BUSTING THE TWO PARTY SYSTEM - first in the series "Re-Engagement"

Fellow Citizens,
This will be the first of a series of articles I am going to write concerning the re-engagement and education of our citizens of our political process. I am going to tackle the subject of party politics today. I must confess my views on this subject are cynical, skeptical, distrustful and disillusioned. I believe that above all this is job one to stop the unravelling of our republic, so I begin here.

We have become a nation of disengaged, apathetic, spoiled, uninformed and irresponsible citizens. I profess to you now folks that if the United States were a nightclub, this would be last call. If we don't become cognizant of our current situation, I think we may well let our republic slip. That would waste every drop of blood our forefathers spilled, every line of ink on our Declaration of Independance and Constitution and tear this beatiful dream from the grasp of our posterity. This is indeed how gravitous this situation is.

One vehicle for our disengagement and apathy is our current party political system. Laziness dictates this. Generally speaking, we have lost the capability of independent thought. Our stances on anything, parrot a paticular ideology, usually an absolute ididotic one, because we have no idea what the idea is we are parroting. What we do know is, that someone popular, whether it be a politician, friend or commercial said it. That is good enough for us and thus, we rubber stamp it. We aren't going to break a sweat to research a topic or candidate, even though with today's technology, it's a breeze and at our fingertips. One political commercial that makes us laugh or cry or angry and we're on board. Rhetoric rules and propaganda prolifica denominates.


Those too smart to engage in politics are punished by being governed by those who are dumber. ~Plato


An election is coming. Universal peace is declared, and the foxes have a sincere
interest in prolonging the lives of the poultry.

~George Eliot, Felix Holt


Truth is not determined by majority vote.

~Doug Gwyn


Thus by aligning themselves with a these mantras or people, or dare I say any established political party these days, they thereby allow themselves to disengage brain (were it engaged initially) and let these candidates/parties/peer groups etc. think for them These said entities are ready and willing to do it of course.This is a manifestation of the deep affliction our republic suffers at the hand of these dogmatic morons and purveyors of entropy. Engagement of the citizenry, return of independent thought and the war against apathy, are uphill battles we, as ones who want drastic change must face.

Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, currilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country - and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians.

~Charles Krauthammer


The problem with political jokes is they get elected.

~Henry Cate, VII



The Democrats seem to be basically nicer people, but they have demonstrated time and again that they have the management skills of celery. They're the kind of people who'd stop to help change a flat, but would somehow manage to set your car on fire. I would be reluctant to entrust them with a Cuisinart, let alone the economy. The Republicans, on the other hand, would know how to fix your tire, but they wouldn't bother to stop because they'd want to be on time for Ugly Pants Night at the country club.

~Dave Barry

I propose we stat by busting party politics. If we know someone who is a staunch party supporter, ask them why. They will probably say "because the Republicans/Democrats are idiots (but you choose the pejorative)". This begs another question. So you are telling me essentially you are against the Democrats/Republicans, not for your party? By this we can use rhetoric for our country and not against it. Rhetorical questions though will probably upset these folks pretty quick due to the fact they won't be able to answer many of them. But friends, educate gently and with understanding and kindness, thereby setting a good example to emulate. One which I guarantee will be contrary to the nearly intolerable dogma of either party these days. Granted there are more than two parties, but for sake of brevity and clarity, let's concentrate on those two.



All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field.

~Albert Einstein


Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right.

~H.L. Mencken

Take our politicians: they're a bunch of yo-yos. The presidency is now a cross between a popularity contest and a high school debate, with an encyclopedia of cliches the first prize.

~Saul Bellow

Another way we can begin to bust party politics will be to end straight ticket voting if it is allowed in your state. I have never liked that pernicious idea. This moronic concept takes laziness and disengagement to a new level. We need to share ideas concerning ending this. Perhaps a group and in grassroots local movements. Also, following this premise I believe that no candidate should have a party by their names on the ballot. Let's work on this friends.

Our cause is noble, and it is difficult for me at least to keep a civil tongue in my head. We must stop the divisivenes and come together as Americans to stop the decimation of of our republic. By a gentle and kind approach, caring for our fellow Americans and our republic in the process, we will win.

Gene

Democracy or Republic

Democracy or Republic


I find myself answering this question more and more these days. Hopefully this will suffice and I can now copy and paste a link and more thoroughly and accurately answer this very important question.

