I'm not real big on political things in general, although I AM pretty strong on the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Every time I go anywhere at ALL, every time I see or hear media reports, every time I go on line - there's so much angst going on that there are times I just shut myself off from it all as best I can.
People all over our nation are angry and getting angrier at the administration of our political leaders.
One guy in a comment stream said it's OUR rights; WE should get to decide, not THEM - or some such thing.
Well, THEY are a part of US. WE voted them in and we can vote them out.
But, I hear it said, THEY can do a lot, things WE don't want done, in the meantime, and how can we stop them?
Until election times roll around we can't, not really, realistically speaking.
However, it is OUR Constitution that certain ones are concerned about.
Elected officials on ALL levels are accountable to their constituents.
We The People of the United States are the constituents to whom THEY are accountable.
If we don't HOLD them accountable, whose fault is that? THAT, my friend, is OUR job. We are also accountable to one another, each and all. Don't forget that.
If we have a problem with how they're doing their jobs, we need to let them know. If they don't listen, and think they've got a free rein until it's time for them to be re-elected (or not), it's not like we can just re-call them. Not on the federal level, depending on the wording of each state's constitution.
We can recall at the state and local level only in some states.
It's been done, and recently enough for us to remember. Look it up; you'll find the instances. It's not pretty.
How long is it going to be before someone remembers how the levels and branches of government fit together? Do the words 'checks and balances' ring any bells?
Our Senators and Representatives in Washington may appear to be safe enough, but ... they are still accountable to their constituents. I keep repeating that because it's important for everyone involved to remember. It's their job to represent their constituents, the everyday ordinary people who elected them in the first place to DO that job. If they aren't, something's seriously wrong somewhere along the line.
Some of their constituents include the leaders of the States from which they come, who were probably instrumental in getting them to where they are now.
There are people in power in all of the States, people who are also responsible for and accountable to their constituents. People to whom the ones in Washington might listen if they aren't listening to the constituency shared by both.
If we don't like what they're doing, we can ask them to not do it any more. Some people feel that they aren't listening, that they don't have to because ... well, because they got what they wanted and think they don't have to listen to any more of the little people. Maybe that's true, I don't know.
But what IS true is that sooner or later somebody, probably several somebodies, will make the connection and realize that if enough constituents get mad enough they're liable to start putting pressure on the State officials to take a stand with the ones in Washington.
We The People of the United States have a say-so in our government.
We may not be able to recall the people we sent to Washington, but guess what.
We can maybe still get them to listen, using the rights that we are guaranteed under the Constitution they are vowed to protect, serve, and uphold. They aren't exempt.
Every State has its own Constitution, you know. Recall is an option, but there are only nineteen State Constitutions that include this. I don't know what the rest of them do, why they don't have it, or if they think they're never going to need it. Who knows?
How many elected officials want to be threatened with a recall? None. Even where that's not an option, how many want to be called on publicly to prove they're keeping their end of the deal? Not many I'd wager. How many who hold seats in Washington came out of State governments? Most if not all. How many State officials dream of and/or plan for attaining those seats in Washington? I bet all. How many are elected by the people of their States? Gee. How many of them swear an oath?
HE-LO-OO.
We The People have cards we can play if/when we realize we can, and if/when we choose to.
How many signatures are required on a petition depends on the state and it varies quite a bit. So do the time requirements.
The whole point here is that our government is based on our Constitution and the bottom line is that the whole kit and kaboodle is supposed to be predicated on the principle that the government exists to serve the people, not the other way around.
Don't give me that look. I just read the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. When's the last time YOU did that? I think I'll read it all again, just to get to the very last words of the Bill of Rights. You want to know what they are? Look it up.
Read the whole bloody works and then tell me that our elected officials are all doing everything right all the way down the line. If we screwed up and didn't elect the right ones, it's up to us to do something about it, to find the right ones (if there are any) and put them to work. If this batch fails us and makes changes we don't want, we can elect a batch that can fix it. That's been done before too, I do believe. Even ammendments to the Constitution itself can be repealed. Prohibition comes to mind.
I'm not an expert in anything in this world, but I can read and I can think and I'm entitled to my opinions. Until I'm proven wrong I'm going to go on believing that I still have the right to state them.
ps We The People = citizens ONLY. If you don't like it, lump it. If you aren't a citizen you need to sit down and shut up until you BECOME one. THAT's when you get to have a say-so. From the first words of the Preamble right through the last words of the Bill of Rights the Constitution and government of the United States belong to the citizens of the United States. Period.
No comments:
Post a Comment