DIRTY POLITICS

I was recently asked how I (oldwarrior) personally view the role of government in our society?

I’ll be frank!

To begin with, I firmly believe that we should have as 'little' government interference as possible, and where possible, more States rights so that government will be more accessible to the people being governed.

To go into further detail I will start with our justice system.

Our courts must stop pampering criminals and the punishment should fit the crime. Justice must be fair, it must be quick, and if necessary, harsh. Plea-bargaining is completely out of control and must be stopped.

I firmly believe there is no perfect society but there can be a just one.

There should be no criminal rights only victim's rights. Once a person enters prison they must give up their rights as citizens until they prove they can once again live in a free and open society.

We must recognize that there are two types of people in society, decent and indecent. The decent will prosper; the indecent must be controlled or ostracized.

An effective system of education must stress discipline along with the arts, sciences and basic skills such as reading writing and arithmetic. Fairness and respect should be taught in the classroom as well as basic morals, the dignity of honest labor and the value of the family. Evolution and creation should both be taught and students given freedom of choice.

Welfare should be strictly reserved for the elderly, the infirm and those who truly need a temporary helping hand. A welfare program must instill the concept that there is no free lunch and that being productive in a free and just society is the only honorable path to take. Those who refuse to take a minimum wage job should not qualify for welfare.

Racial prejudice and bigotry are intolerable in a just society because no one is worthy of respect or disrespect simply because of the color of their skin.

Actions and deeds earn respect, not by reason or chance of birth. No laws laid down by any government can make one person like another.

Our society must be protected even if it means shedding the blood of our citizens. Along with the basic right to bear arms, and the basic right to personal protection, a strong, skilled and well equipped military is essential to maintaining a free society.

Our military should be volunteer where possible but mandatory when needed without deferment of any kind. Our military should be used only in direct defense of our citizens and our free society and not used as a mercenary force for the benefit of other nations.

The use of military force outside the boundaries of our country should lie in hands of the people or their direct representatives. The business of our government is not the business of the world unless the rights of our citizens are infringed upon by outside forces.

Our government should see to the health, economic security, welfare and civil liberties of our citizens before extending the same to foreign nationals or foreign governments. Illegal immigrants are illegal. Foreign nationals within our society illegally should be immediately deported or, where warranted, offered conditional and monitored citizenship.

Support of or funding and economic aid to corrupt, bigoted or unjust governments of any kind, for any reason, should be immediately halted and diplomatic ties severed. As a just society we should not align ourselves with corrupt governments of any kind.

Freedom of religion is one pillar of our free society and each citizen should have the opportunity to worship as they see fit without fear of reprisal. However, religions or organizations that teach hatred or intolerance should be censored or banned and those seeking to overthrow our way of life – watched closely.

I get sick and tired of people trying to tell me that THEIR RELIGION is the true and only one. Horse potatoes!!!

Freedom of speech and freedom of the press must be a basic right within our society providing they do not teach bigotry, intolerance and hatred, or promote pornography or indecency each of which is determined by majority consensus.

While there are some excellent Representatives there are also far too many professional politicians who care more about their political career than the people they represent. Term limits is one way to solve this problem, as is elimination of the political parties. One term of six years and they're out...! Maybe then people will run for the right reason, not to pad their bank accounts.

Candidates should run for office to represent their constituents and not a political party. Way too often the parties spend more time bickering than doing the business of governing. The Congress and Senate should act as sounding boards, not political parties.

We, the People, have the right and obligation to decide our fate and how we live. Government should NOT have the power to dictate or tell us what to do; we must maintain the power to tell government what to do.

This may sound a little harsh, but sending our young men and women to die for fabricated reasons is even worse.

If we want to live up to our birthright, send out military to places where innocent people are being slaughtered. Let them fight for freedom and justice, not power and oil. Stop selling our military sons and daughters to the highest bidder!

I may not be the sharpest tack in the box nor the brightest bulb in the kitchen, but I do a lot of reading and amass a considerable amount of trivial data and usually arrive at some logical conclusions, at least logical in my somewhat limited viewpoint and objective way of thinking.

However, despite all the information I have absorbed and the in-depth research I have crammed into the minute space of my cranium; forgive me for being stupid, but I still cannot fully understand our national policy on the Middle East.

Our goal, according to everything I hear and read, is to remove the bad guys from power and remake their governments into our image and likeness by installing a democratic form of government where the ethnic, religious, social, and human rights of everyone is recognized and protected. What if they don't want to be remade in our image?

My first big question is, why are we being buddy-buddy with some terror regimes and ready to kick-butt and take names with others?

What criteria do we use to pick and choose between the real-bad guys, the semi-bad guys, and sort-of bad guys? Aren't they simply bad guys?

Is that criteria based on religion, political clout, or the biggie...OIL?

Perhaps I'm looking at our government's policy from a moral viewpoint and not a practical one. My country-bumpkin outlook asks why do we support and accept these kings and dictators while their people suffer? If we're not willing to get rid of the entire nest of snakes why are we over there in the first place?

Did the rest of the world appoint us as guardians of the almighty oil reserves? If the rest of the world is unwilling to send their sons and daughters to die to keep the precious oil flowing, why must we sacrifice ours? In my way of thinking, all the oil in the Middle East is not worth the life of one of my children! If the balance of world power is oil, we are in sad shape!

If the people of the Middle East hate us as much as they say they do, why are we there in the first place? To protect and defend the bad-guys? To show the world that we are hypocrites by kissing one mad man and slapping another? To provide a market for our greedy CEO's?

To me it's plain and simple; we cannot remake the Middle East into our image and likeness unless we are willing to start from scratch by changing every government in the area. We must recognize and accept this fact and bring our boys and girls home to defend our own homeland. Great Britain was smart to get out of the Middle East when they did. At least they learned a lesson. Should any nation call and beg for our help, advise them they either abide by our democratic beliefs or get lost!

Just because we are the world's only superpower, does not mean we must be the world's unwanted and self-appointed police force. The money we have spent or given to prop-up these regimes (or buy them off) could easily have paid for a college education for every student in America!

As for Europe I'd tell them we're bringing our warriors home (along with our money) because their big Commie threat is over, they don't need us there, and they can now settle their own petty squabbles! Give the Palestinians a piece of land to call home, tell them: "this is your land, this is Israel's land," you mess with Israel and she kicks your buttocks, tough luck!

America cannot be everything to everyone.

Perhaps we should begin by scrapping our nation's entire foreign policy and starting from scratch; stop rewriting the same old book and start a new one, separating our true friends from our real enemies, our needs from our wants, and stop selling our precious military sons and daughters out to the highest bidder.

I lost too many close friends defending another of our country’s fabricated wars to settle for anything less.

You may disagree with this article, but remember, I fought and bled for your right to disagree!

I’ll get down off my soapbox now and let you - Go in peace!