I miss the 80s. I miss feeling good about my country. I’m still proud to be American, I still proudly fly my flag, but I’m one of the few. As I see these kids protesting in Downtown Minneapolis, and across the country, I wonder what makes them proud. Most of the people who are occupying Wall Street, or any of the other financial districts around the country, are too young to remember these speeches by Ronald Reagan. And that’s a shame. I may not agree with all of Reagan’s ideals but when I was a teen with full on big hair, bandanna around my ankle and shoulder pads to shame a linebacker I looked forward to Reagan’s speeches because they always made me feel so proud to be an American.

There is a change coming and I think it is for the good. People are waking up. People are realizing that if they want to have greatness they must accept risk and, more importantly, accept responsibility.

Something is happening, you can feel it in the air. I’m hoping we go back to being Americans. Not Republicans, not Democrats, just Americans.