Time To Reclaim Our Government

Time to Reclaim Our Government
or Listen up bozos

  In the summer of 1787, a bloodless revolution was orchestrated in Philadelphia.  The most brilliant and learned men of their country and their age launched a grand experiment in government.  An experiment that had never been seen before in history: a representative democracy drawing its power to govern from the consent of the governed.  In fact, Thomas Jefferson believed that government drew its main strength from the common man, not the wealthy, privileged elite.
  Though not always true to her ideals but always striving towards them (sometimes quite painfully), this democracy has endured for over two hundred years; endured longer than any other democracy in the history of the planet.
  Eighty seven years into this grand experiment, a terrible and bloody civil war was fought on our soil; a growing pain as we reached for fulfillment of one of America’s promises.  In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln said, in essence, that the war was being waged so that ‘a government of the people, by the people and for the people should not perish from the earth.’
  So, I pose the question: Is our nation still administered by a government of the people? Do we still enjoy a government deriving its power from the consent of the governed?
  Quite often (and more and more in recent times) the argument can be made that we no longer enjoy the sort of government enjoyed and envisioned by the Framers of the Constitution.
  Any time the government introduces programs that reduce the reliance of people on themselves and produces more reliance on that government over the objections of the people they are elected to represent, the move is made further from the basic tenets of our American culture.
  The recent bail out programs, which will beggar the world’s wealthiest and prosperous nation, were passed over the objections of an overwhelming majority of Americans.  The common man said ‘no’ and the elite career politicians said ‘yes’ and the bills were passed.  Passed without being read; passed with dissenting voices being crushed; passed with no thought given to their employers.  In the process, these politicians (who want us to believe that they know what is best for us) added so much more useless spending of borrowed money, it would make any sane person nauseated.
  The real problem isn’t necessarily deficits, debts or other issues.  The problem is that our government has been taken over, year by year, term by term, by politicians.  These politicians forget from whom they derive their power.  The rank and file ignore the wishes and desires of their constituents (and the American people in general), while passing legislation that further restricts the rights of the citizenry, shreds the Constitution and sells our nation to foreign powers.
  The majority party forces legislation without a chance for review or debate by the minority.  The legislature and executive branches act on their own agendas without paying the least bit of attention to the people, whether the common man voted for them or not.  In truth, our government, the government of the people, has been hijacked by professional politicians.  Hijacked basically with the consent of the governed because we as a people retain politicians who may not represent our values or because they have won re-election so many times, we have come to believe they are there forever.  Any more, it seems as if national elections are nothing more than eighth grade class officer elections: popularity and style with no plan or ability.
  Until the governed speak up from an informed point of view in both voice and ballot, our rights will be taken or infringed; our voices ignored; our nation’s prosperity and security compromised.
  The end result will be that the government of the people will vanish from the earth through our own inaction to withdraw our consent to be governed by professional politicians.