Wednesday, July 27, 2011

The key to good government.....



When was the last time you saw incredibly well behaved children?  Someone "dressed" to travel?  Or a congressman who kept his pants zipped?  Sadly, for most of us, we have never personally witnessed any of these occurrences.  Why?  Because our country is no longer of country of self-government.

Once upon a time, citizens of our fabled nation put great personal pride in their ability to self-govern.  Their children were well mannered, their homes and business well run and their elected officials chosen based on their concept and execution of self-government.  In fact, the great men that founded and shaped our country wove the underpinnings of our nation around the foundation of self-government.  Freedom, they reasoned, belonged to a group of people who chose to govern themselves.  Government was, in fact, created to protect the freedoms of a self-governing populace.

Our government has expanded in direct proportion to our abandonment of self-government.  Throughout the years, we have shrugged off the shackles of conventional self-government in favor of ease, comfort and abdication of responsibility.  We no longer teach our children to be disciplined in their habits, rather we just put up with them until they are someone else's problem.  We can't be bothered to put our clothes on to go to town when pajamas and sweat pants are so much more comfortable.  Why would we want to discipline ourselves to only spending what we make when we can shift our financial burdens to our neighbors?  As a nation, we have become complacent and lazy.  We no longer govern ourselves and as a result, the machine that is our government, is more than willing to do it for us.

Make no mistake, we are our government.  If we don't balance our budget as a nation, it is because we don't balance our checkbooks as a family.  If our congressmen act like children - screaming, throwing temper tantrums and sulking, it is because we allow our children to scream, throw temper tantrums and sulk.  If the leaders of this country can't keep their pants on, it is because, we, as a nation, have no concept of fidelity in our own homes.  If our government is run amok, it is because we have allowed ourselves to run amok.  We don't govern our own selves so how can we expect other, undisciplined people to govern us?

Good government starts in our homes.  It starts in expecting ourselves to govern our own actions so that nobody else has to.  It starts with us teaching our children to govern themselves.  It starts by exerting internal controls so that external controls are not required.  Only when our people begin to govern themselves, can we hope to restore the freedoms that we so long for.  A free people is a self-governed people.  Without reestablishing our self-government, we are destined to be at the mercy of corrupt government.  Self-government is not for the weak.  It is for the strong-minded, rugged, freedom loving American.  It is past time we left our complacent and lazy selves behind and begin an era of freedom - freedom based on self-government.

10 comments:

  1. Great article! I will definitely post this on Facebook and my blog. I think everyone needs to read this because too many people believe the government will take care of them when they should be taking care of themselves!

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  2. Extremely well said, as usual. Hit the nail on the head. That's why I loved it when President Reagan instituted a dress code for reporters.

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  3. Maybe I'm lucky, but I've seen well behaved children(sometimes, better behaved than adults around them),and I know plenty of folks who have enough self-respect,as well as respect for others, to know how to run their own lives-I suppose maintaining decorum and politeness would be a better description. This isn't the distant past, but in the here and now. There are still plenty of decent folks out there in the world.
    While I don't make fashion statements, if I go out to visit friends, to work, to a movie, or just out on a parts run, I have on clean clothes, and I have bathed in the recent past(tho' sometimes I might be covered in grease when making mid-repair parts-store runs..you always forget something...). Sometimes,I get in a checkout line behind someone who could get to know a bar of soap better,but here,anyway, most people are decent and honorable. At least the ones I usually run into. All of my friends(and some of my family) have functioning internal governors. Again, maybe I'm just lucky.
    What you say is true,sadly, but remember there are still plenty of good folks-it's just that jerks make a lot of noise and get noticed. Honest people just go about their business a lot more quietly,and get things done. There. I'm stepping off the soapbox now..

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  4. Excellent post, Enola! REAL change starts at home.

    NoCal Gal

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  5. very good article enola...i too get really tired and disgusted seeing wives and mothers in line at the walmart looking like something off of the street in the red light district of some city. and i literally leave a business when someones' child is screaming or crying uncontrollably because the parents of said child don't know how to handle parenting. and i am sick to death of hearing our country's leaders give speeches on subjects they know absolutely nothing about.

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  6. I could not agree more Enola.

    We get the government we deserve.

    It's Time to raise the standards bar!

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  7. Anon 4:36, I agree with you except on the issue of crying children. It can be tough to bring your kids up right and sometimes a challange comes in public. If the parents have said 'no' to something and the child is chucking a tantrum then take pity, it's very embarassing and there is not much they can do except wait it out or leave with the offender (and that's not always an option). Or they can give in to stop the screaming but that would be doing them and the child an injustice. The only person that would win there is the annoyed bystanders that were about to leave. Once upon a time you could just give them a good smack for continuing to act up but now there is the possibility you'll get arrested for child abuse.
    I've waitressed for many years and have my own children so I've borne witness to many public tantrums. Even before I had kids I admired the parents that remained resolute when the child acted up to get their own way. The parents I thought were doing a bad job were the ones that ignored the kids and let them race around the restraunt, climbing on furniture, bothering other diners, going behind the counter and into the kitchen or running in and out of the doors with the traffic zipping by just three steps away. The number of times I've had a small child run full-pelt into me while carrying a large tray full of screaming hot drinks or heavy plates is beyond count. And going into the kitchen? Very dangerous! And these parents do nothing! If we ask them to please make sure their child isn't running/ripping up upholstery/playing in the traffic they get quite annoyed because I'm interupting their relaxation/chatting with friends time.
    Another instance I was quite taken aback was an entire table of eight had to leave because one child wanted chicken nuggets from mcdonalds. That was a case where the child had total control by threatening to have a tantrum (the kid wasn't even teared up yet- just saying 'NO! I want nuggets!'). These poor people had obviously given in many times and didn't want to ride out the tantie (and the ill-will of others). Everyone else in their party looked crestfallen that they had to leave. Who knows how long that behaviour continued and what sort of adult that child will grow into if they always get their own way.
    So next time you're confronted with a screaming child please take a moment to consider what the screaming is about before you give them a dirty look and leave. Having said that I do think it's polite to take the child outside during the worst of it if you can.

    Amanda

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  8. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
    It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
    John Adams

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  9. i think the government has suddenly developed alzheimers symptoms and has lost their "key". maybe in november 2012 elections new keys will be found.

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  10. Ouch! I felt like I was dancing across hot coals reading this article. How many of these am I guilty of? The idea of rewarding school children for jobs well done with pajama days for students and staff may contribute to PJs in the market place. And this is at a Christian School. I did congratulate the staff on their professional appearance though; whatever their job might be.

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