Last resort... Or how an entire nation can be misled by only a few

Hey folks,

It would seem the person who wrote the original post could use some basic high school lessons in American History and American Government. He states, "The USA is not and never was a democracy," and he is correct about that. This country was never intended to be a democracy; it was intended to be a republic of majority rule with minority rights.

Sadly, we have continuously wandered farther and farther away from our original republican values. Our Constitution designed our government to have three branches with each branch having specific powers and responsibilities. It was an admirable design, but it has fallen apart more and more right from the start. The executive branch has usurped the powers of the legislative branch continuously.

For one example, I suggest one consider the power to declare war. The Constitution specifically gives that power to Congress, the executive branch. When was the last time our country had a declaration of war? It was 1941 - just after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Since that time, there has not been a single declaration of war by Congress - none - in spite of all the wars we have been involved in, there has been no declaration of war. Congress has abrogated its powers, and the Supreme Court has turned the Constitution on its head ever since their interpretation of the Commerce Clause.

Our problems with our government is not of the Republican Party. It is not of the Democratic Party. It matters not which party is in power. They all abuse their power, and our prognosis gets worse. He asks how we elected Bush twice, and I wonder the same thing. He does not, however, ask how we elected Obama twice. I thought Bush was terrible, but then came Obama, and I realized how much worse things could get.

He goes on to ask, "Why and how did the USA patriots and the so called free press allow such a madman as George Bush to make unprovoked war with two nations and bankrupt the nation as a result?" Does he not wonder how those same folks have now allowed Obama to make more war and bankrupt our nation far worse? I suspect he is a Democrat, and like I said earlier, it is neither a Republican nor a Democrat problem. The problem is our government straying from the initial tenets of our republican form of government.

As far as our credibility in the world goes, it is certainly better than most of the western world. We, like most of the western world have a history of doing some shameful things. However, unlike most of the western world, we also have a history of doing great things for many peoples.

He finishes with, "If the USA was a person, that person would be worthy of a bullet to the head." I have no idea where or how our story will end, but I certainly hope it is not with a bullet to our head. That is simply woodenheaded reactionary screaming. I hope we can recognize our shortcomings and return to our original republican form of government. Perhaps it will require the formation of a new nation or even the formation of several new nations.

Our initial plan was not bad. We simply have not executed it well.

Best wishes,
Dave Wile