I guess it’s time for me to just piss most everybody off. Or at least, hopefully, make you think about the how and why. Yes, I am convinced that We The People are the problem. Not the Parties. Not the politicians. Not the government. Sometime in my youth, I remember a particular “Pogo” comic strip, which featured an iconic quote “We have met the enemy and he is US.” That has stuck with me through my whole life and now I truly realize the brilliance of Walt Kelly, the mind behind Pogo. Our Founders were SO brilliant and we have betrayed them. They provided US with the greatest design of government in the HISTORY OF MAN and we have used it against ourselves. And seem to continue to “double down” on it every chance we get.
What part of the basic conceptual design of our government of “Of the People, By the People and For the People” do we choose to no longer understand? And why? And this applies to both the government and the political parties. In both of these hierarchal organizations, the power belongs to those who show up. Our “Republican form of government”, as guaranteed by Article IV, Section 4, of the United States Constitution, by design, starts with the individual Citizen, moves to our families, moves to our neighborhoods, moves to our townships, moves to our counties, moves to the State and last but not least, moves to the national government. And the political parties follow a similar path, starts with the individual Citizen, moves to the precinct, moves to the county, moves to the Congressional District, moves to the State and last but not least, moves to the national party. It’s really not that hard to understand, if you care to.
So, why would I say, “We The People are the problem?” Because I believe it is just where we are as a Nation and a Society. I’m willing to bet that more of my fellow Citizens can name several of the people who ran for President this year than can name one of their City Councilmen or County Commissioners. And I bet more self-identifying Democrats know the name of former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, than can name the Chairman of their County Democratic Party, or more self-identifying Republicans know the name of RNC Chair Reince Priebus, than can name the Chairman of their County Republican Party. Are you starting to get the picture? The phrase “All politics is local” was first used by Washington AP Bureau Chief Byron Price in 1932. Then former US Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill first used the term in 1935, when he entered politics. And this has never been truer than it is today.
I believe the Liberal-Progressives and their allies in the “education” industry have done this by design. Their greatest accomplishment has been the removal of the concept of personal responsibility from the next generation, for now two or three generations. But it has been allowed to happen by their willing accomplices, We The People, not paying attention to what was/is happening right in our own “back yard”. So, if you want to truly make a difference in the future of our Country, pay attention and get involved in what is happening in your own town and county. Pay attention to what’s happening in your local schools and what you children and grandchildren are being taught. Go to events where your local, county and State elected officials appear and make them aware you are paying attention. Think globally, but act locally. Be a grassroots activist. And remember that proper Grassroots political activism is how and when the good work you do in your own neighborhood, reaches all the way to Washington DC, to keep the bad stuff they do in Washington DC from coming in to your neighborhood.
God Bless America! And America, Bless God, Again!!
