Our Democracy in Decline
Tim Williams
October 24, 2008
A government of the people and for the people! Isn't that what our democracy is all about? For the past 30 years the citizens of the United States have and are continuously loosing their individual freedoms. A recent case in point; The government is demanding that the communications industry convert from their regular transmissions to televisions so that now all reception will have to be via high definition for TV viewing by 2009. This poses several problems.
First: This is an unfunded mandate imposed on the public. Some will call a blatant act of a totalitarian state. Second: Most of the population can ill afford the cost to purchase high definition TV's, pay for cable, FIOS from the local telephone company's or get the converter box to configure with their existing television sets. There is no mention of how long these converter boxes will last, what kind of reception, or any extra costs involved to have them installed, repaired or replaced. Third: These converter boxes are being made outside the United States and when we here in America are forced to purchase goods made outside our country our trade deficit becomes greater and our own economy declines.
The congress of the United States have forgotten their responsibilities to the public in which the publics best interest they serve. The government has evolved further away from equal representation, where the top 5% of the wealthiest population dictates to the rest of the 95% poorest citizens. Our election laws have made it almost impossible to regain a balance of equal and just representation in all levels of government.
Now that this is happened democracy as it was intended by our founding fathers is no more. What can and must be done to restore our Democracy as it was founded? Every citizen has to be involved. No longer can we sit idle while our elected officials continually and systematically dismantle our way of life. Our own apathetic attitudes compounded with what our government has done will end in the collapse of our freedoms, our hope for a better future, and our security as a nation.
The need to respond now is apparent so the the decree to purchase or have a converter box is postponed until such a time when everyone has a voice in the process such as putting the required converter box on a ballot and let the people rule not the government.
We have to rewrite the election laws so that money is not the prerequisite but ideals and principals that enable the candidate to articulate how if elected they will improve everyone's quality of life while preserving our heritage.
First: This is an unfunded mandate imposed on the public. Some will call a blatant act of a totalitarian state. Second: Most of the population can ill afford the cost to purchase high definition TV's, pay for cable, FIOS from the local telephone company's or get the converter box to configure with their existing television sets. There is no mention of how long these converter boxes will last, what kind of reception, or any extra costs involved to have them installed, repaired or replaced. Third: These converter boxes are being made outside the United States and when we here in America are forced to purchase goods made outside our country our trade deficit becomes greater and our own economy declines.
The congress of the United States have forgotten their responsibilities to the public in which the publics best interest they serve. The government has evolved further away from equal representation, where the top 5% of the wealthiest population dictates to the rest of the 95% poorest citizens. Our election laws have made it almost impossible to regain a balance of equal and just representation in all levels of government.
Now that this is happened democracy as it was intended by our founding fathers is no more. What can and must be done to restore our Democracy as it was founded? Every citizen has to be involved. No longer can we sit idle while our elected officials continually and systematically dismantle our way of life. Our own apathetic attitudes compounded with what our government has done will end in the collapse of our freedoms, our hope for a better future, and our security as a nation.
The need to respond now is apparent so the the decree to purchase or have a converter box is postponed until such a time when everyone has a voice in the process such as putting the required converter box on a ballot and let the people rule not the government.
We have to rewrite the election laws so that money is not the prerequisite but ideals and principals that enable the candidate to articulate how if elected they will improve everyone's quality of life while preserving our heritage.
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