Hope springs eternal in the human breast. Alexander Pope

While I recently said that America is bound together by the throes of economic crisis, we are also held together by the affinity of hope we share in our country.

Forget the negativity fostered by the talking heads and editorial pages of the media.

Forget the naysayers engaged in political posturing in the halls of Albany and Washington, D.C.

American hope transcends barriers of race, religion and economic disparity.

Our hope is the one weapon in our arsenal that no treaty can regulate, that no terrorist can destroy and that perseveres despite all odds.

Yet, while hope springs eternal, it must be summoned. Government cannot call hope to arms. We must look within ourselves, we must reach out to our neighbor and we must call forth our collective hope and optimism in our future.

Only then will the rising seas of the economic crisis subside.

Only then will the warm morning sun rise on the faces of the men and women fighting for our freedom overseas.

Only then will we be joined together without regard to the color of our skin or the god we choose to worship.

Only then can we lay claim to the greatness that is America.

Where has all the accountability gone?
Long time passing
Where has all the accountability gone?
Long time ago
Where has all the accountability gone?
Gone to graveyards every one
When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?

The Wall Street Journal said Sunday that government-appointed AIG boss Edward Liddy was paying 450 million dollars to executives at a London-based financial products division blamed for the insurer's fall from grace.

What?

JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America recently approached the NBA to say $150 million of stimulus money might be available, a figure that eventually grew to $200 million.

What?

America is finally united. Its bond is not based on idealogy, the blending of the red and blue states, or a univeral magic ethos.

Our country is being held together together by the glue of economic crisis.

No injection of money will solve the crisis.

No redistribution of wealth will solve the crisis.

Change is the only tool we have that will make a difference. We need to realign our priorities in life, do more with less, demand real value from our investments and demand accountability from our politicians, our business leaders and those sheparding our investments.

Some businesses deserve to fail.

The unalienable rights enumerated and etched in the stone ink of the Declaration do not include the right to success. We have no right to a luxurious home, exotic vacations or teak yachts. The businesses that sell bad products, lend money to unworthy debtors or made promises that the market can't bear must be permitted to fail.

Government and our nation's economy must not be used as tools to reward the incompetent, the greedy and the profiteers of bad judgment.

We, as Americans, must be ready to appreciate that our country's wealth lies not in its excess, but in the pillars of freedom guaranteed by our Constitution.

While we have the unfettered right to pursue happiness, to pursue success and to pursue a lifestyle, we are not guaranteed that we can succeed.

America's strength is opportunity at the starting gate, not a guaranteed crossing of the finish line.

As we must be held accountable for the consequences of our decisions, we must also hold those in charge accountable for theirs.

Enough is enough.

It is time, once again, for the Sons of Liberty to head, in metaphor, to Griffin's Wharf.

It is time for all of us to demand the accountability from our governmental and business leaders that we, as citizens, pay every day, in cash, in blood, sweat, tears and worry, without ever being asked.

Without that, this crisis shall never end.