Stumbling into misconceptions

The deliberate and wrongful articulation of our country’s construction of government belies everything taught to me. The foundation upon which we live and govern ourselves is not, as many on the Hill would lead you to believe, a democracy. In the strictest sense, we are a true and rich republic. For the sake of political hegemony, the Left has continued to charge that no we are indeed a democracy of, for, and by the people. Hogwash!

We are, ladies and gentlemen, a representative form of government. We always have been, from those sultry days in Philadelphia to the point at which my morning paper was delivered today. Inevitably, we continue to stumble around, falling into misconception and outright misrepresentation of this fact. So what? Who cares? I do. You should.

Before you begin prejudging this entry, let me concede that the following paragraphs take shots at both sides of the proverbial Aisle. All sides will have their share of love and war. What is more important is the preservation of our Union, the betterment of our way of life, and the continued operation of our republic form of government. In the hands of the people, our country will recede into misfortune and lawlessness. In the hands of a democracy, Robespierrean turmoil will ensue and a revolution like none we have seen will be our comeuppance. In the hands of Republicans, we are doomed to continue a cycle of greed/boom and greed/bust. Patience, oh Dems and Pubs, patience - you shall have your share!

Our way of life

What is “our way of life?” Let’s examine this. I start with history and work forward. Though the time of our forefathers were certainly not perfect in any country or at any time throughout the ages, there were standards of living, decorum, and discipline. There were certainly acts of duplicity and corruption that ensued in all the epochs before ours. But, I will assert, the people had a sense of duty, a commitment to valor, and a preservation of tradition and social custom. Recently, and not much different to prior inaugural addresses, President Obama spoke of “our way of life.” Mr. Obama has had a tremendous impact on the nation. His appreciation of the language, his dress, and his conduct in public has inspired many young men and women in our country. That is good. But our way of life – crime, abuse, corporate greed, and even presidential usurpations – have little left in them to be admired. We, I, curse like sailors. We put academics after the booster club and professional/collegiate sports affairs. Is this the way of life we seek? Okay, I’m on my high horse. I am not perfect. No one is perfect. But the goals we set should inspire us to a new way of life.

In terms of the republic versus democracy argument, what does this matter? There are a couple of things. First, the American people are not yet prepared, even after two hundred plus years, to self govern. We must be beholden to the elite, and sometimes corrupt, group of elected officials to help us navigate the waters of high stakes politics. However, life is not simply an activity that continues unchecked and misguided. Therefore, we must have limitations on those that govern – balanced budgets, term limits, and campaign finance, to name a few. Earmarks should be a thing of the past. Ultimately, the public informs its representatives of these limitations. Of course, good luck getting any of this passed. Remember, they’re criminals and thugs, all of them.

The Union will become more perfect if we set forth policies and practices which look at all of our ills logically and set about vetting each one based on need. I’m sure the states will have a field day with this. I can imagine there is a ranking or priorities of projects – bridges, levies, schools, etc. Based on the need of each local jurisdiction and in fact the level of deterioration of the asset should drive the need for funding. We must work hard to preserve our Union – its foundation, its roads, its schools and the like. However, we must do it critically, with an eye to frugality and indeed to better project prioritization and management.

As we continue to operate our republic, we must do so with a sense of obligation and duty. Every dollar should be accounted for at each turn. Every dollar, I say. This last round of stimulus was an absolute farce, as I’m sure many other spending attempts before it were also farcical. (Don’t kid yourselves, Republicans, there’s been just as much waste on your side of the aisle and just as much “redistribution”). I believe term limits and other limitations on the career-minded elected body will do much to curb this. Perhaps it will enhance the greed (“let me get as much as I can while I can” mentality). It will likely be a cold day in hell when such limitations past, but a boy can dream, right?

The congressional cartel, the cornerstone of our republic, is broken. Until we fix it, I can understand why so many want to utter the word democracy. Let the people rule! The saving grace is that right now there are only 538 idiots running the country. If the people were running it, we’d have millions of idiots. I hate to say it, but we’re doomed, doomed I say.

More to come…tonight even!