Obamacare (Photo credit: Shan213)
As I read the recent White House response to the secession petitions, it struck me as just how meaningless and totally irrelevant the Government sees it citizens. “In a nation of 300 million people — each with their own set of deeply-held beliefs — democracy can be noisy and controversial. And that’s a good thing. Free and open debate is what makes this country work, and many people around the world risk their lives every day for the liberties we often take for granted,” writes Director of the Office of Public Engagement Jon Carson.
So let’s examine part of that statement. “Free and open debate makes this country work” unless you disagree with the administration, then you are classified as a gun toting, Bible clinging, racist with extremist views.
He further writes, “Whether it’s figuring out how to strengthen our economy, reduce our deficit in a responsible way, or protect our country, we will need to work together — and hear from one another — in order to find the best way to move forward,” Obamacare is the most glaring example of the Government not listening to the governed. The majority of Americans oppose Obamacare but it was enacted anyway by an Administration that thinks it knows what is best for us. The Obama Administration is not interested in you or your views. Laws enacted by duly elected State officials are frequently challenged in court by the Obama administration regardless of the will of the people residing in those states. How many states enacted voter identification laws that were challenged and how many instituted their own immigration laws due to government inaction? As with so many other facets of our government this is not limited to the Obama administration but he has made no attempt at returning the country to “We the People”.
There are only twenty-four states that allow ballot initiatives, which are a form of direct democracy. One would have to ask themselves why that is. What are our State run governments afraid of? If enough signatures can be collected to include an initiative on the ballot then so be it, take it before the people for a vote and let them decide. Unfortunately, even in the case of ballot initiatives approved by the people, the judicial branch has not always been a friend of the people even though one would think that state laws voted in by a majority of the populace would be considered valid.
Take for example California Proposition 187 (also known as the Save Our State (SOS) initiative) in 1994. This was a ballot initiative to establish a state-run citizenship screening system and prohibit illegal aliens from using health care, public education, and other social services in the State of California. Voters passed the proposed law as a referendum in November 1994 by a margin of 59 to 41 percent with supporters generally insisting that their concerns were economic, that the state could not afford to provide social services for so many illegal residents. The law was subsequently challenged in a legal suit and found unconstitutional by a federal court. So as this basic example clearly illustrates, the will and desire of the people to enact laws has no meaning in the U.S.
Regardless of the desires of the people, the government or the judiciary will determine what the public actually needs. The political pundits are always talking about voter apathy and it becomes easy to understand when one accepts the reality that “we the people” don’t matter to our government. The election process is merely a formality to legitimize their positions and political agendas. Corporations, special interests, and million dollar campaign donors drive the agenda within our government. If its good for the government you can rest assured that it is bad for the people. I have frequently heard Obama refer to receiving a mandate from the American people to enact his policies with his reelection but to get to the truth one must dig deeper into the actual results.
Twenty four states voted Republican revealing that half our Nation didn’t support him. While Obama received just over 50 percent of the popular vote it takes on an entirely different meaning when one understands that only an estimated 57.5 percent of voters actually voted in 2012. I don’t understand how receiving support from only 28 percent of the people could be a mandate to do anything. When less than a third of our population elects its leaders then we the people are doomed to a future of servitude, government abuses, and loss of basic rights.
The best way to describe our government is with a famous quote from Winston Churchill that was adapted to describe traumatic brain injury “A conundrum wrapped in a mystery, buried in an enigma and shrouded in secrecy.”
Related articles
Authored By The Daily Pamphlet