The United States is, indeed, a republic, not a democracy. Accurately defined, a democracy is a form of government in which the people decide policy matters directly--through town hall meetings or by voting on ballot initiatives and referendums. A republic, on the other hand, is a system in which the people choose representatives who, in turn, make policy decisions on their behalf. The Framers of the Constitution were altogether fearful of pure democracy. Everything they read and studied taught them that pure democracies "have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths".

By popular usage, however, the word "democracy" come to mean a form of government in which the government derives its power from the people and is accountable to them for the use of that power. In this sense the United States might accurately be called a democracy. However, there are examples of "pure democracy" at work in the United States today that would probably trouble the Framers of the Constitution if they were still alive to see them. Many states allow for policy questions to be decided directly by the people by voting on ballot initiatives or referendums. (Initiatives originate with, or are initiated by, the people while referendums originate with, or are referred to the people by, a state's legislative body.) That the Constitution does not provide for national ballot initiatives or referendums is indicative of the Framers' opposition to such mechanisms. They were not confident that the people had the time, wisdom or level-headedness to make complex decisions, such as those that are often presented on ballots on election day.

Writing of the merits of a republican or representative form of government, James Madison observed that one of the most important differences between a democracy and a republic is "the delegation of the government [in a republic] to a small number of citizens elected by the rest." The primary effect of such a scheme, Madison continued,was to:


". . . refine and enlarge the public views by passing them through the medium of a chosen body of citizens whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of their country and whose patriotism and love of justice will be least likely to sacrifice it to temporary or partial considerations. Under such a regulation it may well happen that the public voice, pronounced by the representatives of the people, will be more consonant to the public good than if pronounced by the people themselves, convened for the same purpose."


Later, Madison elaborated on the importance of "refining and enlarging the public views" through a scheme of representation:


"There are particular moments in public affairs when the people, stimulated by some irregular passion, or some illicit advantage, or misled by the artful misrepresentations of interested men, may call for measures which they themselves will afterwards be most ready to lament and condemn. In these critical moments, how salutary will be the interference of some temperate and respectable body of citizens, in order to check the misguided career and to suspend the blow meditated by the people against themselves, until reason, justice and truth can regain their authority over the public mind."

In the strictest sense of the word, the system of government established by the Constitution was never intended to be a "democracy." This is evident not only in the wording of the Pledge of Allegiance but in the Constitution itself which declares that "The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government" (Article IV, Section 4). Moreover, the scheme of representation and the various mechanisms for selecting Representatives established by the Constitution were clearly intended to produce a republic, not a democracy.

To the extent that the United States of America has moved away from its republican roots and become more "democratic," it has strayed from the intentions of the Constitution's authors. Whether or not the trend toward more direct democracy would be smiled upon by the Framers depends on the answer to another question. Are the American people today sufficiently better informed and otherwise equipped to be wise and prudent democratic citizens than were American citizens in the late 1700s? By all accounts, the answer to this second question is an emphatic "no."

Abuses and Usurpations From The Declaration of Independence, How Many Apply Today?

13 Currently Applicable Abuses and Usurpations

On this, the day prior to our Independence Day, I read from the Declaration of Independence to see if any of the 27 grievances our forefathers mentioned in this document might apply today. Although one could construe some of the others as partially applicable, dependening on the perception of the reader, I believe 13 to be either directly, or at the very least perceptively, pertinent and timely. I have listed these here. In this context we can here replace "He" with "They". Let us also remind ourselves, we the people are not blameless in the current situation. By our disengagement, apathy, cowardice and laziness we have harmed our republic. Now it is time to come to attention and become engaged, concerned, brave and tireless in our work at preservation of our republic. This we owe to our forefathers and to our posterity.

"-- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain --
that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that
government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from
the earth."~Abraham Lincoln

— That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers
in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established
should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all
experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are
sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are
accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably
the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is
their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new
Guards for their future security. —

1. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

2. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amountand payment of their salaries.

3.He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harassour people and eat out their substance.

