No faith in Government!

[Bryce]

It's depressing at times, but the facts still point to the fact that we are in much better shape than 9/10ths of the World.

Can't argue with that Dave. Though I tend to enjoy the instant connection we have with the world, I think it has added greatly to my cynicism and sense of safety.

Simply being grateful for what I do have does alleviate some of the stress but I'm genuinely content with my financial standing. That being said, I still don't trust our leaders, I worry that things are going downhill fast and the worst part is that I feel like there's nothing I can do to fix it from here. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to fix that?

 

[Bryce]

I sometimes wonder what we don't know about the state of our federal finances. I'm sure are people in the department of the treasury who know a few things we would not want to hear. I'm also very disappointed in our banking industry and our government allowing the mortgage crisis to approach total ruin before calling a halt to the shenanigans that were going on. It's just another reason why we can't afford to have everyone in home ownership. Too many homes depend on two incomes to pay the mortgage and the bills. Our grandparents did just fine in homes that were too small by today's standards. Nowadays, we think that we need a media room, a 3 car garage, and stainless steel designer appliances to keep up with the guy next door and 3000 square feet heated on a 5 acre lot. Lose an income and that house belongs to the next couple who can swing the loan.

Any large organization is full of the same problems that plaque government. I'm retired from a multi-national corporation that once was in the Forbes top 10 companies in terms of profitability. You get tired of hearing about this year's plan to take us back to the top and you know after hearing it that there's a lot of lip service in the details. Corporations exist for one reason primarily and that's profit. Every decision they make is based on a projected bottom line. If it's also good for the customer, so be it, but there are few decisions made that provide the customer with a benefit that don't also involve cost benefits or increased revenue.

I haven't seen a batting average list of the current administration's wins and losses, but I'd bet that Obama is somewhere in the bush leagues right now. His batting average and voter confidence levels are dwindling daily. Not that George Bush was anywhere near Ronald Reagan, but he fared better than the present leadership. I'm not a liberal by any means, but I enjoyed the Clinton presidency and the economic upturn that accompanied it. The Dot Com era was a great time to be alive. I wonder what the next big thing will be. We surely need something. Maybe it will be a breakthrough in quantum theory that gives us cold fusion and we can kiss oil goodbye.

Enough rambling.

Man I'm really grateful for your obviously well thought out ideas, but I'm struggling to find your solution to my problem. How do I as Average Joe address the fact that I can't believe in my nations leadership? What's more, what can I do from here to correct that? I'm sick of feeling this frustration and would LOVE to find some solutions. We've covered some good things so far as to reasons why I/we feel this way, and even a couple personal places to start, but I need a solid solution. Does it exist or should I just suck it up and move on?

 

[BradSmith]

Man I'm really grateful for your obviously well thought out ideas, but I'm struggling to find your solution to my problem. How do I as Average Joe address the fact that I can't believe in my nations leadership? What's more, what can I do from here to correct that? I'm sick of feeling this frustration and would LOVE to find some solutions. We've covered some good things so far as to reasons why I/we feel this way, and even a couple personal places to start, but I need a solid solution. Does it exist or should I just suck it up and move on?

At this point I think the only other option other than taking care of yourself and your family is to help wake people up before it is too late. I don't really think that anything will change in Washington until the people have a peacefull revolution. Many people will say that this is not possible. However, it has already happened in many nations and will happen in others.

There is a very real chance that we will end up destroying the dollar. At that point things can go any number of ways, but hopefully we can deal with it in a way that doesn't bring death and destruction.

So anyway, my suggestion is to get the word out about the fact that our government is currently the biggest danger to our way of life and that we can take back our government if we all stand together.

Help wake up the Sheeple, so we can take our country back, help end the Empire and restore our nation to the Republic it was meant to be. Fight for the country you want to have, not with a gun but with the keyboard.

 

[Bryce]

At this point I think the only other option other than taking care of yourself and your family is to help wake people up before it is too late. I don't really think that anything will change in Washington until the people have a peacefull revolution. Many people will say that this is not possible. However, it has already happened in many nations and will happen in others.

There is a very real chance that we will end up destroying the dollar. At that point things can go any number of ways, but hopefully we can deal with it in a way that doesn't bring death and destruction.

So anyway, my suggestion is to get the word out about the fact that our government is currently the biggest danger to our way of life and that we can take back our government if we all stand together.

Help wake up the Sheeple, so we can take our country back, help end the Empire and restore our nation to the Republic it was meant to be. Fight for the country you want to have, not with a gun but with the keyboard.

At this point I'd jump at the opportunity to participate in any kind of action but this seems to make reasonable sense on the surface. By "take over" what exactly do you have in mind? Are you suggesting a political coo?

Personally I think the answer is a little more fundamental and individual which makes it all that much harder to put your finger on. I can imagine with your scenario have one new party in control, while leaving an angry opposition out in the rain. Sounds to me like the state of things between democrats and republicans.

