The American Experiment defined.
1. All men are created equal. There is no ruling elite or divine ordination.
2. The central & only purpose of govt is to provide justice & secure the rights of the people.
3. SELF RULE. The people themselves are the only safe caretakers of our collective organization.
4. To accomplish these goals, we have established a system of self rule, with checks & balances in a governing system consisting of Legislative, Judicial, & Executive branches, all codified under constitutional law.
5. If the govt does not perform its basic duties, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, & institute one that does. The PEOPLE are in charge, not some ruling elite.
These foundational definitions are not clearly in mind for many americans these days, & are very foreign to proponents of state centered ideologies, but they are the basis of America.
Analysis of problems. Failures in the American dream.
1. Massive waste of public resources in unconstitutional military actions throughout the world, Govt corruption, misguided & immoral redistribution programs, & expansion of govt intrusion into the citizen's lives.
2. The decay of citizen representation, & the growth of an elite power structure. A ruling class that has built a system or network of power. Influence has become centralized with favor providers, electioneers, lobbyists, & a 'good ol' boy' network of political favoritism. A pecking order of power has grown in the culture of a ruling elite. Politics as a career has become a goal & a magnet for the corruptible.
3. Undue influence of special interests & the moneyed elite. This is tied with the decline of citizen representatives, & the growth of corruption. The 'revolving door to riches' where elected representatives become enriched by special interests, cronyism, & the use of law as an instrument of plunder.
4. Massive & dangerous debt, that will take years if not decades to get under control, if it does not collapse the nation.
5. Overreaches of power by the public servants, who are charged with defending & upholding the constitution. They have exploited their position as stewards of the public trust for personal gain or to promote their personal agenda. Executive overreach & judicial activism are the most common examples.
6. The corruption of justice. Crime is too rampant in crowded urban areas, & justice is not served. The justice system has become self serving, self propagating, & a financial burden on the producers. It no longer provides efficient justice for the people & needs reform. There are too many conflicting, convoluted laws, too many citizens incarcerated, & too little deterrence for criminal behavior.
7. The growth of statism. State centered regulations that nanny & restrict the freedoms of the people are systematically increasing under the guise of caring for us.
Adjustments to be made. Can the current system be saved? Can we 'tweak' things to salvage the experiment?
1. Term limits. This is probably THE most important thing we can do, & is one of the major things that has corrupted our system. Life time politicians worm their way into power, & curry favor with the network, & grow in the system that perpetuates itself, rather than being stewards of the public trust. 'Career Politician' should evoke the same feeling in us as 'Career Criminal', as they become leeches & sponges.. looters of the people they pretend to serve.
2. Enlightened electorate. If the people do not involve themselves & take responsibility for their governing process, it will fall to scoundrels, & swindlers who are drawn to 'public service' as a way to become rich without working. The PEOPLE must embrace the american dream, & believe in the foundational principles of self governance, & not be fooled by the hucksters & con men who see govt as a means of self enrichment, living off the labors of others. This SHOULD be the goal of public education, instead of the state centered dogma that is currently being pushed on young citizens.
3. Balanced budget. Power follows the money, & money follows the power. The taxpayers would have revolted years ago had they been taxed in accordance with the spending by the representatives. But through deficit spending, they have burdened future generations with the irresponsible, corrupt spending of the current one.
4. Subsistence. To keep honest, sincere public servants, there must not be a draw for riches. Elected representatives should be compensated minimally.. perhaps minimum wage, for their service. SERVICE is the key word here, not compensation. They are stewards of the public trust, & do not produce ANYTHING by their labor. They have no right to huge recompense & a luxurious lifestyle on the backs of the working man. It should not be a 'revolving door to riches' nor should public service provide other means to wealth. Conflicts of interest, graft, cronyism, nepotism, & other corrupting practices should be severely punished.
There is more, i am sure, & i welcome additions & corrections to this list. The goal is to salvage the american experiment, even though some are working to destroy it. But if we lose it, mankind will be set back centuries or even millennia in our quest for human freedom.
"Government is the great fiction through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else." ~Frederic Bastiat
"Our public economy is such as to offer drudgery and subsistence only to those entrusted with its administration--a wise and necessary precaution against the degeneracy of the public servants."~Thomas Jefferson
"This human struggle and scramble for office, for a way to live without work, will finally test the strength of our institutions" ~Abraham Lincoln
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government -- lest it come to dominate our lives and interests." ~Patrick Henry
"My idea was that if they might be re-elected, they would be casting their eye forward to the period of election (however distant) and be currying favor with the electors and consequently dependent on them. My reason for fixing them in office for a term of years rather than for life was that they might have an idea that they were at a certain period to return into the mass of the people and become the governed instead of the governor, which might still keep alive that regard to the public good that otherwise they might perhaps be induced by their independence to forget." ~Thomas Jefferson
"Whenever the legislators endeavor to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any further obedience." ~John Locke
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