4.He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of ourlegislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

5.He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution,and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

6.For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

7.For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they shouldcommit on the Inhabitants of these States:

8.For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

9.For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

10.For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

11.For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

12.For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentallythe Forms of our Governments:

13.For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

OUR FOREFATHERS

July 4, 1776 – Fifty Six Patriots - signed a document that would change not only the course of their lives but many future generations. These men knew that what they were doing would be considered treason, and if the act of Independence failed that history would remember them as traitors. Fortunately, they possessed the courage, vision and resolve it took to put their names, and their and their families lives on the line. Literally and metaphorically.

We must now "highly resolve" that these courageous acts not go unappreciated, or their value discounted. And that this nation "that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

THE DOCUMENT FROM WHICH IT ALL BEGAN

The Declaration of
Independence

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to securethese
rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their justpowers from the consent of the governed, That
whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of
these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or

to abolish it, and to institute new Government,

laying its foundation on such principles and organizing

its powers in such form, as to them shall seem.most likely to

effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will
dictate that Governmentslong established should not be changed for light
and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn
that mankind are more disposed to suer, while evils are
suerable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms
to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same
Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it
is their right, it is their duty, to throw osuch Government,
and to provide newGuards for their future security.

Bill of Rights

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the
people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a
free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms,
shall not be infringed.

Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house,
without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in
a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,
papers, and eects, against unreasonable searches and
seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue,
but upon probable cause, supported by oath or armation,
and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the
persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a
grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval
forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of
war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the
same oense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor
shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness
against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property,
without due process of law; nor shall private property be
taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right
to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state
and district wherein the crime shall have been committed,
which district shall have been previously ascertained by law,
and to be informed of the nature and cause of the
accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him;
to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his
favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall
exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be
preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise
reexamined in any court of the United States, than
according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive nes
imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inicted.

Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall
not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by thepeople.

Amendment X
The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved
to the states respectively, or to the people.

THE TIME HAS COME FOR ALL GOOD CITIZENS TO COME TO THE AID OF THEIR COUNTRY

I have written on this subject several times before within other context. I now make this subject priority one, as I believe it should be.
Our country is in deep trouble. Financially, diplomatically, and most of all in the lack of engaged citizenry. We have become a nation of extremes. We either are extremely left, extremely right, extremely liberal, extremely conservative, extremely religious, extremely secular, extremely Democratic, extremely Republican and predominantly, extremely apathetic. We tend to pigeon hole ourselves within a selected group and parrot what that group says, believes and votes for. By such ideological slotting, we can then disengage brain and let the other members of said groups think for us when it comes to our citizenry and politics. Just like in sports, we pick a team and then bash every other team. We second guess the coaches and berate losing players. Here is the difference. In politics and good engaged citizenry, WE are in fact the coach, owner and players. We would like to place blame on an administration, party or group. Just like in so many other facets of our lives, we have shunned responsibility and accountability.

Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong. ~Richard Armour

There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle. ~Alexis de Tocqueville

We'd all like to vote for the best man, but he's never a candidate. ~Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard

There must be common ground which we can all stand upon. We must find that common ground. I believe we can all agree on keeping our republic sovereign and autonomous. I sincerely feel we stand to lose that soon should we continue down the path we are on. How can we accomplish this? We must start locally by approaching the party of which you are not a member of. If you are not now, or have ever been a member of any party, good. We must forgo this party mentality. I know it will be difficult to accomplish. Start by developing relationships with people of every party. Stop refusing to talk to liberals/conservatives. Be a citizen, not a republican/democrat/libertarian. Love liberty, not a politician. Love freedom, not television. Love your country, not dogmatism.

Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule - and both commonly succeed, and are right. ~H.L. Mencken, 1956

All of us who are concerned for peace and triumph of reason and justice must be keenly aware how small an influence reason and honest good will exert upon events in the political field. ~Albert Einstein

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it. ~P.J. O'Rourke

The future is up to us. We have to understand that we are the government. We have to become engaged in the process. We have to insure our posterity enjoys the same freedoms and liberty that our forefathers secured for us with hard knocks and blood. We have to understand that it is our noble charge to secure this future. The days of laziness and lackadaisical approaches are over. The party is over. Should we allow things to take the course those who would destroy our republic for their financial gain would want, which is what we are currently doing, we will lose our monetary autonomy and with it, so goes our republic.

