Is American Ingenuity Dying?

My Fellow Americans,

I want to talk to you today about the ingenuity and innovation in this country. I can't help but feel that we are distancing ourselves further and further from what made this country great.  We have lost focus on the fundamental truths upon which this country was founded.

Do you understand what I'm talking about? Are we being more independent and self sufficient or are we a nation of "needy" people? I fear we have become the latter -- and it's getting worse.

We expect everything to be done for us. We expect the government to take care of our health care, our finances, our schooling, our safety, and our families. When did all of that stop being the responsibility of the individual?

The founding fathers would roll over in their graves if they saw Americans today. We expect our government and other countries to provide for us -- the greatest nation on earth -- EVER.

What does that say about who we are and where we are going?

On Jan. 5, Glenn Beck had Trevor Milton (photo: PRWeb.com) as a guest on his radio program. Milton, 27, is the founder of UPillar.com, which is, as Beck put it, "the best of E-bay and the best of Craig's List."

Per the company's website, UPillar.com is "the easiest, most effective, and most cost-effective place to buy and sell items online."  Their mission is to "[eliminate] the aggravation, time and expense our users have experienced on other established auction and electronic-classified sites."

What makes Milton a true American isn't the fact that he started a company (or a few companies -- he actually is dubbed a "serial entrepreneur" on UPillar's website).  What makes him a true American is WHY he started companies.

He explained on Beck's show that his mother died of cancer.  His family was in dire straights.  They moved in with other family members as his father had only $300 in his savings account.

He started these companies to save his family and provide for them and himself.  He didn't have any other opportunity before him.

Trevor Milton is a true American.  He is an example of what we all should strive to be: self-sufficient and creative in the wake of a great disaster.

Milton stood up.  Milton took action.  Today, he's a success because of that fact.  We need more people like him to do the same.

To paraphrase something Milton said, we need to encourage people not discourage them.  We need to encourage other people to be innovative -- to find solutions to our most fundamental human problems.

More government is not the answer.  More good old American spirit and drive will get it done.