The governance of life within the borders of our country (politics) is guided by the Liberal philosophical notion of individual freedoms based on the social contract a citizen enters into in by accepting citizenship of our country.

Following the American Revolution the Constitutional framers attempted to define this contract. Many of the forms of the eventual document were experimental. This experiment has for the most part been successful at providing a framework for our daily lives.

The framers struggled to build a system that would allow for effective management and yet would avoid many of the shortcomings of the models that had befallen our European peers. They confronted many obstacles including how to best reflect the will of the governed while allowing for the effective management of the Confederation of States.

The republican form that resulted ensured both the will of the populace would be represented, and would also avoid the possibility that the shifting winds of the popularity could result in “mob-rule”.

By separating the authority to govern into three distinct branches, the framers also ensured that there would be little possibility of oligarchic collusion.

They also understood that the only way that the public would be able to effectively express their will would be by making public the discussion of legislation and judicial review of these laws. Thus the public would be able to understand the laws of their country, and would be able to hold their elected officials accountable. The framers seemed to feel that an informed public was critical to this representative form of Democracy as well as to the evolution of America.

Our forefathers insisted on the right to express their opinions. Opinions that they had formed based on belief of both virtue and fact. These opinions helped to form an emerging collective concept of what “America” meant. Open public debate was held, and was often heated, as issues affecting the citizenry were resolved with legislation, executive order or judicial review. These people had to fight wars to defend the right to have and express these opinions. They had a acute understanding of the necessity of being informed, and once informed in expressing their opinions in the ballot box.

Enough 11-grade civics…

Where we sit as a country in the naissance of the 21st Century both sickens and frightens me.

We have forsaken personal responsibility for our own government by cultural apathy and individual ignorance. We as a society are all too likely to walk away for individual accountability for the actions of our elected officials. “I didn’t vote for ‘whoever’” is a pretty common response to any unsatisfactory action by our elected officials. Even worse is the “My vote doesn’t count” refrain. Talk to the citizens of Florida about that.

The even bigger issue involves the ignorance of the electorate. Ignorance of individual issues and the positions of candidates is somewhat understandable but in no way excusable.

A bigger (and inherently more dangerous) issue is the ignorance of our own belief system and morality. Seemingly we as a society are allowing ourselves to float more freely on the sea of popular opinion. Apparently risking unpopularity is more problematic than taking the time to reflect on what we consider to be “right” and “wrong”. Principles are what drove the birth of our country, and the lack of these is now what is destroying it.

We are allowing ourselves to be controlled by an increasingly subjective and divisive media that in most cases acts in self-interest while presenting information. Ratings wars (and corporate earnings) drive what (and how) “news” is (or is not) presented. Does no one else see the potential conflict of interest of having Time/Life publications, CNN/Turner broadcasting, Home Box Office and America On-Line under the control of one group of individuals.

“Yellow” journalism is on the rise again, and we as a society are all to eager to accept the spoon being fed to us. The lines between news and entertainment have become blurred since the evolution of the televised news magazine in the 1970’s. Rupert Murdoch, publisher of newspapers (New York Post and the Sun) that have constantly blurred the line between fact and fiction is President of the News Corporation (owner of Fox Television). Many of Murdoch’s papers have made their reputation on “sensational” journalistic practices, and have repeatedly lost litigation involving libel and slander.

Yet these are among the organizations that we as a culture rely on for our information, and clearly these sources are far from objective.

The rise of disposable news as best evidenced by USA Today further reinforces the dire state of information in the Information Age.

The media are not wholly to blame. It is we that consume this information. Classic economics would point that if we didn’t want what was being sold, then these sources would whither and fade. We want reporters with cool names like “Wolf”, pretty pictures (and in Europe naked chicks on “page 3”) and minimal factual content. Also an increasingly lazy customer base drives this demand. Many citizens complain that there is simply too much information to process. The advent of the World Wide Web has caused many to cop out and claim naïveté. People were ignorant well before the rise of the Internet, so fundamentally I must call “bullshit” on that.

America is becoming a fat and bloated society that would put The Roman Empire to shame. Simplicity drives our actions much more so than morality.

I also see a weak-willed sector that is drawing us away from our original philosophical base. I blame Ronald Reagan for this.

People that are inherently afraid react by displaying bravado and machismo. The rise of the ideological right is predicated on traditional notions of military strength and ideological purity. These are not wholly evil concepts, however the need for cultural hegemony IS. The Reagan youth of my day insisted that you were either a supporter of Ron, or you were un-American.

Today the same folks claim the tenets of Christian morality as the foundation for all governance within our borders. Those words will never actually be uttered, but fundamentally they want a nation of WASPs, or people that are trying to be WASPs.

If you express opinions that are contrary to these principles you are wrong, and somehow wicked.

I by no means wish to deny these beliefs, rather mean to express that our country was founded on the notion of expressing and embracing the divergent beliefs of ALL citizens so that we as a country good grow from these experiences.

Conservatism is based on the fear of change. Rather the fear of how change will affect their current station in life. Conservatives embrace the Constitution with all of their might as a static document incapable of growing to face the dynamic nature of human existence. However the very nature of human life dictates a dynamic world which is incapable of this type of conservative ideology.

