Self governance 202

Ok, we’ve almost made it. We’re nearing the end of an extended and painful semester of Self Governance 202. What have we learned? Surely the lessons include some things we shouldn’t have already known yet, this is a new day and age so there are some new wrinkles to old tricks and some brand new tricks.

We’ve learned that we have to take Governmental information with at least several grains of salt. This is a one we should already have known. Looking back through history we could find many instances of the government telling us "Don’t worry, you can trust us" but the most poignant is Richard Nixon’s "I am not a crook" line. We should have already known that naively accepting everything the government says, with no regard for motives and spin, will most assuredly lead to excess if not total chaos.

We’re supposed to keep them honest. The Media, the various branches of the federal government, but mostly the citizens are supposed to keep an eye on activities, question the validity of statements and demand transparency.

We haven’t done that. Nobody has.

We’ve learned that many people do not want to struggle with the complexities of issues. They prefer to have everything neatly stacked in little black and white piles and if the government uses the right buzzwords those stacks will go unchallenged indefinitely.

Here’s another thing we should have learned.. If you want to cripple the efforts of a group of terrorists first, don’t attack an uninvolved country but really before that, Don’t declare a "War on Terror" and surely don’t call every inane idea, occupation, or ancillary attack part of "The War on Terror". It gets ridiculous quickly.

If you attack a Muslim country suddenly all of Islam is against you and anyone who has to live in that part of the world will be hard pressed to assist you. The leaders of those countries have one main goal, to stay in power. They can act like they’re trying to help you while actually providing sanctuary for terrorists through inaction, while accepting lots of money to find the bad guys.

An administration would be much better off going after the actual terrorist group and would do much better with the secret help of the countries involved. It’s worthless to make all of the Middle East choose sides in a dubious conflict. If you’re not from there you will never really know who your friends are.

But the single most important lesson we should have learned in this endless second semester, is that no matter what happens NEVER EVER forsake your countries core values, like justice and freedom, pursuing the goals of a few misguided people. Never give up the moral high ground and always stand for what’s right. Be a force in the world for truth and transparency and only use force when you have to and only for the right reasons. That way your credibility and integrity stay intact and it’s always clear who the bad guys are. That, fellow citizens, will be on the final.

maxP