the common good

  I have been avoiding the news in an effort to avoid the negative. I feel somewhat like an ostrich sticking my head in the sand. They really don't do that, that's fake news. But I have avoided the national news to a degree. I find it a bit like a car wreck, it's hard to just look away. I do realize that there is little I can do to change anything in that regard. In the big scheme of things I'm just a tiny cog. I have signed the petition for a convention of the states. That is one course of action that we the people can take. The fore fathers thought a time like this may come and I have to say I think they are right. It is time we took some corrective action on the political scene. What needs to be decided is the course of the nation. Can we maintain a republic? That is what Franklin was concerned with and what faces us today. The issue, as I see it, lies in unity. One nation, under God. What does that mean? Simply put it means, common beliefs. We all have to be on the same page in the book and we sure aren't today. 

 The God of the constitution is an understanding of basic tenets. Sometimes called the Golden rule, we want to treated in the way we treat others. Well, that's true when we treat others well, but we don't talk much about that. Perhaps those patriots' of old were a bit idealistic in their beliefs. But I'm thinking it wasn't so much belief, as expectation. They were concerned with image and doing the right thing. Give me liberty or give me death. No taxation without representation and all that. They did expect men to act in a certain way, in a gentlemanly and moral fashion. Not that they all did, that is well documented, but it was the standard at that time. It is my feeling the standards have been lowered considerably. 

 The biggest issue as far as I can tell is that our representatives are being paid to represent us. That wasn't always the case. In the beginning the Congress was convened to conduct business. The business was taken care of and the representatives went back home to whatever industry they were employed with. Now I understand the business got to be more frequent, more time was needed, and the old way proved impractical. It became a full time job. Okay, that's not so bad. The problem is not that they are getting paid so much as who is paying them! Their salaries are drawn on the national treasury, we all know that. We pay our tax and our representatives spend it. Roughly 50% of federal revenue comes from personal income taxes. Now that leaves the other 50% coming from other sources. The battle is between the personal tax and the other revenue streams. The other revenue streams are represented by who? Lobbyists, that's who. Hired guns to negotiate a deal to pay the least amount in taxes. Who is representing you? See the problem? Once every four years the chief executive will make his promises to gain your vote, Your vote is the only representative you have! Senators and Congress people do the same thing, just a little more frequently. Keep in mind they also spend a great deal of your tax money getting themselves reelected. Well that's when they aren't asking you for donations. 

 The problem is now the fox is guarding the hen house. We need to limit that as much as possible. That's the issue we are facing. How do we get impartial representation? That is what is required and what George Washington and the others all agreed upon. Citizen legislators. Each town, hamlet, village, county, and state sending their representatives to form a congress. Yes the number had to be limited for practical reasons, but that was the intent. All vocations were to be represented. Naturally that turned out to be the wealthier members of the community, those perceived to be successful, learned, and powerful. Somewhere along the line that changed. Representatives began to be elected whose objective was to enrich themselves. The electorate decided the "rich" guys should be replaced with the common man. The common man will fight for the common man! But that didn't happen at all, the common man became wealthy. They enjoyed that wealth and power and found ways to remain right were they where. Then the wealthy taxpayers that no longer controlled the congress hired others to fight against the "common" man representatives and the lobbyist was born. A new way for the wealthy politician to remain in office was created. No longer did they need the support of the people, at least not on as large a scale, they could secure their seats through other "favors." Those favors aren't necessarily illegal, just a little unethical. No problem though, we redefined ethics. If it is legal, it is now ethical. Just like moral, if you want to do that, it isn't immoral, it's a choice. 

 That brings us back to where I began. One nation, under God. We all have to agree on the standard. Until that happens we will have unrest. That unrest will ultimately lead to the fall of the Republic. History is proof enough. Already we hear the word Democracy used in place of Republic. That is by design, it is no oversight, no accident. We are told in a Democracy,  majority rules. The unspoken part is the majority will be decided by the representatives, not by the people. The fox is in charge of the hen house. That is what has to be avoided at all costs. That begins with defining the common good. Isn't that what God is all about? That is what they were talking about with one nation under God.