Again I am not trying to limit the right of Conservatives to hold these values. I do however question the source of these beliefs. I feel that most people accept what they experience in “reactionary” media because the rhetoric sounds tough and morally “right”, without ever taking the time to determine what they truly believe.

The Left is just as bad. Most liberals that I know have absolutely no fucking clue why they hold the beliefs they do. I think in most cases it has to do with the fact that these views are directly opposed to those of the Right. Fucking sheep the lot of them. I went away to college at UCSC a blazing Marxist and left a moderate primarily because most of the “liberals” there couldn’t explain to me why they were liberals without spouting party doctrine.

As I earlier said that lack of principles was part of the problem, the reader then may now as why am I condemning “principle-centered” individuals.

Good question.

First I doubt that these principles are genuine, and in fact will most likely change with the hand that holds the spoon feeding them to our public.

Secondly, and more importantly the problem is that most people are incapable of applying their values in the framework of a society. We are selfish. We want what we want, when we want it.

This government was founded on the notion of Majority will, with the advised consent of the Minority. We as citizens continually display fabulous disrespect our ideological rivals. We focus on intangibles rather than actions. Republicans are labeled as Nazi’s, and Democrats as Commies. While I agree that the behavior of the Right does fall very close to the actions of the former, I think the latter does a great disservice to Marx. Most American liberals are too stupid to even know what Communism is.

At a strategic level most Americans are too caught up in tactical situations to really develop a strategy for the future. They tend to think of the moment rather than of the future. They worry too much about caring for themselves and their families today, rather than providing a positive growth-oriented environment that will ensure the survival of their offspring and the country as a whole tomorrow.

Where were the parents of today that are bitching about the deplorable state of our schools in 1978 when Proposition 13 was passed? In front of the fucking lines bitching about property tax relief, that’s where. To them FUCK YOU, YOU SIMPLE-MINDED SHORT-SIGHTED FUCKS! You deserve the illiterate spawn of your loins. Your pocketbook mattered more than the edjumacation of you kids.

And now for the sheep bleating for the freedom to bear arms, I hope your kids the first that are shot in the next school violence outbreak, because when you were out bitching about how small your dick is (by protesting for the right to keep a weapon in your home) your kids were at home with no one to talk to, and learn from. So FUCK YOU AGAIN. Go wave the fucking flag, and feel like Ron-Fucking-Jeremy, or worse yet John Wayne. The guy is a true American: A B-grade actor whose life was destroyed by the tobacco industry. How fucking apple pie is that? You morons that claim that Hollywood is too blame for school violence need to look at your credit card statements and find out who is paying for this entertainment, and also look your role in the development of YOUR children. You make me want to puke.

To all the people sniveling about the lack of choice and the lack of effective leadership, FUCK YOU THE MOST!!! You want everything, are prepared to give nothing, and committed to sacrificing NOTHING all in the short-term. You participate in focus groups, answer on-line polls and put up lawn signs claiming your allegiance to a party more than the man leading the party.

To all dyed-in-the-wool conservatives: Are you proud that your man is an inarticulate, dim, substance-abusing slacker. Shit Bill didn’t inhale, and all he really did was get laid, and make you rich. And somehow W is more morally and ethically pure. The only thing the son of a bitch excelled at while Guv was executing people. Oh yeah, and he didn't step on his dick

To the soft, warm, cuddly liberals: Was Albert Gore the best you had to offer? Really, the guy has as much to offer as a leader as the cut-out of Austin Powers in my office.

God, I’d run myself but I did too many drugs in College, was a Marxist, and don’t Bullshit so I’d never get elected.

And that’s what it’s all about. The leaders of the respective parties don’t stand behind the candidate that best reflects their values; they stand behind the guy least likely to piss-off the sheep in the Heartland. And for that, FUCK YOU SOME MORE. Leadership is not about popularity; it’s about effectiveness. It’s about being able to direct a group towards safety and security in the future.

I think that McCain was a better leader, but because he spoke his mind and upset some voters, the RNC shit on him.

I think Nader spoke most closely to what I feel strongly about, but I knew that I would not and could not for him because a majority of his agenda was wholly impractical and destructive to the livelihood of our economy. The perceived inability to compromise hurt Ralph.

We are truly pathetic, and I hold you all (as well as myself) accountable for the deplorable state of our Union. Despite the rhetoric, this country has and will always be a shared, communal concept. We however are falling away from that notion as we spiral towards a universe of one (ourselves).

America deserves the gang-raping that it is getting. I apologize, the children of America don’t deserve the gang-raping that we are giving them by not having the fucking courage to believe in ourselves, and think and act not for ourselves; but rather them and their children than us…right???

We love to wave the God-damned flag, but at the same time forget what the fuck that flag stands for. We have forgotten why millions of people sought safe haven in our shores. We have forgotten why so many of our fathers gave their lives to die for the concept of “America”. We have forgotten what sacrifice is, and no longer deserve the title of “Cradle of Democracy.”