We the People...

The Constitution of the United States of America begins with the words, "We, the people..." It does not begin with "We, the Democrats", "We, the Republicans", "We, the Congress...", "We the analysts", "We, the lobbyists', or "We, the Special interests." The document is very specific that it is "We, the people" who are agreeing to this covenant.

In our republic that voice of the people is meant to be represented by delegates to Congress called Senators and Representatives. At one time Senators were elected by State Legislatures and thus represented the states. Representatives were elected by the people and represented districts that were supposed to be equally and reasonably divided by population.

Since then Senators have been elected by popular vote in accordance with the 17th amendment passed in 1913, thanks in large part to the muckraking editor William Randolph Hearst among others. This began a slow and steady erosion of the original intent of the framers of the Constitution that have culminated in the crisis we face today.

This brief article is not the place to delve into historical details about the ensuing events that occurred during the 20th century. There are sufficient comprehensive histories that can be consulted that have not been tainted by revisionists and de-constructionists. Suffice it to say that the liberal Democratic experiment that began with Franklin Roosevelt furthered by Lyndon Johnson added to by William Clinton and now being forcibly pushed by Barack Obama has brought this country to the verge of financial collapse and economic catastrophe.

Thankfully, the mid term election of 2010 served as a clarion call from the electorate that the people had endured enough and it was time to call a halt to the proceedings that were going on in Washington City. Even so there are those who still cling to their assumed prerogatives and refuse to further fiscal responsibility and sanity into the federal government. They have become accustomed to dipping into the public till to bribe the electorate into returning them to office ad nauseum.

Self termed Tea Party members of the House of Representatives have inserted into the mix a new agenda - a mandate from "We the People" to hold the line against abusive spending, restrictive regulations and the outright attack on the business community and the so-called "wealthy" all in the name of so-called "fairness". Fairness in the terminology of the current Democratic elites is nothing more than robbing from the productive rich to give to the non productive parasites who have become extremely comfortable living off the government dole.

In many ways those of my generation have seen a geometric rise in technology while there has been an almost equal decline in moral values and beclouding of what is right and what is wrong. No longer is there the black and white of certainty. Instead we have the uncertainty and conflict of various shades of gray that only serve to confuse, allowing the guilty to go free and the innocent to be severely punished, even murdered.

There are those who seek to re-define, re-interpret and deconstruct the long standing principles, ideas and ideals that once held sway in our nation. We have become besieged not with rational thought but with rationalities, false philosophies and downright Sophistries by people who's only thought is personal gain at the expense of society.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Washington City and the once hallowed halls of Congress that are now populated with selfish individuals who truly do not concern themselves with the fate and well being of this nation.

Yet, there remain pockets of moral virtue and adherence to the values of the past. They will eventually 'move the mountain' that faces us all and in time restore our government by removing those who's only interest is in themselves and their own personal survival, often at the expense of the well being of this nation. They have received a few pinpricks that have temporarily stymied them. Those pinpricks must be increased to achieve the final goal. The ballot box is where the voters of this nation can add to those pinpricks.

The Cold War - Communism and the Atomic Bomb

The 1950’s to the mid 1960’s were a time of Rock ‘n’ Roll, sock hops, Sadie Hawkins dances, Friday night football games, school proms, band concerts, weekend movies and all those other things teenagers are apt to do.

It was a carefree time for those of us who experienced them but there was a specter in the background, a shadow that hung low over us and was a constant reminder of the fragility of life. The Atomic Bomb in the hands of the Russian Communists was a constant threat to the free world and particularly to the United States.

It was at times an ominous presence that had a tendency to cloud the thinking of even the most clear headed thinkers of the day. There was a misguided feeling that if the disastrous were to come to pass people could survive it by building bomb shelters.

In hindsight today we’ve realized that a bomb shelter was nothing but a fancy tomb that would have no tombstone to mark where it was should a thermonuclear device of the magnitude being built would ever explode anywhere in the vicinity. Fortunately, by divine providence, it never happened.

Aside from the “Bomb” as it was sometimes referred to there was also the threat of Communism; that philosophy that had become the leading political system in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (or Soviet Russia as it was sometimes referred to).

It had come to the fore in the McCarthy hearings in the halls of Congress when pompous and arrogant little man launched a crusade against what he perceived to be the forces of Communistic infiltration into all aspects of American society, particularly in Hollywood, trade unions and even in government agencies.

But, like all demigods McCarthy’s reign was cut short by his excessive over reach and he fell into disrepute. However, the threat of Communism remained and we were witness to it as Russia and its satellite countries began to march and conquer the small nations that surrounded it and it’s sinewy tentacles even began to reach into South and Central America. We even saw it insinuate itself into Cuba which led to a confrontation between the United States and Russia that many thought was very close to the brink of nuclear annihilation. But, Providence saw us through safely once more because wiser heads prevailed.

Socialism proved to a failure because without the spirit of incentive and motivation people did not strive because they had come to the realization that no matter what one did they would not receive any more than their comrades who did as little as possible or nothing at all except live off the government dole. That dole had to be replenished and the only way that could happen was by conquest of neighboring countries until their “wealth” and “riches” dried up as well.

Even so there are those who still sing the praises of the State being completely in charge of everything because they would then be the ones who would wield authority over all. Such is the rationality of tyrants and despots who think not of others but of their own selfish desires with the delusion that they are the only ones brilliant enough to “lead”. We realize now that the fight for freedom and liberty is never over and that each generation must shoulder the responsibility to defend them against the forces that seek to curtail them.

We went through this in our youth a now we see it renewed as we prepare for our sunset years in the no so distant future. The cycle seems to be never ending and old battles won have to re-fought all over again against a new enemy that has insinuated its way into our very midst and seem determined to institute a tyranny our founding fathers fought against and left ample warning of it’s possible return.

Return it has and fight we must; in the meeting halls, the halls of our legislatures and even in the halls of Congress. If we fail there the alternative is to fight by other means that are not as pleasant but may indeed ultimately become necessary.