We The People... Who?

Discussing politics, a wise man once told me, "no matter what your stance, [politics] automatically give someone a reason to hate you." Meaning either another will agree with you, or they won't.

Considering the current season of political tension, I reflect back on the underlying beliefs that established the mess, if you will, that we seem to be in today. I ponder at times, what the founding fathers might say concerning the current elements of global nature. I'm not referring to 'global warming' either.

The Declaration of Independence is a majestic document to say the least. Unanimously approved some 231 years ago, this masterpiece boldly stated not only a declarative pledge of freedom, but also explained the cause for the action. The fundamental belief is found in the second paragraph which states.

"Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the
consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish
it... ...Prudence, indeed will dictate that Governments long established should
not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience
hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable,
than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed."

Now I do not suggest that the government of the United States needs abolishing. Rather where are the citizens to run and operate the government? It may be true that politics as we know it is a dirtier occupation than selling used vehicles. If this is the case, We the People allowed it to become so. Where are the publicans and moral compasses for our day that were so prevalent in Washington's' time? Where are the laborers, teachers, farmers, and journeymen in the halls of Congress?

I believe its time that America replaces the power-hungry with the powerless. Possibly then, those who have been oppressed by American politics may come together and find solutions that are not motivated by personal agenda or special interest. It pains me to hear fellow citizens deride and despond the greatness this country has to offer while acting ambivalent to the path of progress.

Evil will always occur in this world, and we can suffer through those times. It is not the evil that I fear most, but rather the way we as a nation react to it that carries the higher cause for concern. It is not the terrorists that scare me as much as the bickering that occurs within our land concerning who is right and who is wrong. The quote, "A house divided against itself cannot stand" was not meant as a mere comment for the suggestion box. Tocqueville saw that our greatness came from our churches. In those sacred gatherings, no matter the theology, we unite as people common in one belief. It is time for us to unite in one belief as a nation, that our potential and greatness need not be sacrificed over political differences with our neighbor. This ultimately is scarier than any bomb that may be set off on our shores.

Our founding fathers understood this to be 'self-evident.' I hope we soon find it to be as obvious as they did.