Government for the people?

It has only been 150 years since the Civil War and yet we have forgotten the how polarizing it was. Slave owner versus non-slave owner, states' rights versus federal government. Us versus them. In Lincoln's Gettysburg Address he stated that the civil was was fought so that the government of the people, by the people and for the people should not perish. In every conflict that the US has engaged, even if it was not popular, we entered in on what we felt was the side of right. The enemy was clearly defined, we engaged him and eliminated the threat.

Yet 150 years later we are engaged in another internal struggle, another us versus them fight. However, the us and them are not clearly defined and if you watch the news or read the papers, the sides change places or even change names. Yet the polarizing words "us versus them" carry great weight. Big business versus the worker, the elderly versus medicine, legal immigrants versus illegal immigrants.

Instead of being the voices of reason and providing options and ways to settle these conflicts, our elected officials seem to be fanning the flames of discontent. The reason this seems so shocking to me is that I have labored for many years, under the impression, that by voting these individuals into office, that my voice would be represented. How naive. My vote may have helped elect them to office, but their views and opinions were formed long before the election. They were bought and paid for by the special interest with the deepest pockets or the best retirement package. Many elected officials upon leaving government service, go into the private sector, some via the lecture circuit but others through employment with the very companies they were responsible for drafting legislature to govern their activities.

All political parties foster the us versus them mentality because it is the only way they can stay in power or at least garner some power for themselves. The latest "them" was Wall Street. The housing market tanked, investment firms went under, companies too big to fail were given government bailouts and told to reduce management bonuses and salaries. Once the dust settled and the worst offenders were eliminated, everyone else went back to business as usual and corporate bonuses were once again being posted in the papers.

Yet nothing has really changed. The housing market has not recovered, unemployment is still high the doomsday predictions for Social Security and Medicare are still being used to either reduce spending or increase it depending upon which side of the aisle you are seated. Slowly but surely our government has turned its back on the very people it was formed to serve. The checks and balances that our founding fathers installed have been trampled in the dust and the Constitution itself, ignored.

We no longer have a government for the people and it only took 150 years from the war that was fought to preserve it.

Fanatics

Fanatics come in all sizes, shapes, colors and types. There are the religious fanatics such as those who orchestrated 9/11 and those who burn Korans. There are political fanatics who believe that their political party is always right and everyone else is wrong. There are also the patriotic fanatics who take love of country to an extreme level of hating everyone else.

They all have one thing in common. They believe that they are right and that everyone else is wrong. They feel that belief gives them the right and obligation to convert everyone else to their way of thinking or eliminate them. In their world there is only one option to believe as they do or die.

I love my country and believe that the USA is the best place to live in spite of all of our problems. That does not mean that I do not respect the right of a Canadian or Mexican or Iranian to feel the same about his. I am also a Christian but I also respect the rights of Buddhists, Jews, Muslims to worship as they see fit.

Fanatics know no limits. They will do whatever it takes to press their cause. We must be vigilant but not rush to condemn. We must be careful not to become one of them.

Separate But Equal????

I remember when the phrase "separate but equal" referred to the segregation of schools. It was okay as long as the non-white schools were equal to the white schools. Now it has taken on an entirely new meaning, one that is frightening and far-reaching.

We are fast becoming a nation divided. Not along racial lines as many still want to believe but economic lines. It has been reported in numerous studies and editorials that the wealthiest 4% pay less in taxes then the lowest 40% to 50% of the rest of the population. That there are corporations that rake in billions of dollars in profits and pay less than 1% in taxes. There are even some, through loopholes in the tax code who pay nothing at all in taxes.

We are being driven back to the dark ages where the gulf between the haves and the have nots was enormous. The truly sad thing about this is we are doing it to ourselves.

I hope we wake up soon.

Protector of the World????

When did the USA become the world's protector? Every time problems arise that require military action, the USA is expected to run point, take the losses, carry the expense and then receive the brunt of the backlash from home and abroad.

