The Federal Observer

June 8, 2009 - There are times that I wonder what the hell is wrong with me. All through my life I have been a rebel. I never followed orders too well and I always questioned the reason for things I was ordered to do.

People always thought I was just an argumentative little shit, but I think it came from a ingrained desire to understand how things worked, to know the truth.
Although I was shy as a kid I was never afraid of getting into an argument when I felt that I was right about something. On certain occasions this got me into some pretty heated discussions, especially with my father, who was just like me.

I remember one time in particular. It happened when I came home on leave from my assignment to Castle Air Force Base California. My mother had an old Toyota Corona and apparently the car would slow down when going up hills, but the engine rpm’s would increase. My dad thought that on a recent tune up the mechanics had screwed up the carburetor.

I told him that it was the clutch because if the engine rpm’s increased the car should at least maintain a certain speed, not slow down. My father wouldn’t back down, and neither would I. So we bet a case of beer on it, and he took it to the shop to get checked out.

When my father got home he was carrying a case of beer in his arms. He plopped it down on the kitchen table and said, “Here’s your beer, don’t say a damn thing.”

Even though we constantly butted heads I respected my dad, and that respect continues to grow, even though he has long since passed away. The fact was though that he had no understanding of how cars work. However, my respect for him did not stop me from arguing with him, especially when I knew that I was right and he was wrong.

I haven’t changed much in all these years. Instead of what is wrong with the family car, I find myself arguing with people about politics. There is an old saying that goes like this, “One should never discuss politics and religion.”
I don’t know who said it, but whoever it did was an idiot. There is nothing wrong with a good open discussion about any subject. However an open discussion cannot take place when either party is unwilling to admit that they are wrong. An open discussion cannot take place when either party bases all their opinions upon emotions rather than facts.

That may be the logic behind that old saying, but it still does not mean that one should just ignore the subject, especially when ignoring them may have such great consequences upon your lives.

In America it seems that any discussion of politics eventually reverts to name calling. One ends up being labeled either a liberal, a conservative, or a radical. I have found this to be the case on far too many occasions. When George W. Bush was in office I was told I was a close minded liberal because I didn’t agree with his policies. Now that Obama is in office I am labeled a close minded conservative because I disagree with his policies as well.

While our country is pretty much divided along political party lines, there have been many political parties in our nations history. There were the Federalists, the anti-Federalists. There were the Whigs, the Union Party, Jacksonian Republicans, and even the Democratic-Republicans.

Looking back into history, George Washington was the only president who did not claim allegiance to any political party. Therefore you may find it interesting to hear what Washington had to say about political parties. He said, “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

One thing you will notice about political parties, they all have a platform, or a list of beliefs that their party stands for.

For instance, Obama’s party, the Democrats party platform states, “We come together at a defining moment in the history of our nation – the nation that led the 20th century, built a thriving middle class, defeated fascism and communism, and provided bountiful opportunity to many. We Democrats have a special commitment to this promise of America. We believe that every American, whatever their background or station in life, should have the chance to get a good education, to work at a good job with good wages, to raise and provide for a family, to live in safe surroundings, and to retire with dignity and security. We believe that quality and affordable health care is a basic right. We believe that each succeeding generation should have the opportunity, through hard work, service and sacrifice, to enjoy a brighter future than the last.”

On the other hand, the Republicans state, “This is a platform of enduring principle, not passing convenience the product of the most open and transparent process in American political history. We offer it to our fellow Americans in the assurance that our Republican ideals are those that unify our country: Courage in the face of foreign foes. An optimistic patriotism, driven by a passion for freedom. Devotion to the inherent dignity and rights of every person. Faith in the virtues of self-reliance, civic commitment, and concern for one another. Distrust of government‘s interference in people‘s lives. Dedication to a rule of law that both protects and preserves liberty.”

Far too many people go to the voting booth with preconceived ideas about who they are going to vote for, most of the time based upon the candidates party affiliation and their deep seated dislike of the ‘other’ party.

So, when someone attempts to discuss politics, they immediately come face to face with prejudices that have no basis in fact. These opinions are based solely upon either political parties attempt to pull on the strings that people feel strongest about.

Unfortunately, if you look closely, neither party states that they stand for upholding the Constitution. Therefore, if the general public is not aware of what the Constitution says, or the reasons it was written as it was, they are easily mislead by the emotional platitudes of political parties.

