It has become deeply unsettling to be in an age of such exponential, technological advancement; yet bear witness to the failures of the United States government—one of the world’s "superpowers", nonetheless—to uphold the distinct responsibilities explicitly established in the preamble of its Constitution—and I quote, “provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare….” Somehow this has been severely misconstrued into what seems to be only, “provide for defense.” Currently, not one, but two wars are raging on draining literally trillions of tax payer dollars into campaigns—which began with former President G.W. Bush in what can only be described as an apparent attempt at world domination of the oil industry—that are highly ridiculed and globally disapproved of; wars that, if President Barak Obama is truly deserving of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, he will surely pull American forces out of by the end of 2009, not send in tens of thousands more. In the midst of these wars, the climate crisis, an economic meltdown, and a spiraling-out-of-control, private health care sector, President Obama has yet to take an unyielding stand for the latter; something which was one of his campaign’s fundamental bases—universal health care.
Today, the American people anxiously await as Congress “debates” what the best health care plan action is, which apparently has yet to be named, that should be implemented in our modern, industrialized, and highly disproportionate, capitalist economy. Meanwhile, the outcomes of millions of lives that could benefit and possibly be saved hang in the balance. By the passage of collectively composed legislature, in this case meaning by the consent of Congress and the general public, we would more than likely reach a resolution to enact some form of “Universal” health care—essentially free health care provided to citizens that cannot pay, by the government, at the not necessarily large expense of tax payers; the same tax payers that in the end could benefit from such implementation. Strangely enough, President Obama even said that there would be a new era of openness between Government and the general public. “Transparency and the rule of Law will be the touchstones of this presidency…,” he stated in his White House staff address on January 21st, 2009. After all, the citizens that comprise the general public are the ones affected by such legislature and should have an equal say in and, at the very least, have access to witness policy making decisions that affect the general welfare of the general public. Yet, Congress continues unabated to write legislation behind closed doors, undermining the authority of people to be the ultimate decision makers in the way a republican democracy is run. The United States government apparently has interpreted its responsibility of promoting the general welfare to mean that it will undoubtedly have all of the answers to health care concerns without consideration of public opinion or even its consent. The bottom line is this: if a government of any kind shall neglect to acknowledge the importance of and provide for the well-being, health and education of its citizens—allowing the denial of life saving treatments for profit and cutting funding for schools across the country—it becomes the epitome of failure. And of course, history would tell us that all signs point to the seeds of tyranny.
So what exactly is it that dissuades our government from opening these doors of secrecy? We know that the Founders had little faith in the general public being a part of the new government and distrusted them with governmental responsibilities; hence, they established the Electoral College to be the deciding body in the presidential election. They even distrusted government itself and so established a system of checks and balances to prevent one section of government from interfering with the affairs of others. But it is 2009, and we now find ourselves at the whim of another two-sided distrust in our government—one that shrouds itself in concealment with smoke and mirrors! Trying to get a congressional representative or even a presidential candidate to answer a simple yes or no question these days leads to a seemingly endless tangent of topics that have no relevance, leaving us confused and scratching our heads about the wild goose chase we had just part taken in only to come up empty-handed. And if statistics are presented then the most common response is, “Well, I don’t think I would trust those particular figures,” or something to that extent. The fact that the health care bill is being forged behind closed doors not with the general public, but with private insurance representatives, should be the ultimate wake-up call to the American people. The problem is that it could spell disaster for private insurance companies that profit millions of dollars for the denial of potentially life-saving treatments on the grounds of what they call, “pre-existing illnesses.” Since when did profit take precedence over people? And can anything really be blamed on the media?
Unbiased news is seemingly a thing of the past, which makes it difficult to make informed decisions based on the information we receive from the most popular so-called news organizations. Somewhere along the way, objective reporting has taken a backseat to presenting it first, with total disregard of source credibility. However, we can take information from many different sources with the global reach of the Internet, gaining knowledge and becoming “informed” along the way, and make decisions based on our own fact-checking and source credibility. A good start would be The Constitution of the United States. Blaming the media is one thing, but trying to silence any media of any kind no matter what the allegations before publishing and distributing news is unconstitutional. Remember that Amendment I ensures our right to freedom of speech, press, assembly and religion. That being said, we the people can take a look at and learn from the history of the health care industry (along with many, many others) and find in it the faults that led to this far-too-drawn-out legislative ordeal. From this data we can, and this is constitutionally protected in Article V, collectively organize an assembly to write our own amendment that guarantees health care. “Whenever two-thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution….” But that is not the only case which amendments can be proposed. The Constitution continues with, “or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments….” If three-fourths of the several states or three-fourths of the, “Conventions in three-fourths thereof,” concur then the amendment, again I quote, “shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as part of this Constitution.” If this has to come down to the states proposing a new amendment to the Constitution to protect the health of more than 40 million uninsured Citizens, then what faith should we possibly have in our national government to listen up when we speak out.
