Hating Government

This weekend, there was a lot to cause me to reflect on our (society’s) view of government and politicians.

I grew up in a different world, were government was very, very important in people’s lives. Yes we were very naive before Vietnam and Nixon and that period caused us to be aware of how it was broken. We had been slowly abandoning our government at that time since the end of WWII. Relief of the stress of war, coupled with new found prosperity, had started a process that allowed us to slowly be lulled in to a gentle sleep.

Vietnam awakened us to the problems we had let grow (somewhat) by shocking us to the reality not all wars were just.  We blamed the President, we blamed the communist, and we blamed the politicians for being stupid and too gung-ho. But slowly we were paying for being too wrapped up in ourselves.

We could find fault in the president, the pentagon and the congress. So we went full bore trying to fix the war and hire new blood. Unfortunately, we weren’t looking past the end of our nose. It turns out, those problems were just symptoms of a far greater disease growing deep at the roots of our governmental system and infecting the fabric of our society.

Without knowing any better, even though there were voices trying to warn us, we hired Richard Nixon and others to get it all straight. Simple enough, old blood disguised as new, and promising to end the war. But we were sold a bill of goods. You see, we were told democrats had gotten us in this mess and a good common sense republican would get us out. It made sense on the surface, and like most sophisticated intentional miss-information, it sounded almost like the right thing to do.

Lo and behold, we were duped, big time! It turns out the whole administration was amuck with con men and crooks who looked at the government as a private tool to use for their own benefit. But this awareness came slow and in pieces, while people were slowly being disillusioned in the war after loosing hope at the loss of Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. The spirit to fix what was broken waned and many well meaning people had lost their will to make real change. In all this mess the war finally was allowed to collapse.. not ended mind you, just allowed to collapse on top of our already disillusioned soul.

Still unaware of the true cause of all our misery , we mostly stumbled along while turning our governmental responsibilities to those whoever wanted to pay attention to them.

Other changes in our society just deepened the underlying decease, while our myopic focus on our individual selves grew worse. Well meaning idealist grew weary, gave up and sold out their ideas in exchange of convenience, money and material things. The underlying disease grew rampant and totally ignored.

During this period of selfishness and greed, old ill meaning hatreds started to be reshaped into intentional miss-information. Many of the things which would not be tolerated or considered legitimate ideas decades ago, now are repackaged in empty platitudes and worse.

People came along and made those evils and a method to market them a science.

Insidiously hateful concepts were white washed and legitimized by the new marketing of people like Karl Rove. They learned from business marketing that crap could be packaged as wholesome and Christian. They connected to old factions in Christianity that had already repackaged hate, intolerance, bigotry and selfishness as gospel. Then this was all connected to big business interest and an unholy trinity was formed to become the “new conservative movement” The Christian philosophy that used here had always been at odds with Biblical teachings and had spent years being on the outside of things.. Now it was helped by political scientist, corporate marketers, and white collar criminals.

Thus we now have been trained to hate government and politicians, this keeps more and more people away from believing in their government and letting it all go into the hands of others with hidden agendas.

This is how we ended up with the worst governmental system in our history and the worst administration (GWB). This is how we ended up in a recession and maybe worse in the future. This is how we ended up with a greatly divided nation.

Was it the Republicans, Democrats that got us here? Was it right wing fundamentalist that got us here? Bleeding Heart Liberals? Well you have been trained to believe in all of that.. and way to many of us do. But the truth is WE all are to blame. The disease that underlies most of our governmental problems, lie not in our government, but in us, the American people!

This unlocked the backdoor of our most precious possession. It has caused us to let go of the most sacred duty of an American Citizen, the right and responsibility to self govern.

Yeah I know, “my vote don’t count” “they have control” etc etc etc.

But those are more lies we have been brainwashed with by people with ulterior motives.

We need to get back to our values. (heard that before?) Usually when you heard that, it’s from a preacher or politician or a CEO… but , they always add which principles they want to imprint you with. The only principles that are really important are the ones that come to your heart at a funeral of a loved one, or the birth of another.. or the ones that run thru your heart when you look at your child. Those deep ones that you feel in your bones and know in your deepest heart that are right. Not the intellectual ones, floating around in your head at the sign of indignation, anger or frustration….. but the good, decent values that lie in your heart.

We have allowed others to change our images of congress, and the people who are there..

Both the voting and non-voting among us put them there. We have let the people who are the least interesting in their responsibilities as American citizens, become a large voting block that swings elections. We must look beyond the programming we receive from TV and Radio and others, and look within ourselves for what we need to once again take back our “job” of being a government of the people and by the people. It isn’t “take back our government” because we have always owned it and had the right to control it/

Yes big business, special interest, and small faction have taken control.. only because we let them.

What has this on my mind today, is after thinking about Senator Kennedy and others from my long past. Even though, I was an adult when the Kennedy’s came on the scene, I cant remember a time in politics when they weren’t there. I didn’t pay much attention till 1962. Now, before all you conservatives go ballistic at the mention of their name, please stop and think a minute. Ted disappointed us, early one. We hoped he would take up the mantel of civil rights, healthcare, and other issues that were designed to help the average and less fortunate Americans. But Teddy just couldn’t seem to live up to his brothers ideas. Eventually he was written off as a joke, or by some as an enemy. But the whole time he was taking is job in the Senate seriously. With a drive to help those who were not rich or advantaged. Whether his colleagues agreed with his ideas or not.. they have all now confessed they admired his working with certain principles and sticking with them. The also admired his desire to make things work by compromising.

We have no one like today like that, because we were duped into using the wrong values to select people. Right or Wrong, agree or not, the people of Massachusetts sent him back many times. He was responsible for over 400 laws passed in this country.. all of which was motivated to help others. Where can you find a skill level and determination like that, Liberal or conservative? Well you cant if you use the wrong values to select a representative. If you expect them to be perfect.. you wont get a reasoned and passionate legislator who has first hand experience with adversity, failure and triumph like we have, who can get the job done, because that is not how you selecred them. The way we do it now gets us people who are in the “business of government” and don’t understand it’s not a business but a responsibility to the people of the districts and nation as a whole. Even a representative without first hand experience with what most of the country deals with everyday, but can understand and put themselves in your shoes, would be better than what we have now. This government was not designed to send people to congress to do battle, but to get the job done. No one philosophy or idea will ever run this country. Its too big and too diverse. But compromises that work the larger good are what  this country operates on.

“WE” , all of us are the solution. Our inner selves are required to participate if we are ever to maintain a free country for everyone.. In the long run, money, lifestyle and financial prosperity will mean nothing if our country continues down this path.