Exercising our Franchise |
Reading Steve Broe’s article in the September MAAM gave me pause for serious thought. My first thought was that Steve was correct in advising a vote for an alternative party candidate to “keep the debate fresh and in perspective.” My second thought was that it really doesn’t matter who we vote for or who we elect . . . the result is almost always the same. “More of the same.”
The reasons behind this condition are not just a “merging” of the major political parties. Sure, they both move toward the center during elections in hopes of capturing more votes, but they don’t really mean it. In fact, they rarely mean anything they say. Everything they say and do is in response to polls and surveys which tell them what to say, what to do and who to be to influence the most voters. Who they really are is not for us to know. We might find out who someone is when after the election an electee arrogantly commits abhorrent and embarrassing acts, but who they are is not really an issue anymore. Once elected, they are all at the effect of America’s ruling class. Our new Royalty. The people we used to call “Civil Servants.” Have government employees turned on us? Absolutely not! Like middle management everywhere, they are simply watching out for themselves first. Taking care of their own. For them, it’s a matter of survival. Their survival, not ours! In fact, they are doing their jobs (as they see them) very well. No “blame” there. Just good business, fellow “customers.”
According to our Constitution, all of the power in this country resides in the people. When we elect people to represent us, some of that power is transferred (in trust) to the elected. Our electees “hire” people to manage people who administer our public “business” and some of our power is transferred to the managers and administrators. This sounds very reasonable. After all, everything has to be approved by our elected representatives, doesn’t it? The reality is that everything does have to be approved by our representatives, but our elected representatives are almost entirely reliant upon our government employees for information and even opinions to know what to approve. Whether at the federal, state or local level; those elected to represent us become the puppets of those employed by our governments and represent them. We, the people, are left out.
Because we are always eager to blame someone when something goes wrong, we vote this way and that to mete out justice for misdeeds during the last term. No matter how we vote, however, everything stays the same. Because the real cause of everything doesn’t change. Our permanent ruling class stays in place regardless of who we vote in, or out. The cause is us.
When the first settlers risked their lives to start anew in the “New World,” they were willing to take the risks to get out from under the collective thumbs of European royalty and their willing workers. In a little less than 400 years, we have come full circle. Only now, our duly-elected representatives pretend to be royalty while our government workers have become royalty! Who is back at having no say at all about what happens? Us. The people. Why? Because we would rather find someone to blame than continue to be responsible for what happens in our country after we elect someone. We have abdicated our responsibility as citizens and have given up our freedom. We no longer have choices because we failed to make our choices stick. We failed to make sure our represented us. Our freedom to choose has been canceled because it is a “monkey wrench” in the machinery of government. We are now allowed to go through the motions of choosing, but “the fix is in.” Our government is of, by and for itself. Not us!
Is the prospect too grim to consider? No! It isn’t over. At least, not yet. We may be in for a period of unrest, but we must take back the power and authority granted us in our Constitution. We must hold our elected representatives responsible for representing us! Regardless of their excuses! Their elections did not make them more capable of deciding what is best for us than we are. When they represent “the government,” instead of us, we must call them on it! If they persist in failing to represent us, we the people must throw them out and replace them with representatives who represent us. We must take back our power and authority, or accept being at the bottom of the totem pole. Like we were before our ancestors got here.