On this day, four years removed from the election of Barack Hussein Obama, our country faces one of its worse crisis's since the Great Depression and World War II. Today's generations have never dealt with such apocryphal times, nor have we had these types of looming economic disasters staring directly into our eyes. Terrorism, foreign and abroad, threatens our existence; how we meet this challenge will define us as a nation.
Let me first help everyone understand what terrorism does to an individual. Psychologically, once a human has been terrorized, h/she will withdraw and become submissive to the perpetrator, possibly making excuses for the terrorist if the victim believes expressing such "reasoning" will curtail future incidents. Oftentimes a leader will appear clothed as a savior but revealed to be an oppressor, essentially positioning himself in such a way to magnanimously usurp power from those who only want the perception of safety--safety promised after an individual or group has been terrorized. A prime example of perceived safety is Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration, or TSA. So bureaucratic is TSA that if a frequent traveler truly believes h/she is safe while flying, they are either naive or blind to the truth.
We must continue to battle terrorism on its doorstep or terrorism will win here at home. Signs of a terrorist victory are demonstrated by a scared populace who willingly give up freedoms, not by terrorists conquering lands or defeating armies. George Bush capitalized on our fears when he passed the Patriot Act giving the government unprecedented power and insight into our personal lives. Barack Obama has shied away from aggressively challenging our foreign enemies but has assaulted our right to keep and bear arms. Obama, however, has done so in a very strategic manner--the impact of his actions are minimal until the opportunity arises to push additional legislation through. Each time an attack is committed with firearms the call to "do something" will be shouted from the roof tops and our legislators will do just that: something. Something, in this case, shall be defined as stripping the citizenry of another right. Slowly but surely as a nation we become weaker, and slowly but surely our government gleans more power.
Our Constitution is the fabric from which our country was sewn. Frequent interpretation lessens its validity and each time the citizenry allows our elected officials to interpret it, our country suffers. Now I would like to clarify that some amending has been instrumental in our evolution as a free society: women and minority suffrage are prime examples of required amending. But continued relenting by the populace to allow our elected officials to bend The Constitution to their will opens each of us to being controlled by the very people whose only job is to protect the document they are bending! How disastrous and mortifying these days are for each of us.
To what am I alluding when I talk about interpretation or bending of our Constitution? As I stated above, the most recent assault on our rights has come via presidential order. The cold hard truth is our most powerful elected official has decided to redefine what constitutes an "assault" weapon and how many rounds a weapon can and will hold. To minimize casualties during sinister and murderous shootings, the president and his minions have decided these ideas are in our best interest. The government has also called for a national gun registry, which outwardly sounds okay, but what we don't comprehend is that our elected officials will be the deciders of who can own a weapon and who can't. Should I not pay a speeding ticket or post something to some social media site a government official doesn't like, my name could appear as one not qualified to own a firearm. As far reaching as this may sound, ideas such as these are being seriously considered on the federal level. Some congressmen have even bantered around the possibility of the forced disarming of America! These are your elected officials who have sworn an oath to protect The Constitution, the same document that protects our right to keep and bear arms.
Next, I would like to briefly discuss the economic disaster we have staring directly at us. Our country is over sixteen trillion dollars in debt with much of that debt owned by China--a sworn enemy to freedom and democracy. To default on our debt would be globally disastrous; to borrow any more money from China or any other country is equally disastrous. Our president, and many on his side of the aisle have called for increased taxation in order to pay down much of our debt; thus far, there have been no signs that spending will be curbed on the federal level.
We have been called upon as patriots to help our country pay its debt. I do not believe there is an American reading this who doesn't believe h/she should help, but when is enough really enough? The truth is if everyone making $250,000 per year and above were taxed at 100%, our debt still wouldn't be paid. How do we pay the debt, then, without creating another market disaster? It's really quite simple--stop spending. How does the cessation of spending impact America? Obviously, the absolving or cutting back on many programs and jobs will hurt some, but our government is out of control. The United States Senate has not passed a budget in almost four years! Why haven't they passed a budget you may ask? Because they know they can't curtail their appetite for spending your money. Should we give in and pay more money (taxes) our government will do nothing but spend it--this is their legacy and this is our president's history.
The quick and easy solution to our problems are to demand tougher penalties for criminals and those who assist criminals up to and including a speedy trial (Constitutionally protected) and a speedy penalty (death if required). I have no problem paying more money to hire more police officers, so long as those police officers aren't a part of the bureaucratic mess (IE. unions, etc.). What I do have a problem with is paying money into ineffectual programs that do not have success rates above eighty percent (it doesn't matter the program, should it not be successful by this definition, federal funding should be pulled immediately). I do not believe the government has the ability to run a business, nor should it embroil itself in the private sector. Bank bailouts, government loans and mandating nationalized insurance are areas our elected officials have no place in delving. Government health has proven itself a failure time ad nauseum in other countries and there's no reason to believe it will be successful here.
Lastly, I want to point out that I still believe in the United States of America and I believe she will survive in spite of our elected officials, not because of them. Our country's leaders have specific duties as outlined by our legal documents. Now is the time for us to hold them accountable, demand term limits for congressmen/women, make them adhere to budgets and pay back our debt. They must never be allowed to dig us in a hole like this again, ever!
I call on each of you to write and call your elected officials and demand a return to responsibility, both personal and governmental, fiscal and social. Only then will our nation prosper and move forward with absolution. Until then, the word "forward" will only be recognized as a campaign slogan.
Sincerely,
Howard Upton
