It Is Up to US ... at Home

What we must have in this country is a dose of reality:  we must not allow Washington politics to define who we are.  Furthermore, if the federal government would confine itself to the things the Constitution empowers it to do, and which limits the power of the central government, then we could all live happily ever after arguing with one another over state-centric and local community issues.

I think this was Congressman Ryan’s message not long ago during a speech in Ohio.  Here’s what he said: 

Even though so many barriers to equality have fallen, too many old inequities persist.  Too many children, especially African-American and Hispanic children, are sent into mediocre schools and expected to perform with excellence.  African-American and Hispanic children make up only 38 percent of the nation’s overall students, but they are 69 percent of the students in schools identified as lowest performing.  That’s unacceptable.  We owe every child a chance to succeed.  In the words of Abraham Lincoln, we owe them ‘an unfettered start and a fair chance in the race of life.’  Upward mobility is the central promise of life in America.  But right now, America’s engines of upward mobility aren’t working the way they should.

I appreciate Mr. Ryan’s views, which I construe to mean there are solutions to our problems, but most of these must come from within our states, counties, and local governments.  Education is one of these.  It is not the role of federal government to tell us in Georgia, or California, or Illinois how we must educate our children.  This is a state right --a state responsibility.

We don’t live our lives for the vermin who live inside the beltway; we live our lives for our families and our communities.  And while it is certainly true that gross stupidity from Washington can make us very unhappy, as Washington has made us unhappy over the past six years, we must  find a way to refocus our attentions on caring for our loved ones, making them happy, preparing them for a better tomorrow.  Washington politicians can piss off.

If Washington would confine itself to the enumerated powers, our states would take care of everything else, consistent with available revenues and spending priorities.  This is why we have state governors, state legislatures, and state courts.  This is what our founding fathers intended.  For too many years now, we have screwed the political pooch; through our lethargy or our inattention, we have given our consent to grossly illegal activities in Washington, and it has only made us an unhappier, more contentious people. 

And for their part, Washington insiders have tried to separate us from our local roots; they have tried to interject themselves into state and local politics because it gives them more power.  Enough is enough!  We can determine our own destiny, but we must do it from within the framework of our states and our local communities; it is from this position where we can do the most good for those who need a hand up.

Romney isn't the answer to all our problems.  He can be a force for good in settling federal issues and international problems.  He can help us fix the federal economy.  But if we expect to change  the things at home that make us unhappy, then we must look to ourselves and to our neighbors.  If we are too lazy or too stupid to see that national politics is making us angry —and mostly at one another, if we are unable to see that we can solve most of our problems without federal intervention, then maybe we deserve to be unhappy.  


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