I have waited until the election was over and the pundits were basically done with the post election analysis to pen another post. Much to my surprise the punditry goes on and on and on. I occasionally wonder if we need to begin riding horses again so the expression about beating a dead horse would actually have some meaning again.
Now, we have secession petitions in all 50 states. I am not surprised as often, after an election, there are always people who are dismayed with the results. Generally life goes on, people calm down and the usual disagreements with the government go along as before. This time, again, it is different.
Recently this writer has felt compelled on Facebook, my usual form of interaction with my friends, to attempt to explain how government works. Apparently some have come to the conclusion that bills magically appear on the Presidents desk in the night like some form of bill fairy places them there while he is sleeping. As wonderful it would be if there was indeed such a fairy that placed well thought out legislation in the Oval Office at night, that is not how it works.
Unfortunately, part of this post will be boring to some and I will attempt to keep this part as brief as possible.
The President of the United States does not write proposals, submit bills, debate them or vote on them. Congress does that. The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate does those tedious jobs and then, and more aptly put, if they create a piece of legislation, then it goes to the President who either signs it or vetoes it. I am hoping that covers enough of that process for us to go on.
The preceding election campaigns seem to have been long on personal attacks and short on substance. The debates were poorly moderated, questions were framed as softly as pillows and our wars were basically not even discussed.
What was discussed, not by the Presidential candidates but by Congressional hopefuls was far more disturbing to me, personally and on a societal level. Womens rights.
The fact that womens rights were a campaign issue was disturbing to this writer simply because this matter has two clear parts. First, women are people with minds, and intelligence and capable of making their own decisions and attempting to legislate women and how they care for themselves and how they do it, and the means they do it is up to them.
Secondly, the majority of people who wanted to ban abortions, force doctors to lie to their patients and force women to bear unspeakable humiliation and degradation in the doctors office, were men.
The impetus behind every single attack on abortion and birth control, planned parenthood et al is religion. Not one instance on this topic cannot be tied, with little to no research, on the opponents beliefs in God and as such the interpretation of the Bible they read.
This my fellow reader is not government in action or legislation for the good of all, it is the very clear decision by a group of people that their will be done. It has nothing to do with what is right, or fair or best for the country but simply what ones religious beliefs are. I choose not to use moral because morals and religion are not necessarily companions.
Governments set rules and laws for the benefit of all its constituents, not to set ones mind at ease that ones God will be appeased.
This recent election clearly showed one thing to this writer. The future of this nation will not be in the hands of the preachers or the religious zealots, but in the hands of rational people who choose rights over religion, sensibility over zeal and the good of country over good of personal beliefs.
Although this quote is lifted from an old episode of Star Trek, perhaps it is a fictional line that bears tremendous truth and meaning and should be repeated as part of the oath Representatives, Senators, Judges and Presidents take. “ The good of the many outweigh the good of the few”
joelmerritz 