Politicians in Washington, DC, are removing right after right while the public allows it to happen. Integrity seems to be checked at the city limits of the capitol along with morality, common sense, intellectual ability, support of the US Constitution, and all the promises made during campaigns.
What is good for the people has been lost to the highest bidders. Corruption abounds and any, I state any, politician who has used or responded to the best interests of the
contributors which are in opposition to the good of the many, is guilty of being corrupted, of responding to being bribed. (Correct me if I am wrong but isn't a public official taking a bribe a " high crime"?)
Reform is necessary but, to Washington politicians, this is only an election catch-phrase. Both major parties are as conservative as can be when it comes to campaign funding and
the resultant corruption. They do not want change; they fight it. To change would mean far less money for them to use in order to maintain party power and individual financial
growth.
Issues of preserving the rights of the people, of upholding the Constitution, are important only if it fits into their plans of power gain and is never anything more than BS rhetoric. Once getting in or remaining in power, the issue that was just so darned important loses its importance.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what the politicians in our government are doing, nor how to stop them. What is does take is a concerned, informed public that will make demands on its elected representatives.
An informed public also means it takes the presentation of the facts to the public stated in an unbiased, objective fashion, not the biased, sometimes ludicrous reporting done by the media at the present.
Since 50 percent of the population cannot read above the 4th grade level (functional illiteracy), then bills must be written at the 4th grade level or less. And they must be written in a fashion that only one interpretation is possible. In other words, can (get rid of) the legal language and useless rhetoric contained in the bills.
Each bill should focus on the issue of the bill and any add-on legislation, which politicians are famous for sneaking in or forcing passage of, prohibited by law. This is necessary as, first, politicians often don’t read the bills, and, second, an add-on may be against the public and individual freedoms and/or for some special interest group.
The entire concept of ‘public education’ needs to be re-defined and the focus changed. We have educational institutions turning out illiterates by the thousands each and every year. It is a correctable situation but not with a Congress that seemingly would just as soon have the populace remain ignorant of the facts.
Values must be clearly defined. How can effective legislation occur if values are not clearly defined by society rather than politicians or other small groups doing the defining?
You see, the norm is set by acceptability of the majority, not by the few. In other words, just using the phrase “family values” is meaningless if not defined by the society we are all
part of.
With proper education and the expansion of knowledge, morality must also be defined by what society accepts as the norm. It is as relative as family values and is part of determining family values, ethics, and rights of the individual. Therefore, morality must become an integral part of public education, part of the knowledge gained.
It can then be recognized that neither values nor morality are established by politicians using them as they will to belittle an opponent or blow their own horn. This is especially important when it is quite probable the very act they are pretending to take offense at is exactly the same act they have done - repeatedly. Knowledge and a well informed public would bring a halt to this.
Our society defines what we expect in the sense of family values and morality. Once defined, they must apply equally across the board, not be situationally specific to suit a politician's or his parties needs. Or, violations of societal expectations ignored.
Our rights of privacy must be preserved, whether it be sex between consenting adults (defined by voting age) or correspondence over the Internet or how we spend or make money legally. And, never, ever must privacy be legislated against nor monitored nor acts of privacy added to any database ever if the acts are within the boundaries established by society itself.
Public knowledge, not ignorance, is what must be pursued with the most intense striving for excellence this nation has ever conceived and implemented. This will have to be accomplished by the citizenry because it is highly likely the government would just as soon have the public remain ignorant of its rights.
We, the People, must work to see to it that all Americans can read and fully understand the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and, of course, the Constitution of the united States of America. This, of course, means we must be involved in the education of our young people.
Government requirements must be replaced by society's goals designed to accomplish the above. After all, what can possibly be more important than an understanding of how this Republic is supposed to work along with the skills to assure it does?
And, for certain, government requirements have not worked.
Without knowledge, how else can we remain vigilant over the government and assure it acts within the limitations set by the Constitution and the intent of our forefathers unless we know the limitations and the intent as written? So, again, maybe government hasn't wanted a well-educated public.
Come to think of it, knowledge and the willingness to act are what we have to control government. As long as the majority are ignorant of the facts, as long as 50 percent or more remain uneducated, politicians in government can continue hood-winking the public. Knowledge could open their actions up to all of us and eventually rid this nation of governmental hidden agendas.
Remember, Ladies and Gentlemen, first, the federal government exists only to provide common defense of the many States and to advance the welfare of, and protect the liberties of, the people.
And, second, knowledge is the strongest weapon we have. Neither the government nor any part of it can withstand knowledge and its application by a determined populace.