Midas, they say, possessed the art of old
Of turning whatsoe'er he touch'd to gold;
This modern statesmen can reverse with ease -
Touch them with gold, they'll turn to what you please.
~John Wolcot

How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America? ~Author Unknown

Politics is supposed to be the second-oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first. ~Ronald Reagan

We must educate our youth on the rights and duties of citizenship. We must get our children engaged in the process. To do this, WE must be engaged in the process. Ask questions. Take the time to call your representatives. Force change by numbers of those us engaged. Take up the mantle of good citizenship and be a good example for our youth to emulate. Take responsibility and be accountable. Be Americans one and all. This house is once again divided. This house will not stand as such.

Every two years the American politics industry fills the airwaves with the most virulent, scurrilous, wall-to-wall character assassination of nearly every political practitioner in the country - and then declares itself puzzled that America has lost trust in its politicians. ~Charles Krauthammer

Instead of giving a politician the keys to the city, it might be better to change the locks. ~Doug Larson

One ought to recognize that the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language, and that one can probably bring about some improvement by starting at the verbal end. If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy. You cannot speak any of the necessary dialects, and when you make a stupid remark, its stupidity will be obvious, even to yourself. Political language - and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists - is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. One cannot change this all in a moment, but one can at least change one's own habits, and from time to time, one can even, if one jeers loudly enough, send some worn-out and useless phrase - some jackboot, Achilles' heel, hotbed, melting pot, acid test, veritable inferno or other lump of verbal refuse - into the dustbin where it belongs. ~George Orwell, "Politics and the English Language," Shooting an Elephant, 1950

Federal Reserve Notes vs. Toilet Paper

The abjectly fictional nature of modern paper currency and fractional-reserve banking encourages the question: why do fiat FRNs continue to circulate, and banks without any real monetary reserves continue to function? Those who accept the theory that "money" is whatever the government decrees would answer that FRNs (or bank-deposits denominated in FRNs) have value as media of exchange in the marketplace because people must acquire them in order to pay their taxes. The obvious fallacy here, though, is that the government accepts payment of taxes in FRNs precisely because those notes have a finite purchasing-power in the market, and therefore are usable as "money" by the government. It is not the present and future taxability of the notes that gives them their market exchange-value, but their residual market exchange-value that renders them viable as a medium of taxation. One must recall that FRNs were originally redeemable, directly or indirectly, in gold coins, silver coins, or both. For that reason, FRNs had a real exchange-value in the market that reflected their underlying redemption-values in gold or silver, and depended not at all on their use as a medium of taxation but indeed made them valuable for that purpose. When FRNs became wholly irredeemable after 1968/1971, they lost any fixed or predictable market exchange-value in terms of real money, and therefore became of increasingly uncertain value as a medium of taxation, too (at least to the extent they continue to depreciate in market exchange-value, as they have, steadily, since then). A more realistic explanation for the continued circulation of FRNs (or bank-deposits denominated in FRNs) as "money" is that the general public is the victim of a confidence-game, in which the government and the banks have foisted off paper liabilities in the place of real monetary assets in an inverted pyramid of monetary fraud. At the tip of this upside-down pyramid are real "dollars": silver and gold coins that are themselves monetary assets and no one's liabilities, and circulate among those knowledgeable about the differences between real money and paper money. Next in amount in circulation - and at the first level of the institutionalized fraud - are the base-metallic token (or "clad") coins of cupro-nickel alloy. These are monetary assets to the extent of their salvageable metallic content - which is worth about 2% or less of their face values - , but otherwise are liabilities of the government which at one time were redeemable in silver, but are today wholly irredeemable. The next largest fraudulent circulating medium consists of actual FRNs, today "redeemable" only in "clad" coins. Finally, the greatest portion of the so-called "money supply" consists of bank demand-deposits, most of which have been loaned at interest to persons other than the depositors. Revealingly, not only are these purported deposits not actually on deposit in the banks at all, but also the deposits are not even formally "redeemable", because the deposits themselves are not the depositors' "money", but the banks'! The deposits are loans of money the depositors (many of them unknowingly) have made to the banks, and which the banks have then further loaned to third parties. But how many people are aware of this situation? Why do the government and the banks not educate those who are unaware of what is really going on - other than because the government and the banks knowingly profit from public ignorance and therefore intentionally promote it? And how long can such a swindle continue? This question highlights the second of the contemporary political-economic conditions that underlie the problem of collapsing domestic banks: namely, the inability of the banks to continue indefinitely to increase the supply of money within the domestic economy, that is (as the saying goes), to "expand credit" (because the supply of new money derives from the extension of bank-credit to borrowers). The answer to the question "How long can this confidence-game last?" is "Not forever!". If, on the one hand, the banks overly expand credit, hyperinflation occurs (that is, the purchasing-power of the monetary unit falls exponentially). If, on the other hand, the banks overly restrict the expansion of credit in order to avoid hyperinflation, recession and then depression occurs (that is, people borrow less, and then existing borrowers in massive numbers default on loans). The bankers' "trick" (and dilemma) is to continue to expand credit within an expanding, and therefore essentially noninflationary, economy. The insoluble problem inherent in credit-expansion through fractional-reserve banking, however, is that expansion of a fiat money supply inevitably misdirects and wastes real economic resources, resulting in an increasingly nonrational economy - that is an economy that does not expand in real terms. In short, credit-expansion by fractional-reserve banking in the long run guarantees economic collapse, with resultant social chaos and political crisis. CONCLUSIONNo crystal ball is necessary to predict that a turning-point in the history of money and banking in the United States is drawing nigh. The burden of governmental debt - much of it made possible only by central-bank "monetization" - has approached levels unsustainable in real terms even with drastically increased confiscation of Americans' earnings through explicit taxation. But Americans seem reluctant to accept more taxation to fund the never-ending follies of a spendthrift welfare state. Thus, repudiation of the debt (in whole or in part) through extreme depreciation of FRNs and bank-deposits denominated therein appears likely, if not certain. For this looming debacle, Americans can thank the FRS, the "experts" who administered it since 1913, the politicians who wed it as a "cover" to finance their own careers, the bankers who profited from their monopoly over the emission of "legal-tender" paper currency, and the "intellectuals" in academia, the press, and the media who (quite unlike their counterparts in the last century) remained strangely silent on the issue of money and banking. That is, Americans can properly thank these people if Americans become aware of what the FRS is, what it does, and why it is responsible for having undermined to the point of collapse the nation's once proudly prosperous economy and staunchly republican political process. Hopefully that day of a new national awareness will soon be at hand.

