Staying True to the Democratic Principles

I was reading an associated press article about the healthcare proposal to be voted on March 21, 2010. In this article, written by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Alan Fram, there was a passage that disturbed me greatly. "Obama praised two first-term Democrats who switched from no to yes - Colorado Betsy Markey and John Boccieri of Ohio - for staying true to Democratic principles."¹ There are some serious questions that come to mind when I read this. How is voting yes more democratic then voting no? Why can I not find articles dealing with our nations deficit from the associated press? Why are the labor unions the only ones sending scathing letters?

According to my Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word democracy is defined as a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised through by them directly or indirectly through a system of representatives usually involving periodically held free elections. By that definition and by the evident desires of the American people, it is clear that those two Representatives are doing just the opposite of what President Obama is claiming they are doing. According to recent polls, the American people are more concerned about the deficit than fixing our heath care system. If Representatives were following Democratic principles, then there would be bills in congress right now exploring ways to cut government spending, and not bills allowing more government spending. Our nation is more in debt now then ever before, and our debt is still growing. From what I can see in the definition of democracy, our representatives are suppose to represent our interests. Instead, they seem to be "looking out' for them or protecting them. Now, maybe I am unique, but I do not need someone looking out for me or protecting my interests. I need a representative that will truly represent my interests. If these representatives were staying true to the "Democratic principles", then wouldn't they be concerned about what is concerning us. Why is the deficit not an issue here? How come no one who writes in my newspaper seems too concerned over where more government spending is going to lead this country?

I am a free thinking American, but I am by no means a political activist. I am not exceptionally smart or observant, yet even I notice that our government is taking out loans from other countries. Our government is pumping money into our economy in order to stimulate it into growth. If I had an enormous amount of debt that just kept growing, that debt would plague me with every dollar I spent, yet our government and media do not seem to notice that we are spending more than we are bringing in. And if they do notice they are definitely down-playing the ramifications of being so far in debt. Who is going to pay this debt back? The taxpayers, that is who. John and Jane America, their kids, and their grandkids will be left with the tab on this debt. Who's money do you think the USA gave to Haiti after the earthquake? That is right; it was yours and mine. We are borrowing money from China and giving money to Haiti. In what world of logic does that even remotely make any sense? Now, the federal government is not alone in this "spend money" mentality. The State government here in Kansas is just as guilty. I recently read an article about eliminating electives and extra curricular activities from local public schools in order to save money. I think this is truly amazing. Why is it when the government does decide to cut the budget they go to the school systems? I would think that would be the last place they would go. In the town where I live there are under thirty thousand people. The town covers roughly ten square miles. We have a public transportation service that operates two buses for up to ten hours a day. I have seen these buses tooling around from one stop to the next with no one on board except the driver on the vast majority of occasions. One of those buses cost around eighty-five thousand dollars. There are two full-time drivers who draw a salary and full benefits. Those buses are insured and are cleaned regularly. Why not cut the budget for a service very few people use? Even if you do not consider the cost of diesel fuel, this transportation service could be minimized and give the budget some breathing room. Why are we not writing our newspapers and telling them to cover stories about out-of-control government spending? Why are we not ranting to our representatives about the deficit?

Are the labor unions the only people in America who know how to get upset? They are not happy with what is going on with the issue of health care. I understand that it does benefit them for a nationwide healthcare bill to be passed. Are you upset with government spending? How about the people at your workplace, are they upset too? Your church? Gym? In your family? We have organizations we can go to. Why are we not coming together and making our voice heard by our representatives? Why is the media only handling the topic of health care? Are we not capable of writing to our local newspapers and broadcast news stations? One day we, as a nation, will wake up. If not now, then when this nation's debt is called in. Someone will pay this debt. If it is paid soon, then we can pass a legacy to our children. The government does not have any money. They do not borrow on their own credit. They are just trading your future. No! They are trading your children's future for money from other nations.

¹http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100320/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul