To start this blog, I am going to post a link to a fascinating video regarding historical and modern forms of government and a basic description of each..............
http://www.wimp.com/thegovernment/
After seeing the video, calling myself a Constitutional Moderate will now make more sense. I have always registered Independent, as I did not want to pin myself to any one political party, believing that a chosen delegate from either side may be the best choice at the time of a particular election. I truly believe that what started as a way to provide further checks and balances within the political structure has now become a system of chokes and blocks. With few exceptions, the true concept of bi-partisanship does not exist, as it is almost always deemed a betrayal of one's party to support a person or a policy of someone from the other side. Ultimately, what we have become is a nation divided, with two sides vying for complete control at any given time. Essentially, you could argue that we have become a Dual Oligarchy. How can we correct this political paralyzation that has left us void of a moral or ethical compass? I'm glad you asked.
Step 1 in the renewal process - EDUCATE
To renew our government and our nation, we must first understand how far we have strayed from the Republic that was founded by our Founding Fathers. The government was formed to serve the people, to enforce and uphold the Law, as set forth by our Constitution. But whose job is it to ensure that our elected leaders are doing exactly that? The answer is simple, it is you and I. From local and state officials all the way to the president, we have a responsibility, not simply a right, to participate in monitoring the decisions that are made "on our behalf". This has not always been easy, as local papers and other media outlets almost never cover votes taking place by our elected leaders, bills and laws being proposed, and the actual performance of each of "our representatives". Today, however, the only excuse for not following what your local, state, or federal officials are voting on (or if they even show up for votes) is apathy. Each state and municipality has a website and information about legislation and voting records. It always amazes me when elections come around, and positions like superior court judges or corporation commissioners, and people either make random picks, partisan picks, or no picks at all. There are websites that score judges based on various criteria, and sites that highlight activities of all government agencies. In this country, more thought is put into who is voted for on American Idol than who leads our country. There is something inherently wrong with that.
Step 2 in the renewal process - EMPOWER
Now that we have learned what our leaders are up to, we have to decide if they should keep their jobs or if we need new leaders. To do this, we must vote. This link shows you the percentage of "eligible voters" who participated in major elections since 1960.........
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html
You can see that the biggest voter turnouts occur in presidential elections. And by "bigger", you can see we mean somewhere right around 55% of eligible voters. In 2008, this means almost 100,000,000 people did not vote in a year that had the largest percentage of voters going to the polls since 1968. In fact, in 2006, only 62% of "eligible voters" were even registered to vote, and only 60% of those who were registered voted. This meant 37% of all eligible voters chose the people who led our nation into one of the worst economic situations since the late 1930's. With the ease of early ballots, absentee ballots and better access to polling places, voting takes less time than filling your tank with gas in many cases. We can do better, and we must.
Step 3 in the renewal process - ENGAGE
Finally, once we have a nation that is following the issues, voting and letting our voices be heard in resounding fashion and keeping on top of our elected officials, we can begin to focus on returning our government to the Republic it was designed to be. I believe the 2 party power system has to be broken, something that cannot be done without the first 2 steps. Right now, money controls who is elected far too often, mostly because of the absence of Education and Empowerment. He or she who runs the most ads, posts the most signs and is seen the most often wins, regardless of their ability, or, more importantly, their intentions. Once the people of this country become the largest political influence in this country, we can begin to promote people who share our vision of a return to a Republic, regardless of their party. Easy enough right? Probably not. It is going to take each of us influencing our own personal circle, helping to carry the mantra of EDUCATE, EMPOWER, and ENGAGE.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Ignorance Isn't Always Bliss
Driving home from work today, I saw something that made me realize the depths of the battle we have in front of us to convert from griping to renewing. A man, maybe in his 40's or 50's was driving a mazda truck from maybe the 80's. As I approached this truck, I noticed a bumper sticker that read "IMPEACH OBAMA". After my initial chuckle and proverbial head shake, I was taken by the fact that he probably meant it. So I started asking myself why, about 70 days into his administration, this gentleman (?) would be calling for his impeachment.
Could it be because he is black? I remember following the exit poll results during the primaries and being hit by the realities that 20% of the people polled on average, nationwide, felt that a person's race was an important factor in determining their ability to be president. That is 1 in 5 folks, and that to me was amazing. It is important to note that the same number felt that gender was also an important factor. But could this guy have a bumper sticker on his truck implying that he would like to see our country go through an impeachment process, after all we have gone through in recent years, simply because he is a racist? It is, unfortunately, a possibility.
