Continuing…

Yesterday I began a review of what America’s future will involve with a renewed activism by its citizens. Eight topics were listed – Media, Higher Education, Science and Research, Economics and business development, Healthcare delivery industry, Governance standards, Immigration management and Religions. The first two were covered yesterday – Religion and Immigration. These two topics have unique relevance to American history. They are in our national DNA. The third topic to be covered is…

Governance Standards:  our government was founded by people just like you and I. Yes, the fellows were white, land owners, and some were slave owners. They were all immigrants, mostly from European lands. But the concepts that drove the founding of America and its constitutional way of life, were based on individual freedoms, and the idea that ours was a government of, by and for the people.

That form of government requires discipline from the government, not an institution, but you and I. We do some things to keep the government operating in the manner intended. And we vested that government with the power of renewal as well. We gave our permission to change through time. We could and did amend the constitution. It includes more now than when it was fresh ink. We also have a judicial system that continues to interpret and consider the meaning of terms in today’s language that were written hundreds of years ago.

Today, our primary job is to pay attention to what government is doing in our name. We elect people to do governance work. These are civil servants on the one hand, and elected officials on the other. Civil servants are in our employ to implement and execute the laws passed in our name. Those laws are written by the elected officials, those in congress. The House of Representatives and the Senate are the legislators who write our laws and provide oversight of government functions. They are our eyes and ears. They represent us in more ways than one, and they hold powers that interpret what is good for us. You and I do not have that say except at the ballot box. If we think a candidate will represent us well, we vote for him or her; and we do not vote for those we think will not represent our views and values.

This makes for a chaotic process. Politics is supposed to be about communicating the ins and outs of all issues prior to votes in legislature that enacts laws. But politics in the last 100 years (this can be argued as to length of term!) have devolved into a nasty mess. Elected officials say they will do one thing and vote another way. Such situations are counter to what the electors have voted for.

The arguments become arcane and ideological. Conservative or liberal, or libertarian? Or some other mindset of thinking? As politicians discuss the merits among themselves they create new protocols of fact and truth. Sometimes we citizens do not recognize the logic used by elected officials.

This is true of congress people and executive branch personnel. Observe our recent political past: polar opposites continually warring with each other. Then, when all seems lost, the players raise the stakes and say whatever comes to mind regardless of facts. They assert these statements as truth; disappointingly, too many of us believe this garbage. And the result? Trump is in the white house doing his best to destroy the USA.

He will succeed in this if we let him. Of course, I think we should and can fight. Here’s my plan:

·         Do not listen to the man. If he appears on the news, mute the TV or switch channels. He can’t lie to me or you if we are not listening. We have learned in one year’s time that he doesn’t say anything that is close to the truth.

·         If you desire outcomes from your government, define them and work for them. Best if you enlist the aid of your trusted congressperson. If such is unavailable to you, support a new, fresh face to represent you and your district. Support term limits. Support education, science and research projects. Do not support political parties or politicians and their salaries, benefits and pork barrel spending projects. 

·         The time to RESIST is upon us. And if we all remain true to it, we will make a difference.

You have your governance standards; so do I. Together we can make a difference. But it takes discipline and consistency. I want and expect good things from my government. It is the only way we will have peace on earth and goodwill toward all men. If either of these is absent, then something is very wrong with our government. It is not governing.

More reason to RESIST.

Thank you for listening and reading. I will write more on these issues in the coming days.

December 26, 2017