Slowly but surely our First Amendment rights are being slyly taken away from us in an attempt to “protect us”, as the government would want us to believe; and if that ever happens—a government becoming destructive of its ends—then it is the right of the people to “throw off such a government,” as Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. So why then, did we let such an insidious bill as the Patriot Act pass? If any of the people who were delusively scared into voting this plague of uncontested infringement into law would have bothered to read the Constitution, maybe they wouldn’t have been so quick to enact a law that totally undermines the very structure of our government outlined explicitly in the Articles and Amendments. We handed our rights over without even thinking about it. The question that you need to ask yourself is: was it unconstitutional? Get it. Read it. And you shall know the answer to that without equivocation.
It may sound like a daunting task but we must find it in ourselves to become a globally unified society. All around the world stories of death, destruction, corruption and tyranny flood the airwaves and television stations alike. Where does this hostility originate from? When will it end? Is it from a lack of education? If so, then why does our government continue to cut educational funding? Maybe it is simply greed taking rank over charity. Whatever the case, it has become strikingly evident that we are at a turning point in Human Civilization. We have been around long enough to begin putting every aspect of Humankind into a global context; to see what the true power of togetherness can achieve. It is quite clear what waging war against each other results in—separation of nations and ultimately separation of society. Why not try something new, something innovative? Set an example. Why not live up to the hope that was instilled in the American people during the 2008 presidential elections? What happened to that hope, President Obama? You asked us to stand up and believe in ourselves; to believe in change. You told us to have hope. Well here we are still hoping for change only to be rewarded with the same bureaucratic nonsense that was indisputably one of the main causes of this whole economic disaster—political negligence of capitalism gone horribly awry. Earn that prize, Mr. President, and stand with us as we have stood for you. It is through you that we have channeled this hope for a better future for not only America, but global society as a whole. Do not abuse this power as so many have before you. We believe in you and deserve the same in return. Now is the time for us to build the foundation of our future together—Mr. President, Congress, Citizens of the United States and ultimately, the Citizens of Earth. Now is the time for us to stand unified in a global effort and not only promote, but sustain unwavering social relations. As John Lennon once wrote, “You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one; I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.” It is my dream that in my lifetime, we will truly dissolve our differences; blind ourselves to race, color and creed, and build a future together, globally that will insure well-being, technological and intellectual advancement for all generations to come. Together we can do this. Together we shall stand.
Slowly but surely our First Amendment rights are being slyly taken away from us in an attempt to “protect us”, as the government would want us to believe; and if that ever happens—a government becoming destructive of its ends—then it is the right of the people to “throw off such a government,” as Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. So why then, did we let such an insidious bill as the Patriot Act pass? If any of the people who were delusively scared into voting this plague of uncontested infringement into law would have bothered to read the Constitution, maybe they wouldn’t have been so quick to enact a law that totally undermines the very structure of our government outlined explicitly in the Articles and Amendments. We handed our rights over without even thinking about it. The question that you need to ask yourself is: was it unconstitutional? Get it. Read it. And you shall know the answer to that without equivocation.
It may sound like a daunting task but we must find it in ourselves to become a globally unified society. All around the world stories of death, destruction, corruption and tyranny flood the airwaves and television stations alike. Where does this hostility originate from? When will it end? Is it from a lack of education? If so, then why does our government continue to cut educational funding? Maybe it is simply greed taking rank over charity. Whatever the case, it has become strikingly evident that we are at a turning point in Human Civilization. We have been around long enough to begin putting every aspect of Humankind into a global context; to see what the true power of togetherness can achieve. It is quite clear what waging war against each other results in—separation of nations and ultimately separation of society. Why not try something new, something innovative? Set an example. Why not live up to the hope that was instilled in the American people during the 2008 presidential elections? What happened to that hope, President Obama? You asked us to stand up and believe in ourselves; to believe in change. You told us to have hope. Well here we are still hoping for change only to be rewarded with the same bureaucratic nonsense that was indisputably one of the main causes of this whole economic disaster—political negligence of capitalism gone horribly awry. Earn that prize, Mr. President, and stand with us as we have stood for you. It is through you that we have channeled this hope for a better future for not only America, but global society as a whole. Do not abuse this power as so many have before you. We believe in you and deserve the same in return. Now is the time for us to build the foundation of our future together—Mr. President, Congress, Citizens of the United States and ultimately, the Citizens of Earth. Now is the time for us to stand unified in a global effort and not only promote, but sustain unwavering social relations. As John Lennon once wrote, “You may say I’m a dreamer, But I’m not the only one; I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will live as one.” It is my dream that in my lifetime, we will truly dissolve our differences; blind ourselves to race, color and creed, and build a future together, globally that will insure well-being, technological and intellectual advancement for all generations to come. Together we can do this. Together we shall stand.
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