How this book is unique: it is written in response to a 39-line negative satire song composed by the author, Roger Himes.
The purpose of the book is to transpose each negative line of the song into positive thoughts, ideas, challenges, and goals.
Reading the lines of the song creates images in your mind.
The song was written and directed at AMERICA. This is where I live. But the song and book are for everyone everywhere.
PLEASE NOTE: The cover shows a burning American flag. We did not burn a flag. It was a picture of the flag burned.
This online book has been re-written from the original printed edition in the 1980s which sold a lot of copies. The original edition was endorsed by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Charlie (Life is Tremendous) Jones.
Excerpt:
Land of Pride and Plenty
Most of us have so much, but life isn’t defined by having bigger barns, more toys, and treasures on earth. The man who built a bigger barn to keep all his stuff was called a ‘fool’ by Jesus. Life is defined by the heart, and what occupies it. Life must be defined by what is deeply important to us. Life is a temporary assignment. We don’t live forever. But our souls do live forever.
Defining life in terms of having plenty is pride. Pride is one of ‘the seven deadly sins which are: (1) pride, (2) lust, (3) laziness, (4) anger, (5) gluttony, (6) envy and (7) greed. These are attitudes and emotions that run our lives if we let them. We are meant to rule over them.
We Were All Created Equal
No, we are not equal in all ways, and sometimes not in
many ways. But we are equal, at least in the western world,
when it comes to things like opportunities and choices.
This is what the United States was based on, but things
haven’t always been equal here, and still aren’t in many ways.
We were established on the basis of “One Nation Under God,”
and “In God We Trust.”
The concept of ‘manifest destiny’ was all about God and us having religious freedom.
But during the 1800s, this was changed to:
(1) subduing the Native American Indians,
(2) keeping the Black man enslaved to the White man,
(3) keeping women subservient to men and not allowing them to vote.
In the United States, we have the greatest Constitution ever created, and it is used as a model by other free nations. Yet, it has largely been put into ‘dry-dock’ the past 100 years, and we’re in danger of losing it totally. It’s true that children used to know our Constitution better than most lawyers do today.
We Have Less to Work with Today
The best example here is our educational system. It started going downhill about 1900, and by 1950-1960 it was totally unrecognizable from what it used to be. Our system used to emphasize four very important things:
(1) THE FAMILY was directly involved and responsible in their kids’ education.
(2) ABC’s were highly taught good ways: reading, writing and arithmetic.
(3) MORAL VALUES were taught (they later became the Boy Scout creed).
(4) HOW TO SUCCEED in our capitalistic free enterprise system was taught.
Today, reports say all that is left are the ‘ABC’s,’ and they are taught very inadequately. The family is usually uninvolved, and there is no depth anymore. Graduating seniors lack some of the basic skills to survive and succeed. Our corporations say they must often re-educate the people they hire.
This Is Not Just a Dumping Session
My point here is not just to complain about things. Instead, it is to make the point that we must protect what we have, or it is going to evaporate and cease to exist. It is said, “The worst thing is for good people to do nothing.”
We Are Here To Help and Serve Each Other
One of my mentors was John Denver.
In college, I played guitar and sang with John for a short period of time. He was one of the most insightful men I’d ever met. He had a worldview that was contagious and very unique. You never just talked about ‘stuff’ with John, but about things that were meaningful, and could maybe make a difference. He knew his music was going to make world-wide impact. He sure succeeded.
