Before beginning this post, I must make a rather blunt statement regarding the perspective from which I am writing it: I despise politicians. I despise big government. I loathe bureaucracy. That is all.

To all my elephants and all my donkeys:

Let’s start off with being honest with one another about the “issues”:

Social Responsibility
The concept of social responsibility is not dying — it’s dead.

And fat-fingered, money-hungry politicians (yes, that’s you); along with lazy, self-serving, entitled citizens (that’s us) on both sides of the fence are at fault.

By systematically stripping the states, and thus the local communities that comprise their cultural fabrics, of decision-making power; you have created a hierarchal, bureaucratic, impotent and disconnected decision-making “class” of politicians. Most of these so-called representatives are doomed to become increasingly removed from the very communities and constituents they are sworn to serve; as the body politic refuses to establish term limits on itself, and the populace is too distracted and unmotivated to force it to do so.

Re-visiting and re-inforcing the concept of states’ rights would solve most, if not all, of our country’s most deeply-rooted problems.

For example …

Abortion
Abortion is a personal, individual decision. Period.

The decision to have an abortion is no different than a person’s decision to be cremated, to forego chemotherapy, to donate organs, or to refuse life support.

Either way you slice the pie, government attempts to dictate whether or not a woman wishes to terminate her pregnancy are an abuse of government power. You know it, and I know it. The only reason either side of the fence conveniently continues to stoke the embers on this already-settled debate is to incite the fervor of the populace.

As citizens of this fine country, we most certainly have the right to agree or disagree with abortion procedures for a litany of reasons; and we most certainly have the right to petition to disallow them within our own communities. However, we do not have the right, nor does the government have the right, to force the will of one group or another on the whole of the populace.

If the fine people in the great state of Texas want to disallow abortions, but the fine folks in the “show me” state wish to continue to allow them: so-be-it.

A vote is a vote for a reason.

Republicans utilize fear-mongering tactics amongst religious conservatives by creating the illusion that every abortion that happens within our borders disintegrates our moral fabric; thus setting our country up for its own downfall by the hand of God. Republicans further capitalize upon this fear in order to encourage its constituents to dismiss any perspective generated by the Democratic party as a godless attempt to destroy morality. Democrats manipulate the religious conservative perspective to foster a demonized view of the Republican party in order to create a situation in which any ideal generated by the Republicans is immediately dismissed as Bible-thumping, hate-mongering jargon.

Neither tactic is productive insomuch as it only serves to further strengthen the divide of our country along ideological party lines, thus preventing the people from being able to come together to find workable, voluntary solutions for their community’s problems. Then again, perhaps this “divide and conquer” technique works to serve the parties’ ends. If we’re all too angry and ignorant to truly listen to one another, this just allows the people up top more room to do what the hell they want to do, while all of us dumb peons duke it out in the trenches.

And, contrary to popular belief, there is no large hand in the sky awaiting the most opportune moment to “layeth the smacketh down.”

Marriage Equality
I’ve discussed my views on the inefficacy of our government’s involvement in something as intimate, spiritual, and personal as marriage in a previous post entitled, “marriage equality: a different approach.”.

My views haven’t changed.

The government has no right to grant or deny marriage rights to any one group of people.

Marriage is a sacred and spiritual covenant between two people. It is the right of those involved to define that bond according to their own personal and spiritual beliefs.

The only role of government in the establishment of a marriage covenant is the same as its role in the establishment of any other agreement between to people: to provide the legal framework for protections against abuse, fraud, and human rights violations such as selling your wife into slavery.

In the spirit of separation of church and state; by the power of our Constitution, which protects our right to the pursuit of happiness; and with the spirit of the Declaration of Human Rights in mind, any Government elected by the people, for the people, and of the people has no right to dictate the nature of relationships between the people.

Gun Control
“When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”
– Thomas Jefferson

I’ve hit this nail on the head before in earlier posts as well. To see some details on my perspective, see my post entitled, “redirect the rhetoric.”. Also, check out my post, “no background check, no gun.” for my perspective on ID checks for gun purchases.

Bottom line: the Constitution grants and protects the people’s right to bear arms for a reason, and one of the chief reasons among many is to allow the people a means to protect themselves against a potentially dictatorial, corrupt government.

Unfortunately, the majority of people have come to take the personal freedoms our ancestors fought and died for, for granted. Thus, the idea of freedom as something to watchfully protect and maintain, as well as always be prepared to defend is the furthest thing from our minds. The average American citizen just accepts freedom as something we’re entitled to, but not responsible for protecting.

Unless we’re talking nuclear weapons, biological weapons, or other weapons of mass destruction; gun control is not a federal issue. It’s up to the states, and the communities that comprise them, to define the processes by which weapons may be purchased.

That being said, I do believe the federal government is responsible for establishing the framework within which abuses of state-based processes may be investigated and prosecuted. However, exactly what this framework should look like is something that should be decided by representatives of the people. For example, what would be the process of repeal be should one state decide that every newborn baby be equipped with a 7.62mm machine gun?

Furthermore, what could arguably be seen as a federal issue is the illegal smuggling of weapons across our country’s borders, the construction of weapons of mass destruction such as home-made explosives (HME), or the amassing of weapons in caches for purposes unknown.

Then again, we can argue that the process of enforcing, investigating, and protecting the citizens always falls back on the state.

I don’t claim that my ideas or perspectives are the best. As I travel, live, and learn continuously I am always developing my perspectives. However, my challenge to the average American citizen is one of self-education and initiztive. Wake up, people. It’s time to start reading between the lines, filling in the blanks, and holding our legislatures accountable for their decisions. We hold the power, yet we’re so quick to relinquish that power to some distant office somewhere.

It’s not our elected officials that will fix everything. It’s not our government that will fix everything. It’s us. It’s you. It’s me. It’s the average American with an idea on how to make their community cleaner, smarter, healthier, and safer.

This power we have. THIS is what I, and thousands of other Soldiers, are really sworn to protect. It’s not about the big, bad boodie man they make us believe exists in some other country. It’s about the American people’s ability to stand up, shout out, and fight back against a government that is increasingly inept and out of touch.

STAY TUNED NEXT WEEK FOR “an open letter to the body politic (part two).

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