Home of Today's Common Sense

Published Brownsville Herald June 20, 2011
In the television news shows and talk shows, we are faced with all kinds of discussion from the talking heads and those who seek to gain from government, advocating change in the rules that govern and guide us all. These rules, comprising the U.S. Constitution, have been changed rarely over the past 235 years, but still there have been changes that we felt were wrong and corrected. Some changes went comparatively easy, like the prohibition of alcoholic beverages, and some required violence like the abolition of slavery that nearly saw the end of the United States.
Our nation is now on the brink of destruction as a result of the rules our leaders have used to shape government to their own benefit.
They have legislated different understandings, then sought court interpretation when they didn’t work.
Occasionally judges’ interpretation of the Constitution has changed, and with it the rules under which we must live.
Throughout the United States people are unhappy with the government as it affects them and are looking to change the politicians in order to change the rules. They’re even examining the Constitution and the form of government it has brought. Is it fair on its surface or has it been misused?
Do we want to dump it all and install a different political structure? Do we want to change our republican system to something different like a true democracy, a monarchy, or perhaps a dictatorship?
Perhaps we want to keep current system but start over, and instead of trusting the people to make their own choices and work toward a better future as we have in our capitalistic society we want to have a government that decides to whom the products of all our work goes based on their needs, or what they say the needs are — socialism.
Can “we the people” do anything at all? We can vote!
Some people say they don’t bother to vote, since they expect no change. This perception seems to become more common all the time and many polls indicate that people believe there will be no change, whatever the outcome of an election. I see no differences in the major political parties today. Each has its pockets of special interest but there are no clear differences as there were in the past, when one was clearly for more federally concentrated power and the other for the rights of local states and communities to control their lives. Now both parties claim to capture the center ground so they can hold and increase their power, not to advance a firmly held belief.
I submit that the only difference between the two parties is the amount of socialism they want to effect on us at this time, as they appear to believe that only the government knows what is good for us.
Nothing will change, if we let the government go unchecked.
One must remember that whenever the legislators give us something they say is for our own good, it always costs something in addition to increased taxes; the multi-headed bureaucracy also gains more control over our lives. We have now been controlled into national poverty, where our choices become fewer and fewer. The bureaucracy makes law, without a vote, through regulation, requirements and practices that tell you how you must live.
Some of these things enforce actions that really are for our own good, but there are many in the different parts of the bureaucracy who want to increase their personal power over others and the wellintended benefit becomes a personal tool of the bureaucracy.
An example is in education, where the state and federal government provides funds. We have grown to depend on them, and when they don’t continue to increase as expected, we see a “cut” that threatens local bureaucracies and the system.
The mountains of paper required to access these funds has created an industry of administrators whose only job is to dream up programs to get more funding and then comply with the enormous administrative requirements. As a result our teachers are so bogged down with proving that they are teaching, there is no time to teach. Our education system teaches us that we must trust government to fix this or that.
Whatever happened to the old “American spirit” of the West, where we fought heartily to protect independent choice and strived to become economically independent?
How does this end? We must support new candidates who have new ideas that agree with our views, vote for them in the primaries and then vote in the elections. Choosing not to vote is a vote for the same things to continue.
It now appears South Texas will have its own congressional seat, District 34, and our vote will not be overshadowed by big brother Corpus Christi. Our votes have a chance to express what our region views as important.
Our country is evolving constantly to respond to new events because we do have representative government.
Just the right amount of greed on the part of our government might work to solve our problems, but we have to watch and vote for people who will work to set the right direction so we can correct errors and get on the right road.
Still, we the people must watch and take part, and vote! The 2012 election starts now!
Fred Drew is Cameron County Libertarian Party
vice chairman and secretary. Archived columns can be found on his website,