Letter: ‘We the people’ often goes missing
To the community,
In his inaugural speech, President Obama repeatedly made reference to “we the people” which underlines the fact that the people have a social contract with the government. Thus, everything from funding phony wars to raising taxes is done in the name of the people. The government is our government. But at all levels of government the term social contract has been thrown into the wastebasket. It isn’t part of our operating political thought or practice. We the people have become an abstraction.
Bill Crawford
All people are created equal was also emphasized, underlined, by the president in his speech. The idea is as old as the hills. In about 308 BC, Zeno, the stoic taught that each person has a divine spark within their being. Thus, there is a spiritual equality. The stoics believed that slavery was a violation of that spiritual equality. So man is endowed by his creator. That’s a powerful idea that breaks the chains of bondage. Let’s not put it in history’s wastebasket.
Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe
‘We the people’ seemed to be a non consideration in the city council’s decision yesterday!
“We the people” are a non consideration in most decisions, unless it is an election year.
Mr.Crawford,
I’m afraid “We the People” was tossed out a long time ago. The loss of the public voice was slow and gradual at first but for sometime now this degradation of our founding fathers intent is being thrown right in our face.
All these appointed agencies, such as TTD and their loop road plan, TRPA and all their misguided legislation. So many commissions, agencies and sub groups that just smugly walk away knowing that nothing legaly will be charged against them. They’re not voted in by the public, just “selected”. One appointed group appointing another appointed group that make the laws we must abide to, or suffer the consequences for breaking a law no one wanted in the first place.
I’m not saying every govt. decision must come to a public vote, but it would be nice to see some “representatve government”.
To paraphrase the late great George Carlin ,”The jig is up, the game is rigged, they don’t care about you because your not part of the big club and your not part of it”. It’s all about who you know and what connections you have to the powers that be.
Go to a STPUD, TRPA or Council meeting or any other govt. agency meeting
and you get the feeling that the decision has already been made despite your input. That meeting was just held to make you feel that they REALLY care about your concerns, suggestions, ideas or complaints.
Some good people in public office localy and federaly but they are few and far between. Good Luck,Old long Skiis
“We the people with the money” now rules the land, and manipulates the rest of us into towing the line.
Hate to say it Care, but it worked that way when the founders formed this ‘land’. Don’t own land, can’t vote.
True, Bigs. And who’s to say that wasn’t fairer? At least the voters had some skin in the game.
Now the people who work for a living are being overwhelmed by the people who only vote for a living.
I really here that dogula! I called out a libatard at work last week about the welfare socalled Families of them at Walmart buying food on free credit card and he called ME a Racist!!!
Dogula: Your comment again lacks any reference to reality.
If you are referring to the 2012 presidential election, nothing could be further from the truth. Republicans (and the conservative right) are shrinking in its appeal. The attached polling data provide some stark realities for the republican party. For your argument to be correct, 51% (or 5 million more then voted for Romney) of the public don’t work. Which we know not to be correct, so your statement is incorrect.
Republicans have not made a compelling argument of why they have a better vision. In fact, they have done just the opposite.
In fact, the Republicans only won the house due to gerrymandering. The 201 house dems received 500,000 more votes then the 234 house republicans.
See:
http://www.businessinsider.com/voting-by-sex-age-race-money-and-education-2012-11
For the moment, the republican vision is not the vision of most Americans. And that includes a majority of working Americans.
Rick
It has become “We the corporations”