Conscious choices?

  Being responsible. Being responsible is winding up the extension cord and neatly storing it away for next time. That's what you do. Being responsible is putting your trash in the trash can, even when it is just a small wrapper. Being responsible is putting that shopping cart in the space provided instead of just shoving it on the grass or in the parking spot next to your car. Being responsible is doing the things you know to be right. Being responsible is reacting to your conscience, not making excuses for it. Sometimes called, becoming your parents. There is a television ad campaign centered on that, although I don't remember what it is they are advertising. That happens sometimes, the entertainment value distracts you from the message. I've had that happen with my blogs on occasion. I'm not certain if it is entertainment or disagreement, that causes that distraction. 

 I think it is just something we learn with age. Responsibility is what makes the road smooth. Sometimes it is just for ourselves and at other times for others. It is when you aren't concerned about which that is you have begun to mature. When you do the responsible thing without the expectation of recognition or a desire for that recognition, that's maturity, or getting old, however you choose to view it. Some will call you an old fuddy- duddy. Fastidious is also a term applied to you. That is when others think you have gone over the top, being fastidious is not a good thing, unless that person is your surgeon, then you would want him or her to be extremely fastidious! Same with your banker, then it's a good thing. 

 The outcome is based in the details. That is true in life as well as deeds. Attention to detail, a responsibility to doing what is right, that is the mark of maturity, or just getting old. whichever way you look at that. When we learn to listen to our conscience that is where we find peace. We also discover that it tales effort, patience, and an acceptance of failure. It isn't excusing the failure however, it is just accepting that you failed. You don' make excuses for that, you don't attempt to justify or rationalize, you just accept the outcome. The secret is not to have others conscience conforms to yours, but rather to learn to live with your own conscience. If you have to make excuses for that, it is wrong. 

 What can you allow, in good conscience. The reality is you can really only control yourself, not what others will do. So it really isn't about allowing others to do anything, it is about allowing yourself. How easily will you deviant from the responsible course of action? You know what is right, but will you do it? That's being responsible. All of that is on an individual basis. 

 Today we are faced with our national conscience. That is what we call politics. We are discussing our conscience, what we will allow, condone, codify and declare to be the fair and responsible actions to be taken. The Constitution defines our national conscience. That is my feeling anyway. And like we do with our own conscience we interpret what it is saying depending upon circumstance. The Constitution is now 231 years old, having been ratified in 1789. It has been amended 27 times over that span. The first time included ten amendments, known as the Bill of Rights. There were included to delineate the basic civil rights of the people. That was their concern, not the administration of government. We are all aware of most of them, more so today I would suggest than of any other time since they were written. Those rights are being scrutinized and redefined. Consider the second amendment as an example. The right to bear arms shall not be infringed. That was written to protect the citizens from the government. That is the conscience of America. A person should never be denied the right to defend themselves. The people writing and voting on that amendment were all too aware of what can happen when the people are stripped of that ability. They also knew you don't bring a sword to a gunfight! That's the very reason they said what they said, shall not be infringed. Infringed means restricted! We the people have the right to stand on equal ground. Then there is the 9th amendment. One you don't hear others repeating very often unless they are a lawyer attempting to defend someone, some company or corporation. That being extended to include those entities. It says: " The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights in the Constitution shall not be construed to deny, or disparage others retained by the people." So just what does that mean? It means just because a right isn't written down in the Constitution doesn't mean you don't have that right. It's a matter of conscience. And it is conscience that we are discussing so vehemently today. What is right and wrong, not necessarily convenient or the easiest thing to do. Yes, it is easier to just allow everything without restriction, to take the politically expedient path. But we must obey our conscience for harmony to exist. Our Constitution is that conscience and one I will not abandon. Rewriting that document will redefine what the American dream is all about. Yes, we have made amendments, 27 of them as I pointed out. The first ten secured the rights of the people, the rest have all benefitted the government in some fashion or another. You could argue that isn't true because of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. I can see that but what did they actually do? They just reaffirmed our conscience that all men are created equal. That was declared in the Declaration of Independence although it hadn't been written into the Constitution itself. As a result some in our nation set aside their conscience in favor of commerce. Others denied certain rights based on race and gender. Hey, the conscience of America, the Constitution didn't say they couldn't, so that made it right, at least in their view it did. And so in my view those amendment did benefit the government by delineating those rights as a part of the collective conscience! What a tragic thing it was to have to write that down, that some would allow their conscience to endorse such. 

 And here we are today, debating the national conscience. And what is the deciding factor? Our individual wants, that is what it boils down to. What will you decide? Are you comfortable with your choice based on conscience or what you want? Voting is an adult decision, the choices you make not for personal gain but rather for the common good. The issue of charity is often raised as a moral choice. We should vote for this or that because it is the charitable thing to do. The Constitution doesn't address charity. The Constitution delineates the function of government. It is a defining of those powers. Charity is a matter of personal conscience, not a function of government. You can not litigate charity! Consider these statements: " To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea. "  ( James Madison )  " Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. " ( John Adams ) 

Both men are speaking of conscience. Isn't our conscience developed by what we are taught is virtuous? Does that instruction not come from our religious teachings? As to whether we accept those teachings , that is another matter completely. Still, they are the standard, the measure in which society judges our actions.