On the other hand if you're talking about major systemic changes in our social way of thinking then yes...I'm with you!!!! What do we do now?

 

[BradSmith]

At this point I'd jump at the opportunity to participate in any kind of action but this seems to make reasonable sense on the surface. By "take over" what exactly do you have in mind? Are you suggesting a political coo?

Personally I think the answer is a little more fundamental and individual which makes it all that much harder to put your finger on. I can imagine with your scenario have one new party in control, while leaving an angry opposition out in the rain. Sounds to me like the state of things between democrats and republicans.

On the other hand if you're talking about major systemic changes in our social way of thinking then yes...I'm with you!!!! What do we do now?

I would not be happy at all with a one party system (we have that already). At this point I would be happy with restoring our nation back to what it was meant to be in the first place. Although the current politicians would have to go and an amendment to the Consitution to crack down of lobbiests would also be needed. The world Empire also needs to be shut down. We can't afford it or the enemies that come with it.

As for what to do now all I can say is to use the power of the internet. Try and inform people about the issues you feel the most strongly about. The Statist will always say that the government is the answer, however they are corrupt and frankly they have blown it. Many people have lost their homes, next will come their businesses and their cars. When this happens and it will, the Statists will get on board as well. The safetly net is failing and most people really don't want to live that way, having to beg for your next meal has never been real popular with the masses.

A shift will happen in this nation, we might limp along for another 10 years. We might even try a worldwide fiat currency, but in the end it's just delaying the inevitable. Try not and sweat it too much, what will be will be. Try and keep yourself in a position were you can take whatever happens and if you have more energy try and move people towards an understanding that as individuals or as a nation that we cannot live beyond our means.

 

[DaveP]

Originally posted by BradSmith:
At this point I think the only other option other than taking care of yourself and your family is to help wake people up before it is too late. I don't really think that anything will change in Washington until the people have a peacefull revolution. Many people will say that this is not possible. However, it has already happened in many nations and will happen in others.

There's a significant percentage of Americans who are savvy in terms of what is going on with our government and its relationship to the world. There are entirely too many who have no clue. Education is key to changing attitudes. Maybe 1 in 5 are interested in or have an idea of what I'm talking about when I mention something that was on the news yesterday. The rest want to talk about Nascar or the latest concert they went to.

What kills me is that way that the Constitution is being stretched and contorted by our lawmakers. The term "promote the general welfare" simply meant that Congress should do what is morally right to keep the country strong and solvent. It didn't mean pass out checks when education and personal standards are really the problem. Too many of our citizens have grown up to believe that the government owes them sustenance. I'm not in favor of letting people slip through the system by not helping them, but I do think that government provided food, clothing, and shelter might be better served by funding and monitoring charity organizations that provide those sort of things for people who need them. I also agree with government sponsored education programs to teach people a skill that pays better than minimum wage, even if that means that for a period we have to help them out with a paycheck. Any help beyond food, clothing, and shelter should be limited to a period of education or other work programs that prepare people to support themselves.

Government has always been a little on the shady side. If you give people too much power, they will abuse it in some way or at least distort the work they are doing to make it look like something else is being accomplished. The following link is an example.
Congress Loads Spending Bills with Pork and Earmarks | The Heritage Foundation
(clipped from the link)
So far this year, Congress has failed to address the looming tidal wave of spending for Social Security and Medicare, but it did decide that Boydton, Virginia, could use a new walking tour. Congress has not solved the burgeoning problem of the Alternative Minimum Tax, but it did decide that some bike trails in Highland, Indiana, should be upgraded. Vital national issues are being ignored by lawmakers who instead focus their energy on determining how much in tax dollars to send to the Hunting & Fishing Museum of Pennsylvania.

Granted, that link is a conservative think tank and the more liberal of congress poo poo their ideas, but you have to admit that the ideas are pretty sound. If you look at the Brookings Institution web page, there's more of the same from a different viewpoint.

 

[coolone1]

If we only had people who understand the constitution we would not be where we are. There is a reason that the public schools do not teach it any more. The government wants to keep the people of this country ignorant so it can do as it pleases. All of these polititians that carry it for show and that is all it is for show. How many have really read it. They like to call it a living document that way they can distort the words.

Davey Crockett's "not yours to give speech"

Davy Crockett's "Not Yours To Give" Speech In Congress

Congressional Record 1963

The Communist Takeover Of America - 45 Declared Goals

 

[lopster]

Wow, this is by far the best thread I have read in this forum so far. A lot to think about in here, and a lot to study up on.

The only thing I see is the "statists", well there is becoming to be a growing number of them. If it doesn;t come to grips soon "we" will be out numbered, and to late I feel. The unrest of the ppl is becoming stronger and stronger. I myself paid no attention to politics until recently when I became "awakened." I agree with Brad, in informing ppl all you can. I am not as up to par as every person posting in this thread, but I am doing all I can to educate myself and spread the word.
I usually start with something simple as the difference between democracy and Republic. And I surely say something when someone refers to our government as a democracy...

