The Framers of our Constitution, the fathers of our country held a simple, but profound truth. They believed in the people.
As put forth in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence:
WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all …
Our very Declaration of Independence from the British Crown was based on Truths.
The Framers went further in our Constitution to set the imperatives for the Nation, for America:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, …
Presidents, the Congress, the Courts, our Military and our People have lived by these founding principles for more than 200 years. We the People… Will America continue to be for all or will the Constitution need to be changed to “We the privileged few of the people”. A test is coming the first Tuesday of November. Will we get it right?
In the days since the beginning of Rovian politics, the Republican and Democratic Parties, respectfully, have struggled mightily for the approval, the heart and soul, of the American people.
The Democrats have bet on the American people being thinking individuals, people who have a sense of themselves, their children, the world and the welfare of their children in the future world. Democrats think and speak in this altruistic understanding of people and the world in which we live, and hopefully, will live in the future.
Republicans have a somewhat different view. The Republicans have bet and continue to bet that the American voter lives in the here and now. The Americans of the Republican model worry more about how much they can get out of society in the present …if they can charge more on their credit cards, if they can step on someone and be able to move ahead today …not work and save for better prospects and better outcomes for people of the future. For many of the Republican persuasion, life is lived in the here and now….The future is the hereafter …God’s responsibility. In the Republicans’ view of the world, there is no future …death ends the future. The Republican attitude is that the earthly future will be destroyed by all those evil people out there who are hell-bent on killing us. We know which view is to the RIGHT, but Which view is right?
Look at yourself, those around you …your significant other, and his or her extended family members along with your own, your offspring, your friends and their extended families, you neighbors, the guy at the grocery store, members of the media and others with whom you come into contact. What do they hold as important? Answer a few of the following and think about how others may respond to the same questions / life situations?
- Are you, personally, more concerned about the fact that we are soon to run out of oil or more concerned that the price of oil is keeping you from buying the Hummer, that big boat that you want,the forty-foot RV and the off-road vehicle that allows you to go plowing through the woods scaring the be-jesus out of the animals, destroying plant and animal life, while polluting the atmosphere that you are leaving to the future generations? I suspect, score one for the Republicans. If you are keeping score add one more to the Republican tally.
- Are you, personally, more concerned with how much more your bank will allow you to charge on your credit card than whether or not we are charging this country into bankruptcy …building a debt that will ensure the poverty of future generations?
- Are you, personally, more concerned about the remaining money owed on your mortgage [assuming you are one of us fortunate homeowners] than you are about how much of a line of credit [second or third mortgage] you can get from your house. Why can’t I have them now? There continues to be lots of things out there that you haven’t yet bought for yourself. You get the picture …add another to the Republican column.
- Are you, personally, more content about your feeling of wellness, satisfied with your lack of need for that medical stuff, than concerned about health care for all, the health care and financial crisis that many old people and poor people with children are fussing about?
- Are you, personally, concerned with the views of our neighbors around the world? Is it your view that we should tell the rest of the world to bag-it? Or should we work with all the members of the global community to help make the world a better place for us all? Is America First a viable foreign policy for the welfare of America’s future?
- Are you concerned for the environment? Do you believe that the policies of the past eight years [many of which McCain has vowed to continue] are responsible policies that benefit us now and will continue to do so in the future?
- Do you think that the United States, inevitably, must be on a war footing with others in the world? Is war the only answer? Does diplomacy have a role? Does diplomacy work only after America has demonstrated that we can and are willing to kick the shit out of anyone who stands in our way of accomplishing America First objectives?
- Is the unstated policy of your Party “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may die”?
As John McCain would say: “My friends”, you Americans are a selfish society …Cindy and I got ours. We worked [Republican-speak for inherited / married into] to get what we have. Too bad you weren’t born into a dysfunctional family whose patriarch died leaving all his fortune
to the family princess while leaving virtually nothing to her siblings….Nor were you shifty enough to dump your ailing wife and find a beer heiress of your own…. Sucker!
So is the problem for America’s future a presidential candidate [his pit bull running mate and campaign staff] who will lie, cheat and steal to get what they want? Or, is the problem with the American Voter who is so complacent, so lazy that he or she will not make an effort to look at the alternative paths for the present and future the future that awaits a choice.
The simple truth is that for eight years Americans have taken the selfish pathway. Will it change in 2008?
Will issues win out or will issues be subverted by a campaign that is willing to destroy America if it means a win for their side? Will it be the altruistic Obama or the self-centered, self-indulged McCain? The future is in the hands of you, the American Voter. Where does your conscience tell you to go?
Cross posted at DailyKos