Political Philosophy and current events

In recent days I have been hearing a lot about how the American government cannot seem to get anything done. The folks on Capitol Hill are stalling about the federal budget (five months into the current fiscal year) and certain state lawmakers are fleeing their homes in order to prevent their legislature from being able to have the quorum necessary to pass certain bills. Yes, I am being deliberately vague. Whatever I may feel about the issues, this is about the process.

The American government is not an efficient. Thank God. An efficient government is not one that allows the voices of the people to be heard. Also, history shows us that, when a small number of people have a disproportionate amount of power, corruption and decline always follows. Perhaps not right away, but soon enough.

One of the reasons I admire the founders of our country is that they had the wisdom to realize this. They designed a system of for our federal government that delegates as little power as possible to the executive branch. We have since managed to strip away some of these protections, but our head of state is still hamstrung in many ways.

I am frustrated with much of the recent politicking going on. It seems like no one wants to sit down and compromise. Yet I can't help but feel proud. Even though the lawmakers are fleeing their homes, they are only doing it to make a political point. No one is going to arrest them and drag them back to vote.

The independence and freedoms we hold so dear mean that we will have to deal with this sort of nonsense. So would we rather fight the hard battles and clear the air about our issues or have a bunch of old wise people telling us to do what they say because they know best?