We The People …. Or Not

I noticed recently that President Obama finally got his Internet Kill Switch law passed.

No, not the one he was trying to drive through Congress a couple of years ago.  Congress stymied him for so long that he eventually gave up using the system with its checks and balances (and not without its frustration on occasion) and passed an Executive Order granting himself the privilege.

Executive Orders (aka Executive Directives) are an intriguing idea in US politics.  The President can create them at any time, can leave them in effect as long as he / she wishes, can invoke them as defined within the definition of the Order and the content of the law, including the rights of American citizens while the Order is in effect, are classified.

These Orders are often even beyond the oversight of the people we elect into government.

I’m all for passing laws to ensure the security and integrity of the nation.

In the hands of a good leader taking action to benefit or protect the nation, the laws can prevent an otherwise catastrophic event from bringing a nation to its knees.

And in the hands of the wrong leader, such laws can undermine the greatest nation on earth.

Which way the laws can be used is difficult to determine when the people we elect into power can pass laws that are beyond the ability for “we the people” to examine.

It is difficult to tell when the people we elect into power can circumvent the natural checks and balances built into the system (as frustrating as that system can be sometimes).

It is difficult to tell when even our own lawmakers in Congress are not permitted to see the content of the Executive Orders.

It is difficult to tell when one cannot easily determine if elected individuals answer to “we the people” or if it is the other way around.

And it is difficult to tell when “we the people” don’t bother to be educated when it comes to knowing how the system works or where it is going.

A nation gets stronger when strong, informed people elect strong, informed leaders.

When either side of that equation is not as strong or as informed as it should be, the nation doesn’t get stronger.

It gets weaker.

In addition to being informed, one has to have the will and the desire to make a nation stronger.  One actually has to care about the future of their nation and provide more than lip service.

Do you know which way America is going?

How do you know?

Are you certain?

In service and servanthood,

Harry