The America I Knew
I grew up in a small suburban town just north of Milwaukee, WI in the 1970's and 1980's. My parents were middle-class hard working folks who always provided a safe and loving home for my brother and myself. It was, by most standards, your typical small town with a McDonald's and a Ben Franklin store and several churches of varying denominations. The elementary and middle school were just a block up the street from our first house and the baseball field and basketball courts were easily accessible for kids like myself to play all day long in the summer. So what is the America I knew? The America I knew was a place where a kid could hope and dream the biggest dreams, and if he put his heart and mind to it, could achieve them and more. It was a place where neighbors knew one another and helped out in times of need. It was a place where families ate dinner together around the kitchen table and talked about their days. It was a place where families gathered at church on Sun...