Could it be because he is a Republican? Already since the election, we have seen the Republican Party align itself, for the most part, as a true opposition party. Add to it Rush Limbaugh's "hopes" that President Obama fails, in what ever form you want to believe he said it, RNC Chairman Michael Steele's "interesting" beginning as a party leader, and Republican Legislators looking for any way to spin the time tested "tax and spend" label as the single greatest threat to our economy, and maybe this guy is just aligning himself with his political party. Maybe he is positioning himself to be the next "Joe the _______________", looking for his 15 minutes of fame.
I wondered if he had specific allegations that accompanied his request. Abuse of Authority? Violating the oath to uphold and defend the Constitution? War crimes? 70 days in, I'm sure President Obama has been exposed to all of these things, and somewhere there is a right wing blogger spinning how our current President is responsible for any and all of these crimes. I have already heard the war in Afghanistan/Pakistan referred to as "Obama's War". Spin is such a beautiful thing.
Most of all, I guess I just wondered if he truly understood any of the issues that currently face our country, and how we got there, both right and left, Republican and Democrat. As a Constitutional Moderate, I believe that any position outside of center poses the potential for problems. It is time we return our Nation to one that is ruled by Law, as our Founding Fathers established. While I believe the Constitution is a living document, shaping it's laws through interpretation to suit our greed or inability to be accountable to anyone or anything is unacceptable.
To truly see the American Renewal I believe we need, the first thing that must go is ignorance, specifically deliberate ignorance. Those who simply don't know can be taught, but those who choose not to know, yet spew hatred and divisiveness in the name of unfounded ideology are a cancer to our fundamental success. Race, religion, appearance, social status, political party, professional position and any other superficial means by which we view each other are just a series of barriers preventing us from forming our "more perfect union". Without a fundamental change in how we deal with each other, we can expect no better from our leaders, as they have been plucked from us and tabbed to lead, shortly before we begin hurling stones at them because they have accepted that role.
Now where is that "IMPEACH IGNORANCE" sticker I was looking for...........................
Could it be because he is black? I remember following the exit poll results during the primaries and being hit by the realities that 20% of the people polled on average, nationwide, felt that a person's race was an important factor in determining their ability to be president. That is 1 in 5 folks, and that to me was amazing. It is important to note that the same number felt that gender was also an important factor. But could this guy have a bumper sticker on his truck implying that he would like to see our country go through an impeachment process, after all we have gone through in recent years, simply because he is a racist? It is, unfortunately, a possibility.
Could it be because he is a Republican? Already since the election, we have seen the Republican Party align itself, for the most part, as a true opposition party. Add to it Rush Limbaugh's "hopes" that President Obama fails, in what ever form you want to believe he said it, RNC Chairman Michael Steele's "interesting" beginning as a party leader, and Republican Legislators looking for any way to spin the time tested "tax and spend" label as the single greatest threat to our economy, and maybe this guy is just aligning himself with his political party. Maybe he is positioning himself to be the next "Joe the _______________", looking for his 15 minutes of fame.
I wondered if he had specific allegations that accompanied his request. Abuse of Authority? Violating the oath to uphold and defend the Constitution? War crimes? 70 days in, I'm sure President Obama has been exposed to all of these things, and somewhere there is a right wing blogger spinning how our current President is responsible for any and all of these crimes. I have already heard the war in Afghanistan/Pakistan referred to as "Obama's War". Spin is such a beautiful thing.
Most of all, I guess I just wondered if he truly understood any of the issues that currently face our country, and how we got there, both right and left, Republican and Democrat. As a Constitutional Moderate, I believe that any position outside of center poses the potential for problems. It is time we return our Nation to one that is ruled by Law, as our Founding Fathers established. While I believe the Constitution is a living document, shaping it's laws through interpretation to suit our greed or inability to be accountable to anyone or anything is unacceptable.
To truly see the American Renewal I believe we need, the first thing that must go is ignorance, specifically deliberate ignorance. Those who simply don't know can be taught, but those who choose not to know, yet spew hatred and divisiveness in the name of unfounded ideology are a cancer to our fundamental success. Race, religion, appearance, social status, political party, professional position and any other superficial means by which we view each other are just a series of barriers preventing us from forming our "more perfect union". Without a fundamental change in how we deal with each other, we can expect no better from our leaders, as they have been plucked from us and tabbed to lead, shortly before we begin hurling stones at them because they have accepted that role.
Now where is that "IMPEACH IGNORANCE" sticker I was looking for...........................
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