A Message of Political Import

[bystander]

I do not believe in politicians as I consider most to be charlatans. Preaching before the people and pointing angry fingers of blame is an old story. Yet it works. It works because of our deep-set dissatisfaction with life in general or our particular place in it. That's why we look to them. That's why we believe in them. Many of us live in a state of constant "quiet desperation" (Pink Floyd) yet we pretend otherwise until we hear the words we long to hear. Then we lose our individual identity and willingly divide ourselves at their direction.

I do understand that the government has helped a great many people while simultaneously greatly harming others. But it is not my wish to become so emotionally charged that I believe in a man or a woman who uses our passions and personal hang-ups as a weapon to convince us to trust them while they continue to live like royalty when we know they are lying thieves.

Always remember that WE are the government. Whatever it is they do comes from us. Their legitimacy is derived solely by the consent of the governed. WE are the governed. We have given that power to them.

And any initiative that involves money comes from us. Never forget that.

No matter who wins the election, I will be the same person in the sense that I will not over-react beyond my general nature. Maybe I don't have the nerve. Maybe I'm honoring the will of the people. And tomorrow I hope to grow while embracing certain truths of my existence.

I will not be a burden on society. I will work my hardest to ensure that my children are not a burden on society. I will endeavor to increase my levels of empathy for my fellow man. I will remain calm and take care of the business of kindness, love, work ethic, reasonableness, open-mindedness and compromise. I will remember that you can't always get what you want. I will simplify my life and take heart in my blessings. I will remember my mistakes and learn from them. I will not blame anyone for what I know in my heart to be the things that I, and I alone, own. And I will accept the result of a Constitutional process for I believe in it and that is what we ask the President to uphold. And as Barbara Jordan stated during the impeachment process of Richard Nixon:

"My faith in the Constitution is whole; it is complete; it is total."

I will not assume anyone is evil on the basis of mere words, however emotionally laden, because I know we are all human and what you believe to be best for our country is your right and is also because of the life you lived and the things that happened to you along the way.

I have friends on both sides of the aisle. If you treat me with respect then I will respect you. It's that simple. And if you disrespect me, I will try to take it by turning the other cheek while wondering if I deserved the blow. And I will wonder if you really meant it because I know anger is a flash of thunder that can cause deep levels of regret. And I want to be a forgiving man.

But I know what I say about embracing my own personal responsibility is not enough because complacency or apathy grows even if you achieve all that a diligent human being can do for their own family. If we leave it at that then we have left something for others. And if oppression exists, then somehow I must become a voice against it. So I fill the air with the kind of thinking that reflects the man I want to be. It may not be who I am in its entirety but it will be an affirmation of what I want to be. And if it helps soften our environment then all the better.

Here's a quote from a man that I believe managed to encapsulate the slow movement of life in the direction it is intended:

"There ain't no revolution, only evolution, but every time I'm in Georgia I eat a peach for peace."

Duane Allman

 

[huisache]

Pink Floyd lifted the line about quiet desperation from the 19th century rural rocker Henry David Thoreau

 

[bystander]

Pink Floyd lifted the line about quiet desperation from the 19th century rural rocker Henry David Thoreau

Yeah... I didn't know that. Thanks...

 

[Monahorns]

Always remember that WE are the government. Whatever it is they do comes from us. Their legitimacy is derived solely by the consent of the governed. WE are the governed. We have given that power to them.

I appreciate the statement, but I simply don't believe this paragraph, at least anymore. I think this is the big lie we all swallowed as children.

The government is something other than the people. It is its own thing which has its own incentives and interests. Because people work for the Federal government some of those interests/incentives are intermingled with the people's. But the higher you go in the organization the less that is true.

Average citizens don't share much in common with the elites of our society.

We also don't have to actively consent or give assent for our rulers to do what they want. We have given them nothing. They have handed us a system of government that doesn't much rely on us. The is true on a spectrum. We have more ability to influence local and state levels of government. But less and less ability the higher the position is. Even the candidate list is mostly controlled. With our 2 party system we don't get much of a say. We get to vote between 2 people that have been vetted by the elites. That isn't true for Trump, and that is why he has been under attack from the elites for 4 years.

The ideas of consent and will of the governed are mirages. They were never completely true, and today are more or less bald faced lies.

 

[huisache]

Basically agree with Monahorns with a reservation. When the government in power conceives that there is a national consensus they sort of respect it if for no other reason than that they are apprehensive about the reaction if they don’t. A huge problem arises when there is no broad consensus. That has been the case in the last two administrations and so Obama and Trump have resorted to rule by executive decree. And the Congress has largely let them do it.
I prefer divided government because it does less and has to respect the lack of consensus. Most of the time anyway, though not lately. The last time there was a consensus was when we all thought somebody needed killing because of 9/11.

 

[Monahorns]

When the government in power conceives that there is a national consensus they sort of respect it if for no other reason than that they are apprehensive about the reaction if they don’t.

Do you recognize that the government manages popular opinion in order to direct the national consensus?

 

[Monahorns]

The last time there was a consensus was when we all thought somebody needed killing because of 9/11.

Exhibit A of what I said above.

 

[nashhorn]

Certainly true Mona but needs to provide for the MSM influence and public opinion.