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Re: SamIam post# 816

Sunday, 09/09/2007 4:46:57 PM

Sunday, September 09, 2007 4:46:57 PM

Post# of 867
Holy Mackerel, Terry

Your fingers have been busy. They must be tired. I doubt I can cover everything in one sitting, but I won't cover any if I don't get started.

You are correct. You certainly are one of "We, the people" and are as qualified as anyone to question the meaning and intent of our Constitution. More than some, perhaps, because you are willing to consider the possibility that it wasn't made in heaven. You have the courage to consider the possibility "... that Democracy doesn't exist." Not many are willing to entertain that notion.

Part of what makes that a difficult question is that "democracy" can mean different things to different people. A strong supporter of the current regime, for example, might think the ascension of his party is an example of democracy at its best. Others might disagree. In fact, they do. We see both sides of this question argued heatedly on the politics boards.

If you think of "democracy" as the "man in the street" affecting our government, I agree with you. We don't got some o' dat. As I said in one of my posts on the topic,

"The political parties that control all political activity in the United States are in no sense democratic. The American people do not elect those who control the parties. In fact, most Americans don't even know who they are. They are appointed by their party and serve at the party's pleasure. We, the people the parties are supposed to represent, have no control over who these people are, how long they serve, or the deals they make to raise the immense amounts of money they use to keep their party in power. They constitute a ruling elite above and beyond the reach of the American people."

"When we allow those who control our political parties to usurp the power of governing our nation, it is foolish to imagine that we retain the power bestowed on us by our Constitution. It is a tragedy that so few of us recognize (or are willing to acknowledge) that we have relinquished our right to govern ourselves to unknown people who proclaim themselves our agents."


It seems to me the most important point in all this, the point we need to think about, is this: What has happened in our country was not accidental. It happened because we trusted our elected officials. We let them change the rules and they passed laws that favored themselves, at our expense.

It's not just that abomination called gerrymandering. When I learned about "riders" in school (the trick of adding items to a law that benefit a politician) I was appalled ... as much by the teacher's attitude that "that's the way it is" as by the enormity of the concept. You are right to be angry about these things. They should infuriate us all.

These things are not new. You and I are not the first people enraged by the conduct of our "chosen representatives". Nor are we the first to try to correct them. We really need to look at the fact that the process by which these "representatives" are raised to positions of power is seriously flawed.

re: "I'm not sure what else can be said or done anymore to unravel the quagmire the country is in."

I wish I had the answer. In some ways, you have more tolerance and more patience than I have. You may be able to do something I'm incapable of: When someone mentions something they think is wrong, ask them how it came to pass and why it hasn't been outlawed. Then, keep after them until they see how it flows from laws passed (or killed) by the legislators who are supposed to be representing our interests.

One of the best examples of what I mean are the people who complain that the federal reserve system is a conspiracy foisted on us by financiers. That may be. I lack the knowledge to agree or disagree, but if it's correct, who passed the laws that enabled The Federal Reserve System? When you look at the quagmire carefully, you find that it always comes down to this question: How did the law get passed!!!

OK, kiddo, that's about as much as I can handle right now. Talk to you later.

Fred

p.s. I see you've posted a "book". It looks interesting, but it will take me some time to digest it. flg.

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