of people wanting to "take back our country" or "return to the America I grew up with" or a variety of other similar phrases. They have always sprung up from discontent among groups of people who were upset that there ideas had fallen out of favor or failed to garner sufficient support to dictate social and political policy. Fortunately, for them, they live in a nation where it is STILL acceptable to voice that dissatisfaction and to believe that somehow our government has been hijacked by those who would prevent the very discourse taking place in the public square today!