We are the Government

The very first words of the Constitution are, "We the People" in big bold letters. With those three words our founding fathers declared where the authority of the government is derived. For the first time in the history of mankind our founding fathers declared that the authority of government does not come from any god, king, or potentate but by the consent of the governed, We the People.

Therefore it strikes me as strange when people say things like the government is evil or they are all crooks because the crooks come from us and we put those crooks there and if the government is evil it is because We the People are evil. It's not as if we import our politicians and they are appointed by some far off king. 

Losing an election is not grounds to "take our country back" because it wasn't taken from you in the first place. You just lost. That's all. Nothing more. That's what democracy and elections are about. The guy with the best ideas wins. Or at least that is how it should be. 

When Obama declares that there won't be a presidential election in 2012, then you can start talking about tyrants and tyranny. Until then it's really just tin-foil hat talk and anyone that espouses such nonsense should be chased away from the public square. We do not let children into the debate and we shouldn't let these people into the debate for the same reason.  

Only about 40-60% of the eligible voters in this country actually vote. With such a lack of participation by We the People and with so many unable to articulate exactly what the government should be doing, is it any surprise that without guidance from We the People that politicians would do what they want instead of what we want them to do?

How are they to know if we don't tell them? How are they to know if they are left to continue to hold their office? In other words, without any accountability at the ballot box should we expect them to act as though they are accountable to the voters? Well they are. They are accountable to the fringe that ends up with disproportionate influence because they fill the void left by all those that don't vote.

If we want to return to a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, all of them and not just the radical fringe and corporate interests, we need get out there and not only vote but vote smart. Know what your representatives are doing and vote accordingly. Don't just vote for D's or R's. Vote for the politicians that listen to their constituents and do their bidding.

They work for us but like employees who are not supervised and end up playing solitaire all day on their computer, we must closely supervise our representatives to make sure they are in fact working for us all.