Too many times we have flexed our military muscle in an attempt to sway points of view. Now it has become expected that we will use it all the time. We are being asked to use our military again in Libya at a time when we are already engaged in Iran and Afghanistan. A comment was made on the news this morning that while NATO was taking over the lead on the 'no-fly zone', there were some things that only America could do. Why is that?

In areas that directly affect the safety of the world, of course, America should help in any way possible. In Libya the ruler is attacking his own people, for humanitarian purposes we need to assist. However, we should not be taking the lead and we should be looking to Libya's neighbors to exert force, either military or economic, to resolve the problem. They have the most to gain or loose in this situation.

We can no longer protect the world, when we are not capable of protecting our own borders from smugglers and illegal entrants. While I strongly believe in a strong military and feel that we need to continue to provide our military men and women with the best possible equipment. We also need to keep ourselves safe at home.

Ideally I would like to see only token American forces anywhere outside of the 50 states. We can no longer keep large forces outside our country because our own economy cannot support it. If other countries want a large American presence in their country, then they can help us support that presence. Otherwise, we bring them home.

Lastly our involvement in the Middle East has become the Viet Nam of the 21st century. As in Viet Nam there were no winners only losses. In the Middle East we are engaging in the same type of war and expecting a different result. There is nothing to win there, we cannot remove the terrorist groups responsible for 9/11 because to the people in the region, they are not terrorists.

Vote

Another mid-term voting season is about to come to an end. Please vote, if you haven't taken advantage of early voting, on Tuesday, November 2.

Voting insures that this remains a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Vote based on your own beliefs not those of the fear mongers of both parties. Am I happy with how the last 2 years have gone? Not entirely. I feel that opportunities were missed and others bungled. However, I voted based on my understanding of the issues and not on the photo ops and sound bites presented on the news.

However, we only have ourselves to blame for the current economic situation. We have become accustomed to instant gratification. Fast, unhealthy food, which is not cheap, instead of patronizing local farmers markets or attempting to grow our own. The latest of everything, phones, cars, computers, even though we don't understand how everything works. The latest round of auto recalls should be giving all of us concern that shoddy workmanship and lack of attention to detail has grown. Instead of wearing things out by using them, we throw them away when marketing tells us to no longer be satisfied with what we have.

The economic downturn has forced a lot of people to rethink what is really important and it is not the newest car on the block, the biggest tv or any other material item. It is having a home to live in, any home; having a car, even if it is 10 years old as long as it runs and most of all, having a job.

So vote on Tuesday. Vote as if the rest of your life depended upon it because it just might.

Abuse

Abuse is never okay. It doesn't matter if it is child, elder, spousal or animal. Any person who abuses another living being is the lowest form of scum that walks the earth. To my way of thinking that individual should be exposed at least to the same intensity of abuse that they inflicted.

Some will say that these individuals were possibly the victims of abuse themselves. Well that may be so but it still does not justify them abusing others. To me the ultimate punishment should be death, not rehabilitation not jail time but death. They are not human; they are lower than any form of life and therefore do not deserve to live.

Being Unemployed

The first time I was unemployed, I was heavily in debt and worked really really hard at looking for another job. In fact, I almost ran out of benefits before I actually found a job.

It was a humbling experience. Even though I had worked since I was 18 years old, every time I met with the people at the unemployment office, they made me feel like I was taking money from their pockets. They interviewed people at their own pace and treated you like you were scum.

The second time, I had a little notice before the axe fell. I had been mailing out resumes, talking to recruiters and had several interviews lined up by the time I was let go. I found a job within a few months and moved out of my home state of Maryland to North Carolina.

I am unemployed again in a job market high on people but low on jobs. Even in my chosen field, I may not find a job easily, let alone find one in another field. It is a totally different time to be unemployed. People are going through savings, 401k funds, employment benefits; even with extensions. This is most distressing. Am I looking for work, I have to at least try just to keep my unemployment benefits coming in. There are jobs, but they require skills I do not have or more education then I have. The fast food places aren't even hiring because they have an abundance of people waiting for even their jobs.

Being unemployed is not fun, it is not pleasant. It is stressful, humbling and scary.