I've had these thoughts rolling around my head for awhile. Probably not unlike a great many folks. With great trepidation i put them out there for comment / scrutiny.
I believe our "system" is broken. Political, economic, social, almost every facet of our lives has a component that doesn't work as originally intended. I'm not the most educated person by a long shot, but i feel like a have a decent, real world, grasp on issues of the day. I see problems with few answers. To wit:
Politics: Our system of government is broken. I'd classify myself as a Libertarian if i had to be pigeonholed into a slot. I believe that government is best which governs least. That being said, the collective will of the people should be honored. However, how do we define the will of the people? So few people vote. Of those that vote, many vote on the basis of personality, regional bias (for or against), or some other trait that has nothing to do with a candidates ability to represent / govern. I feel like a voter should be able to pass a test. But that would absolutely limit the number of voters and assure the collective will of the people would likely not be represented. At the same time, things may be so broken, that it may not matter who is elected to office. Politicians will play politics, and nothing will change, and the cycle will repeat itself. There has to be a better way. But what. Surely our founding fathers did not envision this?
Economics: The gulf between the haves and the have nots widens. I KNOW there are a bunch of folks that are leeches on society. I also know there are a bunch of folks who work really hard and the harder they work the behinder they get. I am a capitalist. I believe in Free Enterprise. But i don't believe this system is working as intended. We live in a global economy, with global problems. The leeches should get jobs. I get it. But for those without a great education, how do they keep their heads above water? Which brings me to my next issue ~
Education: How do we properly educate our young people? As a parent i put great value on my kids education. They didn't get the best education available, but they got the best my wife and i could get them. So many parents could care less about their kids education. And if they did, they don't have the education / financial means to provide the best they can. I know kids can get jobs and fund their own college. I know grants and loans are available. But if i kid starts his or her life out $50k+ in debt, what's the point? Education funding in Texas for grades K - 12 doesn't work. Again, i get it. It's a local matter. But why should a child born today in some low income municipality have an inferior education as compared to a kid born in University Park. Does the child born to less affluent parents have inherently less potential than a child born to more affluent parents? Again, there has to be a better way? But how? The education system we have functioning today cannot be the best we can come up with.
Social Issues: I don't know where to even start. So much inequity. I don't believe we are all born equal. Some are more intelligent, some are better looking, some have common sense, some don't. People that don't try, shouldn't get. But, then what do we do with them? We are a nation of immigrants. But now we need to seriously regulate immigration. But how? Build a wall along a river? Even if that were ever done, all it would do is drive up the cost of coyote fees. Where there is a demand (the desire to live in the U.S.), there will be a supplier (coyotes). Or, we will see an increase of boats in the gulf and oceans. How do we stop people from wanting to live in what is generally considered to be the greatest nation on earth? Drug use? Stop the demand by our people and the supply will stop. Easy enough. Not so much. Legalize it all? Maybe, maybe not.
I could go on and on, but there's no point. I believe we have some systems that are broken and we need to reboot. But, at least in my opinion, we can't shut it all off, clean it all up and start it up again. And even if we could, we wouldn't agree on what kind of oil and fuel to use.
Enough. I've got that out of my system. There seem to me to be so many questions with so few answers. Oh well.
I believe our "system" is broken. Political, economic, social, almost every facet of our lives has a component that doesn't work as originally intended. I'm not the most educated person by a long shot, but i feel like a have a decent, real world, grasp on issues of the day. I see problems with few answers. To wit:
Politics: Our system of government is broken. I'd classify myself as a Libertarian if i had to be pigeonholed into a slot. I believe that government is best which governs least. That being said, the collective will of the people should be honored. However, how do we define the will of the people? So few people vote. Of those that vote, many vote on the basis of personality, regional bias (for or against), or some other trait that has nothing to do with a candidates ability to represent / govern. I feel like a voter should be able to pass a test. But that would absolutely limit the number of voters and assure the collective will of the people would likely not be represented. At the same time, things may be so broken, that it may not matter who is elected to office. Politicians will play politics, and nothing will change, and the cycle will repeat itself. There has to be a better way. But what. Surely our founding fathers did not envision this?
Economics: The gulf between the haves and the have nots widens. I KNOW there are a bunch of folks that are leeches on society. I also know there are a bunch of folks who work really hard and the harder they work the behinder they get. I am a capitalist. I believe in Free Enterprise. But i don't believe this system is working as intended. We live in a global economy, with global problems. The leeches should get jobs. I get it. But for those without a great education, how do they keep their heads above water? Which brings me to my next issue ~
Education: How do we properly educate our young people? As a parent i put great value on my kids education. They didn't get the best education available, but they got the best my wife and i could get them. So many parents could care less about their kids education. And if they did, they don't have the education / financial means to provide the best they can. I know kids can get jobs and fund their own college. I know grants and loans are available. But if i kid starts his or her life out $50k+ in debt, what's the point? Education funding in Texas for grades K - 12 doesn't work. Again, i get it. It's a local matter. But why should a child born today in some low income municipality have an inferior education as compared to a kid born in University Park. Does the child born to less affluent parents have inherently less potential than a child born to more affluent parents? Again, there has to be a better way? But how? The education system we have functioning today cannot be the best we can come up with.
Social Issues: I don't know where to even start. So much inequity. I don't believe we are all born equal. Some are more intelligent, some are better looking, some have common sense, some don't. People that don't try, shouldn't get. But, then what do we do with them? We are a nation of immigrants. But now we need to seriously regulate immigration. But how? Build a wall along a river? Even if that were ever done, all it would do is drive up the cost of coyote fees. Where there is a demand (the desire to live in the U.S.), there will be a supplier (coyotes). Or, we will see an increase of boats in the gulf and oceans. How do we stop people from wanting to live in what is generally considered to be the greatest nation on earth? Drug use? Stop the demand by our people and the supply will stop. Easy enough. Not so much. Legalize it all? Maybe, maybe not.
I could go on and on, but there's no point. I believe we have some systems that are broken and we need to reboot. But, at least in my opinion, we can't shut it all off, clean it all up and start it up again. And even if we could, we wouldn't agree on what kind of oil and fuel to use.
Enough. I've got that out of my system. There seem to me to be so many questions with so few answers. Oh well.
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