The Gallery: July 2005

Ok, Maybe I am pessimistic with regard to the general population. Or, maybe I just can’t ignore something just because it is unpleasant. For the past ten years, I have gotten together with my neighbors and talked about the current events and what's happening in our community. We’ve talked about our values and what is going on at home and work. One of the things that struck me as being universal with few exemptions in the attitude of being unconcerned,(or more to the point unconcerned as a result of the belief that one can not do anything anyway), about the political situations i.e. law enforcement abuses, local laws,(some good and some down right wrong), local and state politicians and there f.u.b.a.r.(s). As well as the things that usurp our essential liberties in the ‘Patriot Act’ and ‘Patriot Act II’ (the next generation). Or should I merely state the fact that the mass majority of all those I have spoken with,( a large number), are displaying an attitude of pure apathy towards the events that govern there lives just as long as it does not effect there wallets. In Idaho,(unlike California), people will stubbornly and stiffneckly vote and stand up for there party no mater what as though that party owns them mind, body, and soul. As if this was not disturbing enough, the results certainly are. Might I remind you of the broad sweeping powers granted the department of homeland security,( homeland, a reference from the pages of history?), the F.B.I. and the C.I.A. None of which need to get a warrant signed by a judge they just write there own warrants and bust down the door rushing in guns at the ready. Oh don’t forget that to report violations of this will make as much difference as the reports of Waco and Ruby Ridge and possibly create enemies amongst one or more of these groups. Maybe even be seen as a matter of ‘National Security’. Even with the elusion of the ‘First Amendment’ still locked securely in place who would be brazen enough to chance it?. And how long would it last?. A year, a decade of truth left?. Don’t miss understand me. There is a minority ready for change from the normal - ‘out with the old in with the new same as the old’ boys club crap as demonstrated with the 17% that I had garnered when I ran for state rep. back in 2000. It was enough of an impact that it spurred a deluge of variations on my platform in the following elections. The political environment in Idaho has gotten so out of hand that we have had two serving time and several sanctioned in one fashion or another, the people voted to impose term limits three times and the legislative was so brazenly arrogant as to tell the people to shut up and prevent term limits. What’s worse is the people took it and shut up!. That's not all. If one sits down and reads article 6-904 in the Idaho state code one would realize the broad sweep of unaccountability applicable to all state employees leaving no legal recourse for seeking justice for any abuse whatsoever. This law was obviously to prevent bogus lawsuits from costing the state. However, it also leaves nothing to address any abuse. They have ignored the public calling for more resources to be allocated to private schools,charter schools, and home schooling favoring elusively the public school system with Idaho’s version of ‘no child left behind’. In spite of this efforts of the state, our children have not made the strides in math, science, history, reading, writing, nor have they made much progress in preparation for adulthood and the workforce that they should and need to make. I hear a faint outcry from people with no actions to back it up. The cry goes out then fades away and all goes back to the ‘norm’ again. I have been disgusted with the education I had that did nothing to prepare me for the real world and life. That did so little to educate me on my worth and give me a firm foundation for self-value. That gave little education on our own history. In my eldest sisters generation the ‘federalist papers ‘ and other documents of importance was already being phased out of the schools. I had been even more disgusted with our ‘public school system’ in 1995 when a collage student working at Blockbusters did not know the Ten Amendments of the Constitution of the United States and worse thought that the Second Amendment was “Scary”. In 2000 I was watching C-Span2 on cable. While getting a soda, I heard the head of the national education board state... ‘ Most people are under the misconception that it is the job of our public schools to teach our children reading, writing, and arithmetic. It is not. It is the task of our public schools to teach the children to be good citizens of the state.’. Needless to say, I dropped my soda. Now as we are about to hear the vote on the continuation of the Patriot Act another article crosses my path. In the ‘Moosemarsh News’ ,(Vol.5, No. 6 June 15,2005 - July 15, 2005), I find a very disturbing and unsettling chain of events. It would seem that some lawmakers snuck a rather destructive, ( that is destructive to our Constitution), peace of legislation that combines your ID, Drivers license, SS#, and all your files into one form of Identification. A little, unobtrusive looking, RIFD tag implant the size of a grain of rice, into a $82 billion military spending bill. And you think I am a pessimist. I wonder why. All this is possible because of the loss of the basic foundation of our self-value. Our ‘Essential Liberties’. To further illustrate my point. Disrespect of our parents, the disposability of our elderly, rise in crime, rise in police brutality, school shootings, Oklahoma, the twin towers, ect... ect... ect... . It is my opinion that with the loss of this understanding, our foundation that allowed all these things to accrue at an alarming rate. I believe that as our civil liberties are rendered ineffectual by government encroachment and people become more and more apathetic we become more and more vulnerable to terrorist attack from within and from abroad. It is the irresponsible action our own government in not recalling 25% of our own military from abroad and utilizing that manpower to augment our border patrol both northern and southern as well as to augment our coast guard patrols both east and west that leaves us ridiculously wide open for attack. WE HAVE GROWN SOFT!!!. We replaced our state militia with a national guard, (not that the national guard is a bad idea, but to augment not replace the state militia.). The common mistake is in not recognizing that the definition of ‘state militia’ means the citizens of that state as being a part of the ‘state militia’ provide there own arms and keep possession of those arms. The National Guard is provided arms from the federal government and they are stored in federal arms depots. they are a branch of our military not a militia and answer to the government not to the state governor. This prevailing dependance on the ‘STATE’ for our security and safety is as a result of the loss of our willingness to take responsibility for our selves. To protect our selves and to provide for our own security. The most common things I hear from most of those I have talked with is that they endeavor to the best of there ability to avoid responsibility and personal accountability. It is this attitude that will lead us to the loss of our civil liberties and into a socialistic society. It is this form of apathy and the shunning of responsibility that is responsible for the degradation of the constitution. As we lose our rights, we have only our selves to blame. As more and more drugs enter our country, as more and more terror attacks accrue, as crime increases, we can only blame our own blind apathetic views, our willingness to let government do everything for us, our narrowing our sight to just what effects us,(our money), directly and ignore everything else, our unwillingness to get involved. This did not happen in one night. This has been brewing for forty years and the AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE BEEN SLEEPING!.
As I have said before, we build our self-value on the fact that these essential liberties are inherent within our species. This self-value gives rise to our recognition of the value of others and is what we base our self-respect. our self-respect and the recognition of the previous gives rise to the development of respect for others. Because we respect our selves we develop a sense of dignity. Through our sense of all of the above develops a sense of integrity and a sense of duty springs up, duty first to ones self and God(s),(whatever God(s) and/or form that God(s) takes), then to our families, friends, community, ect... ect... . From this comes the desire to develop some skill that will better oneself and others, to make a contribution to ones community and to our species. It is the combination of all the above realizations and the manifestation of them that comprise HONOR.
I can only hope that my insights, my thoughts, my views does some good and makes someone think a little. Maybe examine what is happening around them and that someone takes action towards growth both inner as well as outwardly in there own life. I hope that this gives rise to some thought that promotes growth in someone somewhere. Maybe some legislator will wake up and try to bring about change within the system. I can only hope. I have and will continue to do what I can. I must state that I DO NOT believe that violence is the way when we still have other avenues to work within as we have now.