we the people

a little over a year ago, as we were being bombarded with politics and elections and candidates, i wrote a blog post about my beliefs.  since then, so much has happened that i decided i need to expand my political creed and include things that i have come to believe over the last year.

i believe i live in the greatest country on earth, with more freedoms than citizens of other countries.  with greater freedom, however, comes greater responsibility - the responsibility to respect not only my freedoms, but the freedoms of others.  we all share the same freedoms and no one person's should override any other person's.  therefore, my freedoms end where yours begin and where they overlap, we should all practice manners and common sense courtesy.

i believe one of the greatest responsibilities i have is to exercise my right to vote and to vote responsibly.  it is through voting that i can make my voice heard and speak for those who have no voice.  when i vote responsibly, i vote for the person, not the party because it is the person who will be representing me, not the party.  for that reason, i believe politicians do not belong in politics because they are more interested in representing the party than in representing me and they have all lost sight of what our government is supposed to be - by the people, for the people.   

i believe that we the people actually means we the people.  and i believe that we the people are all responsible for changing our government into what it should be - by the people, for the people.  we the people hired the politicians and we have the right to fire them when they no longer understand that.  when the politicians we hired listen more to special interest groups than to we the people, we the people not only have the right to fire them, but we have the responsibility to do so.  the government exists to serve we the people and has the responsibility to act according to what we the people want.  when it can no longer do that because of commitments to special interest groups and super pacs, it is time for a change.  our government was founded on principles that do not change based on political whims.  truth is truth and it does not change simply because a different party is in power.  nor are morality and ethics situational.  we the people are responsible for making sure our government understands and remembers this. 

i believe compromise is not win/lose, but give/give and when there is no compromise everyone loses.  when the government is so divided by politics that it cannot compromise, it is time for we the people to elect an entirely new government.  and we should continue to elect a new government until the government understands that it must listen to the voice of we the people.     

 i believe that we all have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and that our country was founded in order that all men could enjoy those rights and pass them down to future generations.  in order to secure those rights for future generations, however, we must first secure their safety.  if we the people must sacrifice a measure of freedom in order to secure the safety of our children, then so be it.  our rights and freedoms cannot come at the cost of another's life. 


i believe we the people have been silent long enough and that it is time for us to raise our voices and be heard.