Noah Webster, who was known as the Father of American Scholarship and Education, once said, “Every child in America should be acquainted with his own country. He should read books that furnish him with ideas that will be useful to him in life and practice. As soon as he opens his lips, he should rehearse the history of his own country.”

If only that were the case. The Intercollegiate Studies Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan, tax-exempt educational organization whose purpose is to further in successive generations of college youth a better understanding of the values and institutions that sustain a free and humane society.

In 2008 they conducted a civic literacy test to determine the general knowledge of the public in regards to issues concerning their government and our nations economic system. Here are just a few of the results.

Nearly a third of the respondents failed to name two of America’s enemies in World War Two; 22% of college graduates did not answer that question successfully.

Only 53% knew that congress retains the power to declare war. Nearly 40% believed this power belongs to the presiden - -a finding with obvious perennial relevance.

54% of respondents (and only 44% of 18- to 34-year-olds) knew that Congress shares foreign policy power with the president; nearly a quarter (and almost a third of elected officials!) believed Congress shares such power with the United Nations.

Only 41% of Americans, and 53% of college graduates, could recognize that free enterprise or capitalism exists insofar as “individual citizens create, exchange, and control goods and resources.” 17% of respondents thought that free enterprise or capitalism is a system in which “government implements policies that favor businesses over consumers.”

Our system was built upon the concept of limited governmental powers and the protection of individual rights and liberty. However, for it to function as designed, the people must understand how it was supposed to work.

Our founders knew this, and to a one they all said so. In his Dissertation on Canon and Feudal Law, John Adams wrote, “Liberty cannot be preserved without a general knowledge among the people…”

Thomas Jefferson proclaimed, “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.”

James Madison said, “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

We Americans like to think we are so smart, yet in reality we are a very poorly educated bunch in comparison to those who wrote our nations founding documents.

For instance, James Madison, who is considered the Father of the Constitution, learned Latin, Greek, French, Italian, Spanish, as well as mathematics, science, and the histories of Greece and Rome.

During Madison’s tenure at college, he was guided by President Witherspoon, a Scotsman who believed that all power in human hands would be abused. It was undoubtedly that under his tutelage Madison developed his beliefs in government.
Then there was Thomas Jefferson. He was fluent in five languages and could read two others. He knew almost every influential person in America and a good many in Europe. He was a lawyer, an agronomist, a musician, scientist, philosopher, architect, inventor, as well as being a statesman.

These are the type minds that came together at that particular moment in history to create our system of government. Yet we have ignored their writings, and in so doing have been easily beguiled by politicians who promise us the world, when in all reality they have no authority to fulfill those promises.

We have, for so long, ignored the principles upon which this nation was founded, that we have forgotten them entirely. Or as Thomas Paine once said, “A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it a superficial appearance of being right.”

With a good percentage of the people believing that their government has the authority to do all the things that they do, it is next to impossible to have a civil discussion about politics.

Every usurpation of power by our government comes at a cost to us. We either pay for it with increased taxes, further restrictions upon our rights, or both. As long as people continue believing that it is the governments job to examine and micromanage every aspect of our lives, nothing is going to change. As long as people continue to believe that the government has the authority to take from one and give to another, nothing is going to change.

It is only when people get off their dead asses and begin to read what our founders had to say about our system of government, about our liberty, and about our responsibilities of citizens, that things will change.

As long as we continue to base our decisions upon emotions instead of logical thoughts, this nation has no future. As banker Herbert V. Prochnov once said, “A great many people mistake opinions for thoughts.”

Elbert Hubbard once said, “The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.”

As Americans we were blessed with a system of government in which our rights and liberty were sacred. If we haven’t already, we are close to the point at which we will have lost them and there will be no getting them back.

For some people, I suppose life is perfectly fine, as long as they have a job and they can go home to watch their favorite television shows. However, liberty means much more to me than the freedom to eat a Whopper whenever I choose and then go home and watch ESPN or American Idol.

To me, liberty means being free to do as I please as long as my actions hurt no one else but myself. Liberty also means that I have the right to disagree with you, a right which I intend to exercise frequently until you pull your heads out of the sand and wake up to what is going on in America.

“Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?“

~ The Author ~
Neal Ross can be reached for comments at bonsai@syix.com. Visit Neal’s Blog at http://www.zombie-slayer.com/neal

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This entry was posted by The Publisher on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 12:44 AM and is filed under Book of Ross. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.