Stupid Americans -- Part Three

A fifth respondent has weighed in on the original post. Debbie Goehring is a retired teacher originally from Pennsylvania with many years spent in the classrooms of upper East Tennessee and now a resident with her husband Ron of Isla de Ometepe here in Nicaragua. She reaches much the same conclusion as the other responders: We, the people, have allowed this to happen to us, it's our own damn fault and if it's to be rectified, we, the people, are going to have to put aside our apathy and do something about it.

Can't argue with that.

Debbie apparently also agrees with the other responders that the solution can be found within the current structure (everybody just loves the U.S. Constitution, it seems.) Me, I continue to have serious reservations, but never mind that for now. We're making progress. Debbie proposes a Constitutional amendment that controls campaign spending and another that strips corporations of whatever political power they might have acquired lately (Repeal 'Citizens United' I suppose). She also calls for us to reestablish our 'civic virtue' but I admit that I'm not sure what that means. Whatever it is, she is clearly pissed that the masses have allowed the wealthy and powerful 1% to take and hold control. I'm certainly with her on that one.

Debbie makes reference to Founding Father James Madison (earlier Jane, you might remember, mentioned Thomas Jefferson), continuing this deification status that we, as good Americans, historically accord those individuals who framed the document under which the USA has functioned for damn near 250 years.

For whatever intellect they may have possessed, for whatever good they may have done, both in their day and now ours, there is no refuting the fact that both Jefferson and Madison OWNED other people, a condition with which I, personally, have a serious problem. Can I honestly put a great deal of stock in the words and thoughts of individuals who, somehow in their own minds, justified the ownership of other human beings? Truth be known, no I can't.

The Constitution was written long ago for the benefit of the ruling class when the nation's population was approximately three million. It begins "We, the people of the United States of America" but was no more representative of the "people of the United States of America" than was the Magna Carta. Native Americans, Africans and women had little or no say in this revered creation. They probably would have liked to have been considered and consulted on a matter of this importance. But I digress.

Perhaps I'm being petty and the Constitution can be made workable. Everyone else thinks so. What the Founding Fathers failed to address and what politicians have abused from the very beginning was a checks and balance system on what an elected official is allowed to do, both for themselves and to us, the public. As it stands now, our federally elected officials determine, without answering to anyone, how much they get paid, what kind of benefits they get, and their generous pensions. I cannot remember, as a citizen, ever having a say in any of that. Somehow, our elected officials have decided that they can make rules that they are not subject to, that they're entitled to benefits that the rest of us can't have and that they should be able to retire with a sizable pension after two years of service. And we're, somehow, okay with that?

They've taken the position that, because they were anointed by the democratic process to 'lead' as it were, their power and authority is all-encompassing, to the ridiculous level that they can actually believe that their authority includes an individual woman's uterus. This is preposterous.

Darrell has weighed in again with some additional ideas, several of which I believe are absolutely essential, especially if the precious Constitution is to be made viable again. He proposes term limits for all elected officials and the abolishment of lobbyists. I second both motions. He also states that we, the public, should seek more intelligent leaders, something that's been severely lacking in recent history. Darrell swears they're out there, but with the exception of Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, and maybe Al Franken, I have my doubts. Intelligence nowadays seems to be pointed more at technology, not politics. Darrell says we should vote out all current legislators

Here's something I believe is essential: Elected officials who do abuse authority -- the public trust -- should be put under the jail for a long, long time. No exceptions. A clear message needs to be sent: corruption of any kind will no longer be tolerated in any way, form or fashion. Period. Steal from the public, misrepresent the public, fail to act in the public's best interest, go to jail. Busting rocks. With a little hammer.

Okay folks, more information needed. What else?

Stupid Americans -- Part Two

It's been about a day and a half since Part One was published and it drew four very good responses. I had hoped for more, but I'll settle for what I can get. The first, from my lovely wife Carol, merely indicated that she was generally in agreement for the most part with what had been initially stated.

I like that in a wife. Basic support with a certain amount of reservation. I admit to being a bit off center most of the time, a condition that she is often quick to recognize and acknowledge.

The second response came from my Granada friend Darrell Bushnell, an individual of good standing here with relatively decent sense who some of us here in Nicaland recently pushed for what was then the open position of Pope. However, the Cardinals in power failed to see the wisdom of selecting a non-Catholic with habits that include a fondness for golf, rum and cigarettes. Pope Darrell -- he coulda been a contender. Sadly, the mackerel snappers settled for Pope Frank.

Darrell professes a greater belief in the current American democratic system than I and is correctly of the opinion that the fault with the state of affairs as they now stand lies with voters who continue to return idiots to positions of governmental importance, namely the 536 people who are periodically sent to Washington to make the rules under which we are all suppose to live if we are to call ourselves good Americans. He would also like to see these individuals vote their consciences rather than 'party lines,' a concept that makes me a tad nervous but certainly is within the realm of speculation if we're trying to find improvement. We both heartily agree that there is no place in government for lobbyists. I, personally, would even go a step further and make it a major capital crime for any individual acting as an agent for any special interest to attempt in any manner to influence any government official in any way. I'm talking serious jail time here, folks. Neither the NRA nor the liquor industry has the power to vote, nor should they; that is a right and privilege reserved for the 'people.' Darrell concludes his remarks with an illusion toward the 'voice of the people' as though there was one, which I don't believe exists. In my humble opinion, there seems to be thousands, even millions of 'voices,' many of which are, sadly, utterly stupid. The flaw with Darrell's opinion that the current system is adequate and workable is that it depends heavily upon stupid people doing unstupid things. Historically, this simply hasn't been the case.

The next reply came from Jane Kerr, a retired school teacher originally from Maryville, TN, who now lives in Florida where she works with animals, does a lot of hiking and paints. I should also mention that Jane and I went to college together 40 something years ago. From past discussions, it is safe to say that Jane is considerably more conservative than I, but this is generally true of anyone and everyone I know. But that's okay, it's been like this ever since I was a kid and I've gotten used to it. Like Darrell and I before her, Jane takes issue with the individual, holding each and all of us responsible for the current mess. But Jane does give us a starting point from which we can begin to form solutions, namely a quote from Thomas Jefferson as to what the role of government should be in our lives. According to Jane, Jefferson said, "The purpose of government is to enable the people of a nation to live in safety and happiness. Government exists for the interests of the governed, not for the governors."

I agree with this quote with the exception of the 'happiness' part. How can a government promote or guarantee 'happiness'? I especially like the last sentence though, which unfortunately has been lost and forgotten by the current 'governors' and is the actual root of the problem. Somewhere along the way, our elected officials have decreed themselves to be American 'royalty' and have acted accordingly, showering themselves with perks, benefits, pensions and wages that are so far out of line with basic standards as to be deemed ludicrous. More about this later.

The last response came from an old friend in Tennessee, Avent Lane, a truly wonderful person and one of the best bass players on the planet. Avent is active in local politics in his hometown of Murfreesboro, and also believes, like Darrell and Jane, that the system is salvageable. He cites basic greed as the main culprit and it's hard to argue otherwise. He quotes Walt Kelly's famous line from the comic strip Pogo "We have met the enemy and he is us." Truth in its simplest form.

Avent's solution is simple: We should all, each and every one of us, get up off our butts and become active participants in the process. A noble thought indeed and this would certainly work if everyone was as smart as Avent, but alas, such is not the case. America is inhabited with massive amounts of stupidity that has to be addressed in some form or another because the system allows stupidity to vote and stupidity has put us in the shape we're in.

So, where do we start?