HAUNGS: Modern Times

In my last column, if you read it or were merely flipping pages through The Daily Free Press, I touched on the inevitable and necessary turning point in our generation that seems to be looming in the immediate future. But now we must discuss a bit on what that turning point is and how the turn must occur.

It is incredible to realize the great leaders we’ve had in this world, as equally as it is to realize the constant overturn of that good and the majority that does nothing about it. In our everyday lives, we all seem to be directing ourselves in the opposite direction as that of our revolutionary ancestors. Our turning point now must be a sharp U-turn back on the right road. In this lifetime, we’ve come across too many detours and breakdowns that all should have been avoided, and it’s tiring to hear the constant cry, “It’s too late to change now.” What a cop out. So many nations across the world have had amazing revolutions centuries after their founding. It is never too late for change.

To say that we need a U-turn, I mean an appliance of three key documents: The U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence and the Declaration of the Rights of Man (French Revolution). These documents, as foundations for two free nations, hold within them everything this society needs to understand about personal liberty, government capabilities, and a diversion from wrongdoing. It seems elementary to do so, but I would even call for a close reading of these documents in multiple forced sessions of all three government bodies, state and federal. Each branch needs a reiteration of the values of this country and the duties of its governing body.

Every one of us possesses the ability to pursue our own version of the pursuit of happiness as long as that pursuit does not involve injuring others or preventing others from their own freedoms. This includes the pursuit and practice of religion, but does not demand it. By having a religious presence in government (even if that only means religious “morals”), these morals become forced on all Americans, regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof. For so long, disregarding religion, the government has steered us down the wrong path and we have allowed it. So many other public services are failing as well, most importantly in the realm of education. More money is being stripped from our schools, which are the beacon for the future and the fate of our society. The less educated we are (secularly), the worse off we are. Without education, we have nothing. We’d be nowhere.

In order to turn the wheel back on the good road, it’s almost necessary to completely replace Congress and the Supreme Court with all new constituents. Clearly, neither side of the spectrum is doing any real good for our unalienable liberties, and part of the reason is the refusal to compromise. There is no escaping conservatism and liberalism, but a strong, central, truly representative third party ground will go a long way for this country. Not everyone falls within the confines of our current system, and it’s about damn time the entire nation is represented in government.