The State of Dis-Union

Warm Greetings My Fellow Countrymen,Let me make this MY state of the Union address. It is my opinion, that we as a Republic are currently in greater danger than we have ever been since we were "brought upon this continent". No foreign power, army or entity has ever threatened us as we are now threatened. Our enemy is within our Republic. No, it is not the current administration. It is not the Federal Reserve. It is not the judicial system. It is not the media. It is not liberals, conservatives or any other party. Our enemy America, is us. We threaten the existence of our Republic. We threaten our children's freedom and liberty which was won by the blood of our forefathers.

"Men fight for liberty and win it with hard knocks. Their children, brought up
easy, let it slip away again, poor fools. And their grandchildren are once more
slaves." ~D.H. Lawrence

How you ask? Our soft and privileged living has put us in a place where we perceive everything as disposable and replaceable. In our minds, everything has a price tag, or more appropriately, a UPC code. We are taught from childhood that if one wants something, one should find a way to accumulate the wealth to buy that want. Even our souls. Tithe, give to the Church, send an offering overseas to a hungry child or a foreign mission. Why do we remit these? Is it because we truly are concerned about the financial condition of the Church, the empty stomach of said child, or needs of the mission? Maybe sometimes, but more likely it is because it makes US feel better. It somehow washes away the guilt ridden fact that we are driving to the grocery store in an SUV that cost what it would take to fund any one of the above entities for a good long time (especially the hungry child). But the $5 we pledge somehow placates our need to feel "charitable" or "altruistic". We feel that by sitting in a pew and dropping a pittance in the plate somehow makes us a charitable Christian. Maybe praying for an ill friend or acquaintance, or forwarding an email "prayer wheel" might fill our perceived spiritual requisite. It's the "little dab will do ya" and off to the restaurant so we can hurry up and eat and get home to watch "Family Guy". Couple of cocktails and a prozac and off to never-never land and a good night's rest so we can get right back to solving the world's problems tomorrow. Break something? No problem, buy another. Lose something? No problem, buy another. I think the size of our trash cans paint for me a pretty good picture of our attitudes and lifestyles. Remember when we carried out one metal can to the curb once or twice a week? Now we haul out a plastic sack that size at least once a day and chunk it into a dumpster big enough to hold, well, Pavarotti. We keep nothing anymore.Add to this list of disposability and replaceability, the mentality with which we perceive our great country. Nothing confirmed. Rush to the polling place and place your vote. Put a bumper sticker on aforementioned SUV. Listen to the news and complain about how things are going, or not. With that we are "politically active" or "publicly engaged". Ha. I wonder what the framers would think about that heavy handed approach to our government? "Little dab will do ya". Yeah, I've heard of something called The Constitution, but, hey that is what I voted for those folks for. Let them handle it. Yeah, I know a guy who is always quoting it, but man, these days you've got to be careful because the boss is a staunch demo-republi-crat and if HE finds out that I am voting something besides a straight ticket and compiling a pamphlet that may run contrary his pigeon-holed dogmatism. Why I might lose my job! My benefits, my mortgage, my big screen! The country will take care of itself if people will just vote for MY candidate! I am a Republi/Demo/conervo/liberalcrat. I parrot what Rush, Obama, Bush, PBS, Fox News say. I know that I am politically engaged.

