Asa Jay's weblog

I am a person who has become paranoid about my government; I live in the United States of America and feel I’m losing my liberty. That’s not something that was supposed to happen here.

“When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny.”
unattributed

Shamefully it’s because of this paranoia, of the U.S.A. government of late, that I have grown silent; not wishing to draw attention to myself or my family. I don’t wish the IRS to perform an invasive audit. I don’t want the NSA snooping in my files or monitoring my phone calls.  I don’t need them to tell me what kind of health coverage I need, or what to eat, where to eat it or who to work for.  I don’t want a visit from G-Men thugs pressuring me to think like the collective.  I wish a return to liberty, freedom and the choice to be responsible for myself without the shackles of being told I have to support those who don’t want to be responsible.

I find I can’t be silent anymore, but what I want to say and how I can say it are in some ways bounded by the fact I work for a living and have a family to support.  What I have time an inclination to share is my voice.  I have no other outlet than the words I can write, or speak.  Therefore it will be my writing that speaks for me.

The one word that comes to my mind with regard to the present administration grossly lacking it, is “integrity.”  A man must be a man of his words.  Make no promises you can’t keep.  Commit nothing, do nothing, until you have consensus. Let one’s actions speak louder than their words. Don’t believe or think that you know it all… because you don’t, and neither do I. Be a leader, not a smooth-talking snake oil salesman.

The second word I’m thinking of is “honesty.” A man must believe in what he says and live what he says to the best of his ability.  He must bear no ill intent or hide iniquities with his words.  Facts must not be construed or manipulated for personal gain or the a perceived gain of the collective.  Truth must be told as it exists in the heart and in facts, not from breath of power.  Sometimes honesty and the truth can hurt, yet it is necessary to address the pain soon and seek recovery.  Most people find great respect for those who are honest.  In contrast, they experience deep emotional pain when they discover a liar.

Let me be honest by saying I don’t have all the answers; who does? A solution that works for one person may not work for another. I find it better to seek counsel among experts if I’m unsure of direction. I may be the person who steers the ship, but I’d like to know we’re not headed into the rocks. I’m willing to listen to dissent and try to understand it rather than dismiss it.  I’m not afraid to tell you the bad things that need to be said, as well as the good things.  I’m not afraid to admit and learn from mistakes and say I was wrong; to try again with more clarity, more thought and more listening.

Some time ago I became so fed up with the current President and the administration he oversees that I began to write my own thoughts on how I would handle the various situations that kept coming up. I’m certain much of what I wrote would be applauded by some and damned by others. Such is the nature of how both the United States of America executive administration and congress have divided this nation into a war of emotions and words between people who might otherwise be friends at a typical social gathering.

What I believe is sorely needed is a man or a woman who can “heal” this nation; however I think it will take some “tough love” up front to both build the strength and appropriate level of shame needed for tangible responsibility to return. The word “heal” has been used by many presidents and congress people over the years but seems to always ring hollow; empty words spoken to appease hurt and prideful citizens to buy more time to create arguments that knowingly or not drive a wedge deeper into their negative emotions.  The sitting President at this time is no different. “Reaching across the isle” and “healing the nation” are simply echoes of greater men he’s so fond to emulate with words but fails so miserably to emulate in action. An eloquent speaker is by no means a leader if he is unable to persuade with consensus. To speak the words people long to hear but be so utterly ineffectual at implementing them or using them as a deceptions to the point a man becomes called a liar, illustrates a man’s failure at integrity.

Leadership is the Art of Persuading people to Work with Enthusiasm toward the Accomplishment of a Common Goal.

Before the 2014 State of the Union address, all these thoughts came to top of mind again. Prior to the address, I imagined words sounding so golden, yet ringing like battered tin. Statements would be made that sound as if they cross barriers and are what all people want; the underlying message however will need to be read between the lines in terms of the President’s history to date with similar promises. I anticipated the bitter taste of his misguided words, causing me to cringe and fall sad for the better days we had before him and the two before that.

Indeed, as I edit this now the speech is over and it sounded sweet in the ears but all the facts and honestly left out, kept in check, so the truth of discovery would be left to the citizen only after the actions were in place.  And even more of his words illustrated his apparent lack of understanding fundamental laws and protections already in place; his claim being it doesn’t do enough and we need to do more.  The reality being today we are a nation of selective application of laws which only causes confusion, grief and hostility down the road.  Making new laws is not an answer when old laws should simply be enforced.  But that wouldn’t prop up the President’s political base near enough to continue the slow destruction of the United States of America.  Government is not the answer, it is the problem.  He wishes to make government bigger, ergo he wishes to make the problem bigger.

To this end, that President wishes to provide equal protections, equal income and simple equality across all boundaries; he would assign a government policeman to each of us.  The policeman would make sure we were kept out of harms way. That policeman would make sure we were paid just as much as they were; as much as anyone else.  That each of us would have no more than our neighbor and our neighbor no more than we.  That President would chant we are all entitled to a flat screen TV, a game console, free cell phone, SUV and middle-class housing.  And he would pay for it on the backs of who?  Initially the rich of course and the corporations who appear to deny so much from their employees.  But then who?  Who will be left that is rich; who will be left running large corporations that make so much money they support all the citizens.  When everyone must be the same, where is the incentive to be different; to make a difference; to be innovative; to care.  Where does it end?

Power Corrupts.  Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.

This will begin a new series on what I would do if I were President. I don’t have all the answers; I know that.  I know some of what I think may not lead to the right solution, but needs to be a start; it needs to be leading by example.  These thoughts that leak from my brain will come in no particular order as I’ve written things sporadically over the last several months. They are like many other things, triggered by something I read, watch or hear.  I will review, add and edit these thoughts, posting what I can, when I can. I’m sure to stir anger, angst, apathy and applause. I am only one man, with one opinion and simple-minded ideas of what I feel is right versus wrong; what I feel is leadership and acknowledging what might be divisive. The job of the President is in my opinion, a difficult one to lead; it must reduce the size of government to enable and foster freedom and liberty in our country.

Let me make a pledge. This is not a promise; never make promises you can’t keep. These are pledges; things I would do or paths I would take as they were available and I were in a position to influence their outcome. Promises are easy to make and just as easily broken; it is promises broken that stir the emotional distaste for a man, or a woman. Therefore do not look on these as promises, which they are not. They are pledges for things I would work to do.

These pledges serve the people of the U.S.A. either through actions of my own or actions of others I would work to influence. The bottom line is that the President and Congress  work for the people and that is who ultimately these pledges must affect in a tangible way. Many of these are written in a curt manner which could probably be expounded upon in deeper thought, but the best and easiest sentiment is what appears first and reflects the genuine nature of the emotion, dedication, integrity and honestly of the pledge.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the President is back from vacation.

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 8th, 2014 at 19:12 and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.