A Broken People And A Broken System

One would be hard pressed to find a time in our brief history of existence where our republic was in greater danger of being destroyed. Yes, you could definitely argue that during the Civil War era our country was close to coming apart at the seams. That is a fair argument and the only one that can be cited and compared to our current precarious situation in which we sit. In a strange way, we are in a new civil war. An ideological civil war pitting self-government and self-reliance against the tyranny of a massive out-of-control central government. The American people have become slaves to the federal government. They have grown more and more dependent on the government taking care of them from the cradle to the grave. But this isn't what our founding fathers fought so hard to build. They fought to escape the chains of tyranny and oppression and establish a republic built on everyone having a right to pursue life, liberty, and happiness in whichever way they saw fit. Unfortunately, over the last 240 years, a broken people have led to a broken system and a broken republic on the verge of being destroyed. So what went wrong here?

We need to start with the American people first and foremost. Our republic was founded upon a strong belief in God and the teachings of the Bible. As John Adams put it, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for the government of any other." With each passing generation, we have moved further and further away from God and the teachings of the Bible. Moral relativism is the prevailing theme in our land today. There is no right or wrong anymore. It is all about how you feel and who you identify as these days. Our moral compass is broke and that has led to politicians who are just as immoral, reckless, and corrupt. Our government is just a reflection of the people.

The American people have become apathetic and ignorant and have thus allowed politicians to run amok without any real checks and balances. Washington DC has become a cesspool of corruption and intricate webs of political favors weave in and out of Congress in exchange for power and money. Rep. Ken Buck, R-CO, has written a new book entitled, "Drain The Swamp: How Washington Corruption Is Worse Than You Think". In an interview with the Daily Signal, Buck gives some insights into what goes on behind the scenes in DC.

Corruption on Capitol Hill is "worse than you think," Buck insists. "When you first get here, you think that you are in some sort of fairy-tale novel. They wine and dine you and they show you just exactly what it's like if you play the game. It's a wonderful life." Things quickly change, however, if "you don't play the game." Buck adds, "If you don't play the game...it becomes a much less comfortable existence here." It is a symbiotic relationship between the special interest groups and lobbyists and the politicians in Congress. The special interests feed the politicians money in exchange for favorable legislation and easier access to powerful committees and subcommittees crafting bills in Congress. They need each other in this dark and broken system. Now add in the last ingredient to finish this recipe to disaster, government dependence.

With nearly 47 million Americans on Food Stamps and many more on disability, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, we have about half of the country on some form of government aid. The politicians know this and pander for votes by promising to keep those people plugged in to the government money train. The more they can keep people dependent on government money and programs the more they can continue to stay in office and maintain their power and influence in Washington. All of the social welfare programs need to be seriously addressed and fixed but the politicians know that is political suicide and stay away from making any real and substantial reforms to those programs. The American people have become so dependent on the government that they scream and shout anytime these programs are even talked about being changed. So the cycle is set.

The question becomes how do we break this vicious cycle and return to a republic of self-reliance? That isn't an easy answer. Some will say we need to enact term limits on Congress, pass a balanced budget amendment to reign in spending and control our deficit, and work on more campaign finance reform to get the special interest money out of politics. While those would be good starts, they are just working on the periphery and not getting to the core problem.

The core problem here is we the people. It is an issue of morals, ethics, and a spirit of dependency. We have moved away from a spirit of independence, freedom, liberty, and self-reliance and moved more and more towards being dependent on the government and the producers in our society to coddle and care for the slothful ones. That is a deep and pervasive problem in our land today. That can't change overnight. It requires a total change of spirit and attitude by the people. It requires a move back to God and the teachings of the Bible. Remember what John Adams said. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people and is totally inadequate for the government of any other.

A broken and immoral people have led to a broken and corrupt system. The politicians are just a microcosm of our society today. Until the people change their hearts, minds, and spirits and refresh this republic with a return to God and our founding fathers frameworks, we cannot expect to fix this broken system. We are on a path to destruction and the people have become more and more open and receptive to the tenets and ideology of socialism and less and less interested in independence, freedom, and liberty. My hope is that our republic can be saved. My fear is that we have passed the point of return and are falling off the cliff into the abyss.