"Fewer and fewer Americans possess objects that have a patina, old furniture,
grandparents pots and pans, the used things, warm with generations of human
touch, essential to a human landscape. Instead, we have our paper phantoms,
transistorized landscapes. A featherweight portable museum."~Susan Sontag

"This will be the land of the free, only so long as it is the home of the
brave"~Elmer Davis

These days, we are either left or right, black or white, liberal or conservative, Democrat or Republican and divided by vast gulfs of ignorance, apathy and cowardice. Yes cowardice. I feel that the courage and conviction of the average American when it comes to our Republic are abysmal. Bold we might be when defending our cable bill I'm sure. I think we fear everything from rebuke from our peer groups, employers and families, to audit by the IRS when standing up for our political beliefs. Many people these days like to say that the public are sheep, sheople, indoctrinated, brainwashed or you choose the adjective/pejorative. This is why I fear for our country. Many people would prefer to crawl into their brick homes and submit to usurpation than to stand up for what they know is the right thing. Our courage I think, is like our morality. Sold.Let me use my own religious views as an appropriate albeit a non-sequitur analysis. I am a Christian. I am not a member of a denomination. The reason I am not a member of a denomination is due to my personal belief that we as Christians, have so segmented ourselves through denominalization and separatism that it is my (very humble) belief that it is irreparable. We have spent so many "ecclesial calories" if you will trying to defend our own agendas, Bible interpretations and "rightness" if you will, that we have lost sight of our true mission of goodness, kindness, gentleness and love. Had we led by example and deed, instead of insisting by words fraught with criticism, pride and hypocrisy, we would have no problem with our religion. Ghandi once said, (paraphrase)"I like your Christ, it is some of your Christians that I have a problem with".The "side" I pick is United States Citizen. I may have conservative viewpoints, but I will fight to the death for one to hold a liberal one. I would never burn our flag, but I went to war for one to have the right to do so should they choose. I definitely don't agree with it, but I also know that the ones who might be so inclined would never agree with me on many issues, nor should it be my lot to convince them otherwise. The most wonderful thing about this country is it's diversity, and most importantly freedoms. Try to imagine a stadium of 100,000 filled with citizens from across our country chosen at random. Now imagine anyone trying to convince this diverse demographic that their way is the "right" way. Of course that will never happen. The giant task we have before us, is to prepare the mindset of coming generations to become engaged, informed and grateful citizens unable to be swayed by the and spin" you mention, unappreciative and prone to becoming "bonzai"minded like so many now. (I like to use bonzai because of the current seemingly dwarfed and intentionally bent minds of our population) Not engaged and informed conservatives, liberals, Democrats or Republicans. You are right, this is not a middle of the road issue. I don't want to go to the center no more do I want the left to come my way. I want to do be the best American that I can and I believe that the cause most noble is not to pick a side and pound on the other, but to make all aware of our rights and duties as citizens, while simultaneously making them aware of it's precious purchase and fragile existence. When one accepts another's belief when their's is diametrically opposed, and is ready willing and able to work within that context, then there will become many common points that one was originally not able to see and in turn, many that they did not see. And accepting our difference while understanding we are all Americans and focus our intentions making a better Republic, no one whether it be the right, left or middle will argue with one should one lead by a shining example of kindness, charity and gentleness. Don't insist that your way is the only "truth". Lead by good action and show that your way is beneficial for the common good of our Republic. Good work is difficult to argue with successfully. We need everyone to be an advocate of America. Our laziness and disengagement has put us in the position we are currently in and it will be a huge task to remedy.I don't believe there is a quick fix for the position our country is in. We have been irresponsible and apathetic too long and have allowed the government to grow out of control. Resteering this ship can't be done quickly. Convincing those who have no clue about the process will be a monumental task. The dissension in this country now is just what those who would destroy our republic would have. We're not going to get there as conservatives, Libertarians, Democrats, Republicans, socialist or otherwise. The only hope we have for our country in the future is to overcome this divisiveness and division and come together as Americans. The one thing we can all agree on is that we want to keep our country. We all must stand on this common ground.I believe that should we should concentrate on education of the process, without our own viewpoint at this early stage. No one can argue with education, should we educate responsibly and accurately and without imparting our own feelings or beliefs. Our tactical position must be one of common concern about our country and the role of each citizen in it's government. Our plan of action should include a plan to educate the people on the process and the importance of their engagement in it. Education that would be aimed at your average middle schooler to understand the meaning of the Constitution. I believe we should take this posture, then our actions will be difficult to differ with and can be a great example to emulate. Should we take a right sided stance, though difficult as it is not to, we risk the chance at being that example. I don't aspire to whip the left into shape by pounding my ideas into them or attempting to convince. I aspire to bring everyone into the process and once in and understanding how our great country works, extraneous convincing should be moot and our ideas and beliefs will become reality and truth to the other folks.

