Legal Americans have been passive for too long...
   It's time for the 'silent majority' to speak up
   By Murray Montgomery
   
    I hate to seem like an alarmist, but I am more than a little upset with some of the things that have been going on in America these days.

Perhaps I spend too much time watching the news on television and the Internet; it seems that everything you see and hear from the mainstream media is negative.

Politicians, from the top down, have done and continue to do some mighty disappointing things.

And I feel that patriotism among some of our citizens is slowly slipping away and lately, the "silent majority" has been way too silent. Look around, how many American flags are flying in your neighborhood? Are you flying the Stars and Stripes?

After the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, the American people seemed to bond together for the common cause of defeating a cowardly enemy. Republicans, Democrats, conservatives and liberals alike stood together and it seemed that patriotism flourished.

But now, a short six years later, the politicians are at one another's throats; they spend more time in their petty war of words - trying to "get something" on their opponents - than they do running the critical affairs of this country.

It is amazing how we let a few people overturn our traditions and upset our entire way of life.

One example is the city of Oak Grove, Illinois. Recently, because of protests by one Muslim woman, the town decided to do away with Halloween and Christmas. It seems these traditional American holidays "offended" her. So because of one person, everyone else had to suffer.

I am happy to report that this didn't last very long because the other folks in the community were outraged and let their feelings be known, now the holidays will be observed after all. But just the thought that a town would even consider cancelling long-standing traditions because of one individual is appalling.

 Many of our leaders are so concerned about being "politically correct" that they've abandoned the people they are supposed to represent.

Recently, there was an incident in Oakland, California, where the people running the Oakland Airport would not let U.S. Marines, returning from Iraq, mix with the other passengers. Fact is, instead of being welcomed in the terminal the 200 Marines were restricted to an area where cargo is stored.

Airport authorities have since apologized and said it was caused by "a big miscommunication over security screening and bureaucratic rules." But given the Bay Area's past record of not supporting our troops, patriotic Americans in this country should be screaming their heads off over this one; it brings back sad memories of the disgraceful way our soldiers returning from Vietnam were treated.

Another thing that really has me concerned is the practically nonexistence of security on our borders, especially the boundary with Mexico. After 9/11 any other country would have completely sealed its borders, but not the good old United States. The reasons being that our politicians were afraid to upset the Mexican government. The same government that maintains 47 consulates in this country and continues to meddle in our affairs.

The southern border is so porous that drug smugglers, human traffickers, and would-be terrorists travel through our area here in South-Central Texas on a regular basis. I don't know about you, but that worries me a lot and it angers me that our president and congress continue to ignore this extremely volatile situation.

It's important that the American people wake up, and soon. We have millions of undocumented people from foreign countries living here and for security's sake; they need to be identified and accounted for. Some of these people totally ignore our laws and treat our flag with disrespect.

The United States is a melting pot, made up of all races of people and that's what makes this country great. Each unique culture has something to offer, but we are at war and it is way too easy for our enemies to come here.

Our borders must be secured for the sake of all our citizens.

Americans, of all races, need to stand together, be observant, fly the flag, and refuse to let anyone jeopardize our security, or try to change our traditions and way of life simply because they might be offended.