For several years of my
life, many friends and I had considered leaving the United
States of America for a multitude of reasons. America’s economy was in decline, the national
debt was over fifteen trillion dollars, and the value of the dollar was
crumbling. The Bill of Rights was in jeopardy due to laws that violated or
potentially violated not only the Constitution, but the separation of powers
created by our founding fathers. The PATRIOT Act, National Defense
Authorization Act, laws preventing protests, and bills giving the executive
branch totalitarian powers treaded upon the rights of the peoples and added far
too much power to the executive in the scale of power. The two-party system
produced, for decades, the only two candidates for elections that held any real
possibility of victory. Wars in the Middle East have drained our resources and
created another economic restraint on our progress. The American people had
stopped voting as they began to believe the popular vote did not count. Little
did they know that their absence was the reason the popular vote had lost its’
power. The American people failed to educate themselves and, instead, followed
the extremely biased media without doing any research of their own. Massive
corporations grew too large to fail and, with the use of lobbying, gained more
say in the American government than the people thanks to that loss of the
popular vote. These corporations managed to use their power, gained through the
lobbying system, to push law interpretations into their favor, and away from
the favor of the people. Congress seemed to be part of the executive branch.
Congress appeared to merge, as one company often does with another, with the
executive branch with the intent of aiding the President’s cause no matter
what. Congress allowed itself to pass laws that infringed among civil liberties
and basic rights, an action that proved Congress had forgotten its job of
regulating the power of the President. The few Americans who did research the
facts themselves seemed to be as though they were unwanted. To the majority,
they presented a reality that most did not wish to accept, one that they needed
to accept. The time I speak of is the present-day, and most of you may be
shocked to know that. These events are happening now, and have been happening
over the past decades in our nation.
In order for us to progress and repair our economy, we
must have leaders who win because of their principles, not because they have
the most money to advertise to voters who do not educate themselves. These
leaders must understand that sacrificing liberty, even to aid the restoration
of the economy, is unacceptable. To restore honest politicians to the American
government, we must first abolish the system of lobbying. Lobbying only
corrupts our politicians by placing the interests of the American people, under
that of special interests composed of the highest bidders. As a result of this,
the American public suffers greatly, and loses the representation that our
founders fought so hard to earn. If the lobbying system were to be abolished
the public would have no choice but to make an attempt to educate themselves on
the candidates.
The next step in repairing America
would be to regulate the dollar as best we can, then allow the principle of
supply and demand to take over. American industry can repair itself as soon as
the people can start businesses and, as these small businesses grow, the
unemployment rate will fall. As unemployment falls, and the standards of
American living are raised once again, our companies will begin to export. This
exportation will bring vital wealth into our nation, and increase the value of
the dollar worldwide. We can become self-sufficient, and become a leader in the
world of trade.
As our economy is slowly restored, the focus must shift
back to the restoration of the republic, on which we were founded. Congress,
with the lobbyist system abolished, will now realize that they must represent
the public interest and create results to maintain their positions. Congress
will need to be reminded that they, while part of the federal government, were
created with the purpose of regulating laws so that the rights of the people
cannot be infringed. They will also need to be reminded of the fact that they
must regulate the decisions of the executive branch by the will of the people
they represent. In order to insure the federal government represents the
people, the states should have a true right to nullification of a federal law
if, and only if, they believe it does or has potential to violate the rights of
the people and the Constitution. The states should also implement a system by
which the people can directly oppose a bill if one-fourth of the population of
that state opposes it. Finally, as a last resort, the states should consider
maintaining a militia of moderate size and proportion so that no state could
overpower another, but that they all could unite against the federal government
if necessary. As Malcolm X once said, “If you're not ready to die for it, take
the word 'freedom' out of your vocabulary.” Unfortunately, in the most extreme
of situations, we must have the courage to make this sacrifice and we must have
the means necessary. In the words of the great Thomas Jefferson, “The tree of
liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and
tyrants.” I do not promote violence as a primary or even secondary practice
against the federal government; however I do encourage it if the people go
completely unheard.
America
is descending into Plutocracy, and has been for years. I feel that these
measures are the best method to peacefully restore the power structure designed
by our founding fathers. We, as the people of America,
have a responsibility to maintain the republic at all costs. I urge us all to
remember the words of Benjamin Franklin when asked “Well, Doctor, what we have got,
a Republic or a Monarchy”, he replied “A Republic, if you can keep it.” My fellow Americans, I hope you consider my
ideas, and realize that we must save ourselves from the system we have allowed
to form over many years. We must save ourselves; For Liberty! For Justice! For
Freedom! For “We the People!” Long live the republic!