 

[DaveP]

Coolone1, I enjoyed the Davy Crockett story. The 45 goals list is a little scary, but we are far more liberal in our population than we were when I was a teenager. Democrats were hard-nosed individuals similar to the Republicans of today.

Lopster, few know what you are talking about when you mention States Rights today. Even fewer are aware that the Constitution itself states that ALL powers not enumerated in the Constitution are reserved to the states and to the people. Our Framers realized what could happen if the Constitution became a "virtual" document that could be bent and twisted, so the 10th amendment was added in 1791, 4 years after ratification. The Federal government was never intended to be the behemoth structure it is today. It was intended to support the states and become an international representative for our country with the power to declare war and mediate in cases where the states couldn't do enough for the entire country.

I marvel at the lack of Constitutional rigidity in Congress these days. The discussions are more about what ought to be done and not what the Constitution will allow. I guess they know that it is the Supreme Court's job to decide what flies and what doesn't. The sad part is that the Constitution gets mangled, torn, and misconstrued in that branch of the government also.

All we can do is elect leaders who say the right things, based on our individual beliefs and have the reputation to back up what they say. The down side is that new members of Congress get bantered about by the veteran leaders and end up compromising their principles to get accepted. Finding a maverick who is capable of standing his or her ground is uncommon but desirable. My issue is that it takes a lot of study to go through the candidate list and find out about their backgrounds. Most people just take the lip service from sound bites and vote for the one with the best pitch.

"Change we can believe in" turned out not to be what we thought. He talked a good line, though!

 

[Mac]

The Communist Takeover Of America - 45 Declared Goals

Ah yes the good old days. When whites were white and everyone else did what they were told or else!

 

[Bryce]

If we only had people who understand the constitution we would not be where we are. There is a reason that the public schools do not teach it any more. The government wants to keep the people of this country ignorant so it can do as it pleases. All of these polititians that carry it for show and that is all it is for show. How many have really read it. They like to call it a living document that way they can distort the words.

Davey Crockett's "not yours to give speech"

Davy Crockett's "Not Yours To Give" Speech In Congress

Congressional Record 1963

The Communist Takeover Of America - 45 Declared Goals

I must admit that I am one who has not read the constitution in it's entirety. I've tried many times, but it's not something easily understood, at least by myself anyway. I'll give it another go here in a minute. Also, thank you for the Davey Crockett link. What an inspiring and eye opening story. Things are worse than I imagined...lol Thanks for that!!!

Wow, this is by far the best thread I have read in this forum so far. A lot to think about in here, and a lot to study up on.

The unrest of the ppl is becoming stronger and stronger. I myself paid no attention to politics until recently when I became "awakened." I agree with Brad, in informing ppl all you can. I am not as up to par as every person posting in this thread, but I am doing all I can to educate myself and spread the word.
I usually start with something simple as the difference between democracy and Republic. And I surely say something when someone refers to our government as a democracy...

Glad you're here Lopster and enjoying the thread. I'd hoped that it might be helpful to myself and others.

I can't agree with you more that the unrest of people is growing each day. I now imagine, thanks to the folks here in this thread, that change will come as it does with any social movement; civil unrest will reach a boiling point when we will simply no longer be ignored. I look forward to our very own fever pitch!!

 

[coffey]

I must admit that I am one who has not read the constitution in it's entirety. I've tried many times, but it's not something easily understood, at least by myself anyway. I'll give it another go here in a minute. Also, thank you for the Davey Crockett link. What an inspiring and eye opening story. Things are worse than I imagined...lol Thanks for that!!!

Bryce, if you are interested in reading, and better understanding the constitution, consider reading the supporting documents. Pick up a copy of the Federalist/Anti-Federalist papers. It will give you all the why's and wherefores, and make our founding document much more accessible.

 

[LadyPhoenix]

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing"


I am so with you. Lately I have been itching over all of this...getting angry and frustrated by the greed and corruption of our government. Yet I feel helpless to do much of anything other than rant about it. I've been reading more and more, trying to educate myself, but it's only depressing me because ultimately I feel I can't actually do anything about it.

I'm starting to look into local political groups. This gives me some pause as well, because you don't know what you are getting into until you are in it. But I guess, you have to take some chances and start somewhere.

So, I feel your frustration. You are not alone.

 

[DaveP]

Originally posted by Bryce:

I must admit that I am one who has not read the constitution in it's entirety. I've tried many times, but it's not something easily understood, at least by myself anyway. I'll give it another go here in a minute. Also, thank you for the Davey Crockett link. What an inspiring and eye opening story. Things are worse than I imagined...lol Thanks for that!!!

We had to read it for a college political science class. Had a rather complicated test on it, too. It's something that you have to refer back to for clarification, but things stick out in your memory. Heck, don't feel bad, most of Congress hasn't figured it out yet from the decisions they make.