2013: The Year of Living Dangerously

"Recognizing and confronting our history is important. Transcending our history is essential. We are not limited by what we have done, or what we have left undone. We are limited only by what we are willing to do." – George W. Bush

Do you believe that the fiscal cliff has been resolved? Well not so fast. You may want to think again. There’s more to this cliff than what meets the eye. It seems that government has more cliffs to solve. With three more financial crises, there are more frightening times ahead than last year. By the end of February, Congress will encounter another challenge to our debt ceiling; a Sequestration that will be more painful to our economy. Financial analysts are calling it a "suicidal" attempt for our country. If Congress doesn’t increase our debt ceiling by more than 40 percent, our government programs will have to cut spending and will likely put our country back into a recession. It’s disturbing to know that the last attempt at the 2012 fiscal cliff was really nothing more than a band-aide for our country’s problems.

With talks of having a $1 trillion coin or invoking the 14th Amendment as unfavorable options by politicians, there is more a willingness to shut down the government or cover programs on a day-by-day basis. This type of thinking doesn’t give people an increased trust in our government system.
Politicians shouldn’t be taking action on just short-term solutions. It would be wiser to remember that America wasn’t built on temporary thinking, but rather on the long-term goal of achieving more today than what we had yesterday. Instead of lowering our debts, we are being driven towards another year of living dangerously; otherwise known as the year that government shut down.

Awakening a Constitution

Many people have watched in anticipation, as we listened to the first of three Presidential debates, but I can’t help but think about the Constitution.   Has America reached its breaking point?  It’s hard to believe that unemployment has decreased to a record low of 7.8% with so many people out of work. Or is it that we have become conditioned by the media and politicians to believe that our economy has actually improved?  It’s hard to believe. The one event in American history that can be positively believed is the Constitution. Developed to protect; it is the legal document that speaks for us and our wants as an American people.  Our Constitution allows for us to have freedom and ownership for our wages.

Today, we live in a hectic pace of distractions that we often don’t know who to believe. We can’t fully understand how or why we ever got into this mess. The means by which the poorer classes of society are challenged by the privileges of the upper classes and setting the stage for the political conflicts that ultimately are directly to a Revolution. Back in Colonial America the first great awakening prepared men and women to become involved in the political process; an awakening that was crucial to the re-structuring of government and politics.  When we begin to realize the prime mission of the Federal government under the Constitution; which is to protect us of inalienable rights, freedoms, and property of the individual; one can see how far the federal government has strayed from its legitimate role. Patrick Henry said it best: “I have but one lamp by which my feet are guided, and that is the lamp of experience.”