The elections are over, but the whining has just begun. Why this poor dead horse just cannot be left alone to rot in peace is beyond me. As usual, one side won, the other lost, and nothing changed. Nor will anything significantly change. The nature of the governmental beast is that it fears and avoids change. It can only be forced into action, and then only under the most extreme duress. Still, I have run into many people who believe that, because a few people signed a meaningless petition, or because a black man got elected president (again), or that because the GOP lost the country is somehow in mortal peril--that we are about to have another civil war, or even something akin to the Revolutionary War, or go so broke that the China will take us over in some kind of bloodless financial coup. Well, here's some good news: China bought some of our debts, not our real estate, so you can quit practicing with chopsticks. I can only assume that these other fantasies are born of vaguely remembered history lessons from elementary school. While I will admit that the Patriot Act does unpleasantly echo the Writs of Assistance (and in fact exceeds them in their scope) I see nothing else to link this period with that. The governing body is not forcing me to house soldiers in my home (as the Quartering Act did) or pay for another country's wars (like the Stamp Act did). The Coast Guard or Navy have never tried to impress me or or anyone I know into service (like the British used to do to the colonists and then American citizens after the revolution, up until the War of 1812). As a matter of fact, this nation doesn't even have a draft. I am even allowed a voice in the governing of my nation. My voice counts, just as yours does when you vote, whether or not you believe it.
And that idea needs to be addressed I think. The idea that a person's vote does not count is pure foolishness. The electoral college is the usual reason someone makes this statement. It was put into the Constitution by the founding fathers in order to
make a compromise between having a president elected by congress or
popular vote. This was done to ensure the president would work for the people, because he needed the support of the populace--otherwise he could completely ignore the citizenry and remain in office merely by currying favor with congress. I personally think that this process should be abandoned because it allows the possibility for a candidate to win the popular
vote and yet still lose the election--like we saw in 2000 with Bush and Gore. Since we now have the technology to count all of the votes nationwide as fast as they can come in, and we can also use that same technology to inform the public of the election results with the same speed. However, the electoral college is only involved in selecting a president, and the president does not make our laws. The congressmen (or congresswomen) and senators do, and they win their elections by winning the popular vote. They are the reason why we are fighting two wars, why have a gigantic deficit, why the rich don't pay their fair share of taxes, and why everything else that is screwed up is screwed up. The president is not--cannot possibly be--at fault for the lapses and poor decisions made by our other elected officials. In other words, he just does not have the power to be that big of a fuckup. The kind of trouble our nation is in now cannot be engineered by an individual--it takes the concerted efforts of a large groups of incompetents to manage that feat. And the reason those incompetents are in charge is because we--everyone who voted--put them there. Their screw-ups would not be possible without your willing assistance.
Lastly, if you would like to sign a petition, how about one for something realistic and beneficial, like one to make a law that limits the terms of anyone in the house or senate to two or three terms? That would get rid of the career politicians who only serve the interest of whoever pays them the largest campaign donations.
Damn. I used common sense again. Sorry. My family and friends are trying to stop me, but I can smell an intervention a mile away--they'll never catch me.
I want a Constitutional Amendment that say the .gov cannot tax above 10% of income except in time of a declared war. I want a Constitutional Amendment that says the .gov cannot spend more than it takes in.
ReplyDeleteThe rich are paying way more than their fair share. But it makes no difference. Until we cut spending, we will continue to build the debt. If you don't think this going to lead to really bad things eventually, you have not been paying attention to history.
All that money we owe China? Sooner or later they will collect. They keep lending us more because for now it's serves their interests to do so, not because they love us and want us to be happy.
I would personally love a flat tax. I would vote for your amendments you want in an instant if I ever saw them on a ballot. I would love to cut all foreign aid and spend that money fixing things here at home. But what I would really like to have government officials who were smart enough to spend intelligently in the first place. Too bad we didn't vote any of those into office--which means that the problems we have now are as much the fault of the citizens as they are elected officials. Just because we have problems--no matter how great their scope (and ours are ridiculously huge)--is no reason to jump ship. The middle of the shitstorm is the worst place to panic. I am aware that China bears us little good will--but how much easier a target would we be if we deliberately dismantled our nation for them? I think that they will eventually disintegrate like the old USSR did, and wish that we could get a handle on our own problems so that they could become a non-issue. I would take either solution, but have little hope for both. But I will not flee this country or abandon it no matter how bad things look.
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