“Sure signs of what Colonel?” Sure signs that America is traveling a precariously declining path, far from the principles of our founding, with an increasing number of Washington politicians caring little and putting our republic in real jeopardy. Have doubts? Read on.
Sign #1:
Ignoring the Constitution: Every
Representative, Senator and President swears a sacred oath to preserve, protect
and defend the Constitution of the
In 1995, Rep John
Shadegg, R-Arizona introduced the Enumerated Powers Act (HR1359).
His bill would simply require what I consider the fundamentally
obvious—that our federal government show where any proposed bill is authorized
and justified by the Constitution. To
date, after 13 years, it’s had only 44 Co-Sponsors in the House, zero support
in the Senate and zero support from any President.
It has never even seen the light of day in terms of being seriously
considered, debated and put up for a vote in either chamber!
What does that say about those who lead us politically?
There should be absolutely no objection to this IF our
Representatives, Senators and Presidents were sincerely concerned about the
Constitution, their oath of office and
Sign # 2: Voting Money from the Public Treasury: As written by Alexis de Tocqueville and sometimes also attributed to Alexander Tytler, "A Democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only last until the citizens discover they can vote themselves largesse [money] out of the public treasury. After that, the majority always votes for the candidate promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that the Democracy always collapses over a loose fiscal policy, to be followed by a dictatorship…." Although ours is a republic, not a democracy, the warning remains valid. Unfortunately, such has been the case for years and this latest “bail out” is nothing more than voting money we don’t have into pockets that constitutionally shouldn’t be getting it. Where does it end and will it end before we experience a more severe fiscal crisis? No. Such spending leads to destructive inflation, currency devaluation and trillions in debt—debts we simply can’t pay.
Sign# 3:
Arrogant Leaders: Webster
defines arrogance as; the offensive display of superiority or self-importance;
overbearing pride. An attitude of
superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims of
assumptions. Does that sound
anything like
Sign #4: A
Disingenuous Press: When the press
doesn’t hold our government publicly accountable for such irresponsible
behavior, they’ve betrayed their watchdog role as originally envisioned and
they reveal exactly what side of the fence they’re on.
When they lie, cover up, spike, play down and slant the news in favor of any
side, they contribute mightily to the undermining of
Sign #5:
Public Apathy vs. Pubic Resolve: Finally, as the people of any country
grow richer…and lazier…apathy incrementally creeps in and many are apt to
let the political leadership get away with just about anything.
Why? They no longer care enough to keep themselves informed, are averse
to upsetting their comfortable apple cart or have no real way to organize to
fight or oppose bad leadership. Not
all is lost in
The patriots among us
must strongly confront this blight of apathy that facilitates and abets such
sure signs of decline if we’re to be as dedicated to
Just
the view from my saddle…
Contact Colonel Dan: coloneldan@bellsouth.net