An apology to my beloved country
by Patty LovaasI have put much thought into the political occurrences within this country in the last year and have tried to analyze how this degradation of our political structure could occur in my beloved country which I believed had an infallible solid political structure.
The Constitution developed by our founding forefathers devised an almost miraculous form of government with separation of powers to provide safeguards against corruption, greed and self-interest. The Declaration of Independence prioritized the three unalienable rights of “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness”. This brilliantly devised form of Government has seen this country through a civil war, two world wars and a depression. Yet today I fear that this once seemingly indestructible nation is in a fragile state. The freedoms and personal choices which I have been blessed with may not be present for future generations to enjoy.
I have been aware of this greed, self-interest and corruption in the public sector for some time, yet have taken no action previously to help reform this path to destruction. Therefore, I can only blame myself. My apathy and complacence have allowed this moral lapse in the public sector to flourish. I ignored the warning signs. I did not pay attention to details. As an official member of the “Baby Boomer” generation I have failed. My generation has enjoyed more blessings than any previous generation yet I have done little to guard and preserve this for the future generation, whatever they are named.
Individuals in the public sector are not entirely to blame. They have been indoctrinated into inappropriate behavior by a minority of unethical individuals in positions of authority. Many subordinates succumbed to this “boiling frog” syndrome, where individuals ignore unlawful behavior and knowingly violate the laws to achieve desired results disguised under the title of public good. In actuality they are self-serving goals that harm the general public. The end result is that my beloved country is on the verge of destruction, not from outside forces but from internal enemies.
It is not that I was not warned of this danger. Our founding forefathers warned of the “enemy from within”.
Thomas Jefferson: Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence. ...The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not. ...The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive. ... The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. ... We may consider each generation as a distinct nation, with a right, by the will of its majority, to bind themselves, but none to bind the succeeding generation, more than the inhabitants of another country.
Andrew Jackson: The great constitutional corrective in the hands of the people against usurpation of power, or corruption by their agents is the right of suffrage; and this when used with calmness and deliberation will prove strong enough.
Samuel Adams: It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds. ... The liberties of our country, the freedoms of our civil Constitution are worth defending at all hazards; it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors. They purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood. It will bring a mark of everlasting infamy on the present generation – enlightened as it is – if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or to be cheated out of them by the artifices of designing men.
So what can I do to correct my mistake of not paying attention to the moral decay of the public sector?
Is it too late? I am not a “right wing radical”, merely one of the “silent majority”. I have been personally blessed in a large part due to the sacrifices of previous generations and have selfishly ignored my moral duty to protect this rights and privileges so they can be passed forward to future generations of Americans to enjoy and cherish.
I am resolute in putting forth my best effort to reform this demise of my country’s very existence in the hopes that I can effect reform before it is too late. I recently declared my candidacy for the Montana legislature to use my talents which God has given me to help in this reform movement. I am challenging public official’s fraudulent activity in the judicial venue. If necessary, I will pursue removal of office of individual public officials who violate the people’s rights to “liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. I will be “silent” no more.
I know I am not alone in my discontent with this blatant transgression by public officials, whether elected or appointed. The “silent majority”, “working poor” or “tea party organizations” have reached their tolerance limit to this immoral and criminal behavior. Other patriots have also resolved to use their God given talents to help our country in whatever capacity they can. If members of the public sector are unwilling to carry out the will of the people, they must be replaced by individuals who will above all else unequivocally preserve the rights of all the people. Americans are intelligent and once angered, no appeasement by public officials will suffice. The disingenuous attempt by public officials to “calm the discontent” is futile. Rhetoric will not suffice when the truth is known.
The resolute attitude of the American “silent majority” was noted by Isoroku Yamamoto, the Japanese military commander in World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Public officials should take notice of his opinion: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."
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