Dear Readers and Fellow Freedom Lovers:
I am writing to you today to explain the purpose of this blog, which is basically my own private space to churn up ideas, flesh them out, and get some dialogue started on issues that I believe to be closely tied to our freedom and power, whether that be political, ideological, economic, environmental, geographic, educational, and so on. I will most likely focus on education (children's, parent's and community rights), environmental (which I find to be closely tied to economic, geographic, and cultural ideas and systems), and political freedoms, because these are the subjects of which I am most concerned with.
However, any issue of freedom should be viewed with a wide scope and a long lens, because very easily can a change in one realm in the present affect a change in other realms in the future. We must take into careful consideration the paths which we pursue, and realize that every action sets a precendent for further action. Here is an example: In a recent article by Paul Krugman in the NY Times which dealt with the importance of climate change on the political agenda, the statement was made that the government and legislation (law making) were the only ways to start the large-scale, immediate change necessary to prevent disaster on the planet. Let's just assume that this statement is true, for now... America has had to use government, legislation, and newly created political bodies to deal with emergency situations many times before - the depression and world War II are great examples. What I argue, is that when and if we set up these new governmental bodies to deal with specific emergency problems, we include a stipulation in their creation that once the emergency is dealt with, or whenever the private sector can adequately take over for the government, the body and legislation that was created should be abolished. If we don't include such stipulations, our taxes will go nowhere but up, the bulkiness (and slowness) of the bureaucracy (all those papers, people, and long waits you have to deal with anytime the government is involved) will continue to increase, and the power of the government will continue to take over rights and responsibilities that used to reside in the realm of The People. Ask any teacher or politician if they ever actually reduce the size of their budget. For instance, if a school is rewarded a certain amount of money yearly to run a specific program, and the program fails, you will most likely see a scramble of administrators trying to find out what they can buy in the meantime so that the money still gets used. This is because any money that they do not use in that school year gets taken away from them in future school years under the presumption that they don't need it; and this just leads to them spending the money on things they don't need so that the money is guaranteed to them next year, program or not. This is is common lace practice with any company or business that receives funding from an outside source. So the more and more we allocate new funds to new places, we have to keep in mind that we many never see this money again - ever! Even if we think that we are investing in a preventative measure that will reduce taxes in the future, we must be the check and balance for our public officials. If we are not watching - I assure you, waste will occur... and it's your money they're wasting. We must stay informed, and always look with a critical eye if we want to protect our interests.
This in itself is something that even the most informed of us have a hard time doing. Forget the fact that most of us work, have families, and are creating an over-scheduling crisis for ourselves and our kids, but we have allowed our government to grow in such size and complexity that I sincerely wish any of you luck who want to attempt to de-tangle it. What are it's monstrous parts? How does the thing work? Where does the money goes? Where the on/off button? And how did it come to take on a life of it's own - a regular Frankenstein and we, my friends, are the doctors...
Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our work cut out for us. It will be a long, hard, and really confusing journey to reign in our government, even if it is just enough to let the average person know what is going on. The health care debate is a good example. Does the average American really know what changes are being made and how it will affect them? I am a pretty educated person, I have a background in politics, economics, and social programs, and I read the news on a regular basis - but beyond the basics, I really don't know what is being debated, who is on what side, and how this will really affect me in the end. Some of us may be privy, and my intention is to become more and more aware of the details, but I fear most of our fellow citizens will be left behind not knowing what hit them from where... and to be honest, I don't blame them. Keeping up is exhausting, especially for those of us who hadn't worked out our frontal lobes as much when they were developing. Seriously, your brain gets hardened and it becomes much harder to think after the age of (about) 25 - so it's not our faults. But it's also not impossible...
My solution is to start this forum for discussion. I will reach out to other forums, ask you to spread news of this blog far and wide, and to get involved. Even if it is to contradict what I saw, provide new information, or simply ask a question. We are in this together America, and only if we come together, help each other out, and try our hardest to become a more informed electorate (group of voters) can we really hope to salvage what we have left of our power as The People. This country was made for us and by us and The People should be the most important voice in the debate - not just an afterthought or pawn in the game that is spoken to nicely around election time.
America Unite!
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