"To speak, tho' sure, with seeming diffidence.For want of modesty is want
of sense.If you ask, Why less properly? I must repeat the lines,Immodest words
admit of no defense,For want of modesty is want of sense."

"For, if you would inform, a positive and dogmatical manner in advancing
your sentiments may provoke contradiction and prevent a candid attention. If you
wish information and improvement from the knowledge of others, and yet, at the
same time, express yourself as firmly fixed in your present opinions, modest,
sensible men, who do not love disputation, will probably leave you undisturbed
in the possession of your error. And by such a manner you can seldom hope to
recommend yourself in pleasing your hearers, or to persuade those whose
concurrence you desire."~Benjamin Franklin

Here is our challenge. How can we effectively and immediately take up the mantle of good and engaged citizenship. How can we be an example for our youth? How can we be the kind of American that all will want to be while preserving the principles and beliefs of the framers? What can we do to reach the most ears and to gently and morally educate? What can we do today for our republic tomorrow? What must we do to embolden? What must we do to be that example to emulate?What simple but effective action can I do as a citizen? How can I give back? What issues in my area are in need of attention? How can the hand of my humble leadership take my children and those they know to a different America than the one we see approaching us today? As a citizen of an America that generations of people have fought to preserve, how can I show those who would like to learn to be a better American citizen, to free their minds enough to own them, to choose their battles so as to win them?What can I do to help them?Whether it is in education of the public, feeding of the hungry, housing of the cold or love of the unloved. This is the higher purpose of our nation. When our countrymen realize this, we will heal. Not by political action, not by violent revolution, not by dogmatism and insistence, but by gentleness and kindness. These powers heal. That is why we have advocated so strongly education first. Not strong and divisive action. We hope you understand these things.With that being said, let us remind ourselves where we come from and of the things that would aim to divide us. Let us resist those things as if they were death, as if they were the spoilers of our prosperity, as oftentimes they are. Let us advocate a return to that place of origin and let us hold accountable all actions up to this point so that we may by reproof or by recognition, return to a greater good. Let us respect one another enough to not criminalize dissent but engage the dissenter so as to dissolve all barriers between us. I co-wrote much of this letter with my friend Paul A. Mabelis from Rochester, NY. I am from Abilene, TX. There could be no more opposite cultures in our country than the two from which we come, however we stand as an example that all of us have a common interest. Citizenship, patriotism and love of country.Let us be conscionable in our efforts to restore the republic and retrieve what we have lost; for with this premise shall we have the promise of a renewed Republic proud once again in its independence, shining in its example, worthy of its stature and rich in its citizenship.

Kindest Regards,

Capt. Gene Tomlinson (Texas)

Paul Adrian Mabelis (New York)