Jorge Agustin Nicolas Ruiz de Santyana y Borras was a Spanish philosopher, although he was raised as an American, and considered by many to be American, but is perhaps most well known by non-academics for his saying “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
As I recall what I was taught in school, The United States of America was created, in large part, by a group of very independent-minded people who were desirous of escaping what they considered a heavy-handed government.
Some of the biggest reasons that started the 8-year long Revolutionary war that eventually ended up with the USA were onerous regulations being passed by the government that restricted the liberties of the people in the colonies.
The famous “Taxation without Representation” was only a part of the problem, although a large one. While in theory, we are represented today, I’m wondering how well that representation really works. Yesterday I received my annual bonus check, from which 27% was removed off the top to pay Federal and State income taxes. I wonder what taxes my representatives in local and federal government are paying?
Anyway, I read a very interesting article yesterday by Soraya Chemaly entitled 10 Reasons the Rest of the World Thinks the U.S. Is Nuts. Ms. Chemaly makes a very good case on why the rest of the world thinks Americans are crazy, but left unsaid is why American citizens are asleep at the wheel and letting our government attempt to put into place the restrictions discussed by her.
At the same time Ms. Chemaly appears with her article on our government restricting our freedoms and rights, appears reports in the news media that Employers are demanding that job applicants give up their passwords to various social media. I suppose that employers want to peek at these accounts to discover any potentially embarrassing behavior from people before they are hired.
Now I’m no right-wing nut from the northern panhandle of Idaho who thinks anarchy is the best policy, nor am I a leftwing hippie who thinks that our government should take care of us all from cradle to grave. I’m somewhere in the middle on most things, and I truly believe that most Americans are like me in that respect.
But my hackles are raised when I see an ever increasing restriction of our rights to privacy, a narrowing of our civil liberties, the increasing size of government and the associated rise in the amount of taxes required of the common citizenry, coupled with the apparent apathy of the people.
Most of us are so busy dealing with the everday hassles of modern life that we haven’t noticed the slow creep of government intrusion into our everyday lives.
The American government is every bit as corrupt as that of any third world country on the planet. It’s just a bit better at concealing it behind “special interest groups” and “lobbyists” and hiding things behind the vast freedoms granted to us in our bill of rights.
Because most of us ignore politics except during election years when it is shoved down our throats, we don’t really pay a lot of attention to what the people we elect are doing.
How is it that 47% of congress are millionaires? Look up and down your block. Are 47% of your neighbors millionaires? If it is so common to be wealthy in Congress, and Congress is supposed to be represtative of “we the people”, then why are only rich people in Congress? I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that the longer one can stay a member of Congress, the wealthier and more powerful they are likely to become? Sounds like a great job if you can get it.
We Americans have become lazy, fat and complacent. We are letting our lawmakers take advantage of their positions and become wealthy on our collective dime, while enacting laws and regulations that continue to decrease our freedoms.
I believe in Social Security, Medicare and compassionate aid for those who are unable to provide for themselves. That falls under common decency, and we wouldn’t be human if we couldn’t provide for the less fortunate among us.
However, I also believe that the taxpayers don’t need to cough up the entire bill. Too many lazy people are on the public dole. The classic “welfare mother” who keeps having children is a cliche, but it’s also true. Our public welfare system is so riddled with loopholes and lack of oversight that we might as well be shoveling our taxpayer dollars into a furnace.
We can do better, and we should. We are Americans, and we have a long proud legacy of not only doing it right, but doing it because it’s right.
One single person like me can’t do anything, but I can talk to my friends, and neighbors, and you the reader, and as it has always been in the past, a group of like-minded people get together as one force and change happens. In America, it’s not so hard – we can effect so much change simply by paying attention to who we elect to office and then holding them accountable instead of forgetting about them after they win the race.
As Sr. Santyana tried to remind us, all we need do is look to the past and remember our mistakes, so that we don’t repeat them over and over.
What a powerful commentary on our government…and on us as Americans. One of your best!