by JJC & JJC
Happy
New Year!
To
begin, let's look at where we are and how we got here.
Today,
we are a nation burdened by debt, weakened economically, and increasingly
dependent on government assistance. How
did we get here? Part of the problem is the way politicians create crises
for themselves to solve, at our expense.
Look
at the fiscal cliff talks. The Congress and President created the problem by overspending, but
spending cuts are virtually off the table.
Their solution of raising taxes doesn’t solve the problem.
Or
look at the political reaction to the Sandy Hook shootings. Politicians immediately sought to gain power
by connecting the tragedy to their desire for gun control. They seek to play on our emotions to infringe
on our rights, and increase their own power.
If their motive was to reduce mass violence, they wouldn't continue pushing "solutions" that do not work.
These two examples are only a small sample of what has been going on. Going forward, the government will revisit these issues and others created by the government, like the farm bill. And here’s why:
Politicians don't really intend to solve these problems; they’re better served by
creating temporary fixes that give themselves more power but prolong the
problems.
They
can do this because demagogue politicians have made an effort to keep us
uninformed. Over the last Century our
schools have stopped teaching the philosophy behind the Constitution and why
strict limits to power are necessary. The media has been used to dispirit us,
to make us believe that our national problems are too complex to be solved by
us common folk; only experts can be trusted.
Our fast-paced culture has lent credibility to the legislators’ calls
for quick action - often at the expense of understanding legislation.
Recognizing
this problem is half the battle.
The rest of the work comes in finding the way out. The solution we can
affect is one touched on by our founding fathers, many years ago.
Early
Americans learned the principles behind the development of our Constitution. The Founders believed people who could
understand those ideas were necessary for preserving liberty and they would be
able to foresee approaching threats to their freedom.
“Liberty
cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people,” said John
Adams. And Thomas Jefferson reminded: "Whenever the people are
well-informed they can be trusted with their own government.”
With
our busy lives, it is easy for us to be diverted from the real issues and
problems we face as a Country. This is especially
true with a complicit media that inundate our lives from television, radio, and
the internet. Just the other day I heard
President Obama, Senator Harry Reid and Senator Diane Feinstein all say they
already cut over a trillion dollars in spending last year. How could this possibly be since we still
have deficits of over a trillion dollars; the same size deficit we’ve had for the
last 4 years even though tax revenues have been relatively steady? The answer is, their statements are not true,
yet they get away with it with help from the media and a public that does not
pay attention as they should.
Our
resolution for this year should be to become better citizens. We can pay more attention and inform
ourselves about the policies being proposed and considered. We can consider if these policy proposals are in line with our
founding principles, and we can work to inform others.
As
President of the Massachusetts Congress, Dr. Joseph Warren, said in 1775 to his
fellow Americans, “Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of.... On
you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important questions
upon which rests the happiness and the liberty of millions yet unborn. Act
worthy of yourselves.”
That
should be all of our resolutions. Happy
New Year!
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