[as originally published on www.USDailyReview.com by S. Devereaux]
The issue at hand is our collection of paradigms and what
those are doing to curtail the restoration back to the government as it was
intended because we fail to recognize—or believe—that the images in government that we disdain are painful
reflections of ourselves. Modifying
paradigms is a bit more difficult than losing a few pounds as a New Year’s
resolution.
For instance, Americans claim they don’t want the “good ‘ol
boy” in office. They want the “regular Joe”.
Yet, when seeking those who are qualified for state or federal offices, they
look at those already in elected office.
What part of refreshing founding principles is that? The Founders knew that Senators needed to be
the more educated of the two houses of Congress. But they also perceived the Representatives
as coming specifically from among the people.—both, actually, but
Representatives especially. That House was specifically intended to have
neighbors representing neighbors. Their
close affinity to their own was reason for election every two years—taking
turns.
Senators, who were supposed to represent the States needed more
higher education, not because they were superior to their fellow Congressional
electors, hardly; but because it was hoped that their additional professional
and educational experience would provide the analytical skills needed to decipher
the complex needs of a state government.
Neither house, however, was specifically intended to be filled by those
whose qualifications demanded elected office experience. That is an invention
of modern day nationalistic philosophy.
Another ready instance: The lion’s share of Americans want
government to rein in spending—in particular, debt. Yet, the people have the
highest foreclosure rates in history, and a consistently high rate of personal
indebtedness. Irrespective of government
interference in the mortgage industry that produced the “mortgage bubble” and
encouraged bad mortgages with over-valued property, people should know what they can and
cannot afford. Common sense is expected. Enticements or none, we cannot point
an accusing finger demanding a different paradigm from those that represent us
when we, from whence they come, do not follow the same prescription.
Still another example:
I recently worked on a grassroots project where multiple committees had specific
roles. After a time, I found that a
couple of individuals took it upon themselves to hijack the responsibilities of
others in order to orchestrate what they wanted in certain areas over that of
others who had been assigned those tasks. When I questioned why they were
not respecting the assignments as given, one of the two answered that they just
wanted to make sure the project was successful and ‘things’ got done—“for our
country”. I wonder: Exactly what part of
this paradigm, built on circumventing others’ duties is different from Obama circumventing
the powers and responsibilities assigned to Congress that he usurps through
Executive Orders, and implementing specific Departments of the Government do this
bidding--and what’s worse, putting into place programs that pilfer each
person’s opportunity to do for themselves?
In both scenarios the paradigm
claims to “Save the Country” by robbing opportunities of others through
control.
If we Americans truly want the federal government to make the improvements (I
cringe to use the word, “change”) needed in bringing us in square with the intention
of the Constitution, we need to be taking a serious look at our own thinking
and subsequent behavior.We won't be finding anyone soon in the highest office with a paradigm any different than our own.
To that end, then, what can be done to get us back to those
original paradigms? We don’t have the
luxury of as many years to restore them as it took to distort them or our Constitution. But for starters, we can look first at
ourselves for behaviors we see in government, then change it, rather than justify
it.
The most profound actions we can take are not in the realm
of the government at all—though they are part of American politics: American paradigms mean looking out for the
needs of neighbors and family, so the government has no input there. Americans
should study their Constitution, “for our country,” then pass it along, so the
government cannot fool us about its role.
Fellow citizens should be looking for ways and means to help another build
their abilities, not take their opportunities from them. Indeed, the most powerful paradigm shift is
in accepting that American government means living in a way that is mutually
beneficial, and then finally taking turns representing each other.
I suppose this whole issue of paradigm change could best be
summed up in the late Michael Jackson’s tune, “Man in the Mirror” and Disney’s
wicked queen and her magical mirror in Snow White: Both illustrate the very
paradigm lacking in most of us to truly improve our government: In America, government is a mirror image of and
truth teller about oneself, whether we like it or not. Changing the paradigm is truly a New Year’s
challenge worth undertaking.
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