In virtually all relationships communication should flow in multiple directions or, at the very least in two directions, if only two are engaged in the conversation. This is true if the relationship is between marital partners, parent and child, employer and employee, and in our country it should be true if the relationship is between a citizen and his representative in government. As I have noted before, many elected officials (particularly at the federal level) are no more interested in engaging the citizenry as the man in the moon. They prefer the insulation they have and consequently become more concerned about ensuring their electability. As a young man I can remember my father telling me, " There is a certain amount of respect in fear"! Now before you conjure up the notion that dad was a madman always carrying an instrument of death and destruction in his hand let me explain. His point was as simple as his humility and faith. What he was talking about was the fear of consequence. It seems this simple view has been lost in our ever-expanding world of knowledge and information. A child has to understand there are consequences of acts and as we mature and continue through life that notion should remain and guide us in our decision making process. Now it seems many of those that govern are not cognizant of that simple principle. They are insulated, not engaging in two way street communication and yet expecting the respect of the people. Remember, "there is a certain element of fear in respect". The consequence (or the fear thereof) seems to have been lost by many of these officials. The fear or consequence that I mean is the loss of an election. They strive to maintain their electability even while snubbing many who put them in office in the first place. If we want or expect respect from these officials we need to remind them of the ballot box and take action to remind them there is a consequence for their actions.
Let me give you an example: congress just approved a massive spending bill that encompasses more than I can write about at one sitting. Billions of dollars are dedicated to education funding including construction and maintenance. Now let's assume for a minute that in my local school district the voters rejected a school levy at the last election. Let's assume further that the levy was intended for construction and/or maintenance. The federal government in one swoop has taken away my (and your) constitutional right for local control. I didn't want my tax money to fund the project, but it is going to anyway. I'm very concerned that the federal government is not "Big Brother" but is more like "Daddy". The only way the government can continue on the road to corralling us all is for us to continue to yield and not show them that there is, in fact, a certain element of fear in respect. In the above example there is no respect for the will of the majority. The majority then needs to take action to demonstrate the consequence of the disregard of that will.
I am not opposed to education and the above paragraph is only to demonstrate how actions of our elected officials are more far reaching than what is immediately apparent. I am still of the belief that the best solution for our economic woes would be through a massive transfer of power from congress to the people of this country, and that will be accomplished when HR 25/S296 (the fairtax bill) becomes the law of the land along with the elimination of the IRS. And again, I qualified my comments by not saying all politicians ... I did, however, say many. One exception is Congressman King from Iowa and I believe his head and heart are in the right place. It is lengthy but I strongly recommend reading his statement from the house floor in February and that can be found via the following link:
http://api.ning.com/files/ijX8C*O32jq4mDON8LHH14tvsaeWToPz7zZFOBYHZTfyKMHFNFlTHcPjrdmiDeJQVcsMhu*HdI8bd*1yqMbAJ938U9Oaqybq/howtodealwiththeeconomiccrisis.txt
Well, at least Spring is coming!!
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