"Where liberty is, there is my country"
-Benjamin Franklin
Anymore, the American public has had enough when it comes to our political system. There are promises of change and reform that never seem to happen, constant media coverage of political corruption, and a constant reluctance to engage in bipartisan solutions. I don’t blame you, it has become quite frustrating. Getting elected has turned into more of a statistic and probability game instead of an election based on issues and solutions. As a member of the American public, I know we have some serious problems in front of us as we move forward. Whether it is a dysfunctional education system or a market driven healthcare system we know that these are problems that are in need of solutions. The fact of the matter is, our global competitors are advancing at a faster rate than we are, and eventually we will be surpassed. In order for us to stay competitive and restore the honor back to being an American, we need to start changing the way our politicians are managing the nation.
I still believe that the most honorable job in this country is to be a politician. You are taking part in representing the needs of the people and allowing the wheels of democracy to turn. As in any job you want to make your predecessors proud of what you’ve done. What do you think George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson would have to say about the current state of American politics? I can’t realistically speak on behalf of them, but I can think that they wouldn’t be happy. Our laws are based on the writings of constitution, which was constructed to best serve the people. The importance of the constitution is insurmountable, but my question is why the people are not the focus anymore? In the past 235 years, we should have progressed to better understand how to more efficiently serve the citizens. Instead though, Capitol Hill has become obsessed with party politics, and the best solutions simply aren’t being made. The partisan nature of our current system is destroying the country and is forcing the progress of America into a severe tailspin.
Every election we hear bipartisanship as a key component in everybody’s priorities once in office. It’s only used as a punch line. The reality is that there is no bipartisanship prevalent in America, because each party has their own agenda and they won’t budge. Republicans and Democrats are both guilty of this offense. The GOP is just as guilty as President Obama. Laws get passed if you get enough votes; the law itself is a secondary concern. Getting the votes is the number one priority. The law that gets the most votes is the law that has the most to offer to politicians, not to the people. I mean come on, this is a joke anymore. 1200 page bills that no one will read, backdoor deals to get votes, and just blatant misrepresentation of constituents. Our founding fathers would be disgusted, as are the rest of us. As frustrated as we are, we can’t just complain and give up. We have to offer a solution. Average people rising up and speaking is how our country was founded. So why not revert to such a movement?
I propose that we start to elect politicians committed to bipartisanship, people that understand the need for laws that have a balance between capitalism and moral obligations. If you combine the democrat and republican platforms you could create a great country, a country to be proud of again. Having a two party system is intended to weed out bad laws that don’t benefit Americans, not give both parties a chance to repeal certain laws every time the majority changes in the house and senate. In addition to bipartisanship, we need people with great character, people that understand that every lobbyist bribe hurts an American somewhere. With representation like this in Washington, I’m confident that solutions can be made to benefit the country. I can think of one change that could be made, quite easily, to benefit Americans.
Social entitlement programs seem to be a hot topic. Republicans saying doing away with all the programs and make people rise up on their own, and democrats who want to provide hand outs to anyone who has had misfortune. The amount of low income areas in our nation is unacceptable, this is the greatest nation in the world and we have parents who can’t feed their children. Is this an issue that bipartisanship should solve? I think so. I think a simple reallocation of the budget should do the trick. Take funds from the welfare budget and give it the funds to school systems in low income areas. We can’t afford to have another generation of low income children falling into the same trap that their parents did, we need to invest in these young people. The simplest metric, the literacy rate, in these areas is shameful. I won’t be satisfied till the literacy rate for American citizens is 100%. It simply isn’t fair that these people get looked over year after year. If the country invests money to realistically make these areas a better place to live, the results will show. More education will equal less crime which will equate to more high school graduates and college graduates. An influx in educated people from these areas will without a doubt increase the wealth in these areas. It is our moral obligation to do this. We created this problem by ignoring it all of these years, it’s our duty to make things right.
This may not be the best solution, but the goal of this type of thinking is for us to encourage bipartisanship. It’s our duty to demand this of our politicians and only elect people that will abide by a “best solution will prevail” way of thinking. All of the huge issues (healthcare, national security, tax reform, etc.) facing our country can be solved with this type of thinking.
As a citizen you should know what issues we are facing. Unfortunately, people don’t have an interest anymore so these issues get neglected. Before we can improve our politicians, we have to improve ourselves. We need to care, we can’t continue to look the other way, and we can’t engage in anymore senseless rhetoric. If we can show politicians that we will no longer tolerate the inconsistencies of their methods, then I know that they will be forced to revert to public service in how it was originally intended to be served.
So in closing, this is our country and as a democracy it is our duty to take control and demand actual change. We have to stress the importance of bipartisanship in the solution of our nation’s problems. The future success of our country depends on it, failure is not an option. We must become the best country in the world, again. Remember this was a country founded on the ideas of liberty. Liberty can’t be taken lightly. It is our responsibility. If we don’t change and speak up, then why even bother with democracy?
“In a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility.”
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