It's long and maybe even a bit fragmented but bare with me...
Never before in the history of the United States has there been such division. Even during the Civil War there were clearly drawn lines and both sides had a clear agenda. Now though, we are divided by political affiliation, race, religion (or lack thereof), and even lifestyle choices ranging from urbanites vs. country folk to gays vs. straights (and the whole spectrum in between).
Where has this taken us as a nation? What is the end state? Each group and individual has their own idea of what the perfect society is and, as has been demonstrated very clearly over the past decade, those subjective views do not blend well with other groups' goals and agendas. So, what is the result of all of this? Due to the seemingly forced alignment to either extreme right or left of the ideological and political spectrum based on one's beliefs and goals, our nation has devolved from the republic it once was, where rights were guaranteed and and enforced by rule of law, into now broken and dysfunctional mass of clans intent on forcing their values on the others by way of name calling, slandering, and accusations of being "unAmerican" (Yes, I'm guilty of this just as much as the rest of you are. But, if I can own up to it, so can you.)
Meanwhile,in the chambers of both state and federal government, our elected officials are doing nothing to bridge the gap between our conflicting ideologies. Rather, they are all working hard to increase and enhance this ever increasing division. Why would they do this? The answer is quite simple. It's a slight-of-hand trick, a ruse. By keeping all of us fighting among ourselves, they are free to pass legislation and enact law that will further increase their power base while slowly and steadily whittling our freedoms down to a nub. Given our general attitude of suspicion and disbelief on a national level, it's natural to question how these people, our employees, could possibly achieve such a lofty goal. And not being the type of guy to leave you hanging, I'll provide a perfect example from my own state legislature.
On January 6th of this year, the first day of the legislative season, HB 1009 was introduced. This bill, if passed, will repeal the 15 round magazine limit in the state of Colorado. Sounds pretty good right? Attached to this Bill however, is another piece of legislation that will outlaw abortion in the state. Attaching this extra piece guarantees that the Bill will not make it into law, but, it also gives the conservatives a way to assign blame on the failure of the Bill to the liberals, including the ones who would have voted to repeal the magazine limit. Hence, furthering the divide and forcing the populace to choose a side. And despite the side chosen, the outcome is the same. We lose, government control expands, and another decision is made for us by people who have perverted, corrupted, and advanced the demise of our once great republic by another step.
Agree with me or not, that is your choice, but I'll leave you with a few words that are as true today as they were the day they were written:
"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."
Where has this taken us as a nation? What is the end state? Each group and individual has their own idea of what the perfect society is and, as has been demonstrated very clearly over the past decade, those subjective views do not blend well with other groups' goals and agendas. So, what is the result of all of this? Due to the seemingly forced alignment to either extreme right or left of the ideological and political spectrum based on one's beliefs and goals, our nation has devolved from the republic it once was, where rights were guaranteed and and enforced by rule of law, into now broken and dysfunctional mass of clans intent on forcing their values on the others by way of name calling, slandering, and accusations of being "unAmerican" (Yes, I'm guilty of this just as much as the rest of you are. But, if I can own up to it, so can you.)
Meanwhile,in the chambers of both state and federal government, our elected officials are doing nothing to bridge the gap between our conflicting ideologies. Rather, they are all working hard to increase and enhance this ever increasing division. Why would they do this? The answer is quite simple. It's a slight-of-hand trick, a ruse. By keeping all of us fighting among ourselves, they are free to pass legislation and enact law that will further increase their power base while slowly and steadily whittling our freedoms down to a nub. Given our general attitude of suspicion and disbelief on a national level, it's natural to question how these people, our employees, could possibly achieve such a lofty goal. And not being the type of guy to leave you hanging, I'll provide a perfect example from my own state legislature.
On January 6th of this year, the first day of the legislative season, HB 1009 was introduced. This bill, if passed, will repeal the 15 round magazine limit in the state of Colorado. Sounds pretty good right? Attached to this Bill however, is another piece of legislation that will outlaw abortion in the state. Attaching this extra piece guarantees that the Bill will not make it into law, but, it also gives the conservatives a way to assign blame on the failure of the Bill to the liberals, including the ones who would have voted to repeal the magazine limit. Hence, furthering the divide and forcing the populace to choose a side. And despite the side chosen, the outcome is the same. We lose, government control expands, and another decision is made for us by people who have perverted, corrupted, and advanced the demise of our once great republic by another step.
Agree with me or not, that is your choice, but I'll leave you with a few words that are as true today as they were the day they were written:
"But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."
I was just telling Daddy the other day that I'm worried about what the government is up to.
ReplyDeleteI'm one that has always stayed out of politics, however, recently I've been thinking that needs to change. What little I know is unsettling and I feel very unprepared for the future. But, where does one start? There's so much information to weed through to find the truth!
I wonder if the recent drop in gas prices is also a ruse...
I think forcing ones values on others very American like. :/
Glad to see your post! Hope to see brat posting soon, too. ;)
If you want to get informed Misty, the first thing to do is to stop watching/ reading mainstream news. You will only get a distorted view of what is really happening.
DeleteBut to really get started, study the documents that are the foundation of our nation and its laws. The Declaration of Independence will explain why we fought the first revolution, and the Constitution along with all of its amendments are the supreme law of the land in the US. Keep in mind here, that amendments to the Constitution must be approved by a 2/3 vote in Congress and the Bill of Rights (the first ten amendments) cannot be altered or repealed. That being said, I'll throw out another example of corrupt and self serving government:
In 2013, on the order of the President, the Secretary of State John Kerry, signed the UN Arms Trade Treaty. That treaty was not ratified by the Senate because the language in it would violate the 2nd Amendment to the Constitution and surrender our rights as a sovereign nation and subject us to the laws of a foreign governing body. Even the Democrats realized this and the vote was crushed before it even came to the floor. So, even though SECSTATE signed on to that treaty, there is no obligation to comply with it.
2A is a big one for me if you haven't noticed lol!