So Washington was against political parties because he knew they would evolve into power grabs. The Dems and Reps of today are less patriotic and more party aligned IMO. The needs of the party are put above all else. And we as a constituency have allowed apathy to creep into our lives so we do not act to stop it. We take liberty for granted and we are slowly becoming sheep. Look at some of the laws that have been enacted since 9/11. We're allowing Constitutional rights to be stripped away without ever being challenged. Washington's view was laws of such a nature should be amendments to the Constitution and therefore voted upon by the citizenry, but we were not allowed that right.
Washington also warned about meddling in the affairs of other countries. I think there are times when it is a necessity we go to war, but Iraq was not one of them. Am I happy Hussein is dead? Yes, he was an evil man, but it shouldn't have happenned by our hand. And I do not believe Washington would support the idea of "nation building". For what he masterminded on 9/11, bin Laden deserved to be hunted down like a dog, but I do not believe we should continue to pour money into Afghanistan to rebuild it. Our mission was to get bin Laden and cripple his organization. We did that. It's time to come home.
And by his own words and actions, Washington did not believe in alliances with other nations. IIRC, we had no alliances during the entire 19th century. Part of our problem with the Arab world is our alliance with Israel. Israel has shown they can defend themselves. While I believe in a strong military, it's time to stop being distracted by the rest of the world and start looking to fix problems at home.
Some of Washington's ideas may seem antiquated, but the more thought I put into them, the more I see logic behind them. We're not the police force of the world. If a country's own citizens are unwilling to fight for their freedom, why must we do it for them? If they don't have the will to fight for it, they don't have the will to preserve it.
I consider myself a patriotic man. I believe in the ideals of this country but I feel they have been corrupted by those we have put into power. I'm not a radical miltia man, I believe in change through the system. But until we as a country demand our rights to self govern, the system will continue to fail us. As it is, the system is ignored. Politicians make unilateral decisions with no input from the constituents they supposedly represent. As long as the masses choose to remain silent, this will continue.
One final note in honor to the day, God bless our troops and keep them safe. Whether you believe in God or not, I hope you at least share the sentiment behind the statement. They give there all for this country. They put themselves in harm's way. When I criticize the wars we have fought, I hold no criticism for our service men and women. They follow orders as they are supposed to do and I thank them for that and all they sacrifice. To be separated from your family and know you might not see them again is something no man should have to experience, yet they do, and they do it in service to their nation. My criticism is for the politicians who create these wars. Put them on the frontline and let them see what their decisions have wrought. Maybe then they would put more thought into what it is they do.
Rant over. Just needed to vent my frustration with politics and the path our country has stumbled down.
