straightUp wrote:
Yes... the first step is to work on the local level. I'm glad we can agree on that.
I can say I do agree with you on many points, but I view other things very, very, differently than you do.
I think we both agree that a man(or woman) must work to provide for themselves. And that the profits in which one makes should be spent in the way the person wants to spend it. The joy of prosperity. However, when a friend, or a government begins to dictate how these profits shall be spent, then that friend, that government cheats the man who labored for that profit.
Many supreme court cases were heard because a mandate that forced people to get health insurance regardless of basically anything is wrong. See the case of Hobby Lobby.
I believe in the first amendment, which states:Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. (I am moving on to another case but will return to hobby lobby). If the Supreme Court supports Homosexual Marriage, they prohibit the free exercise of those religions who call Homosexuals sinners. But if the Supreme Court does not support Homosexual Marriage, then Congress established principles of religion. This part of the first amendment is a double edged sword. As justice Sicilia, and Roberts both dissented on this issue, they also brought up an interesting point. Which and you know I can go on, but in the end, the Supreme Court of the United States, and Congress of the United States, and the President of the United States should not dictate to the people on how to live. The Government should not judge any case concerning the morality of the people. This is a very big mistake which the high court failed in once before. Roberts brought up the Dred Scott case. If the Supreme Court's ruling is final, then the ruling of the Supreme Court in 1858, which stated, "...the negro is not a citizen of the United States and cannot sue a citizen."
Now over the years since 1858, it has been realized that this decision was improper because of various reasons of civil rights. I bring this up to prove my thesis, that the government does not have the power to decide the morality of the people. The Law in the ACA does just that. The mandate attached to the AHCA goes even further. And this is my objection to the AHCA. It is wrong to ask a Mormon to drink a caffeinated drink, just as it is wrong to make a devout Catholic to pay for abortions. To force one group to be pinned up against another is not helpful for the people.
People in different groups, govern these groups by rules that they set for themselves. Some of these rules are popular, others are not. If I choose to live a certain way by a certain set of rules, that in my mind have been proven to make me a better person, then I should be able to follow that rule. Unless that rule cause harm to another, that rule should stand. In a Supreme Court ruling, certain substances, or drugs, that are used in religious ceremonies were accepted. However, human sacrifice is not. If the belief, or rule causes harm to another person, then it should be restricted. But for example, the observance of Lent for Roman Catholics should not be attacked, because of the fasting for the faith. It cannot be manipulated to prove malnutrition to the faster by the prohibition of meat and meat products for one day, Friday. The governing body is not the government but the religion in which the tradition is held.
Sodomy and Adultery at one time were illegal in the United States. Society changed these laws. Now, I am speaking on the level, that one "sin" is equal to another "sin". Under this context, Sodomy, Adultery, Murder, and Theft, is all equal, and being just as equal the punishment should be equal too.
Now the thing about the Ten Commandments of the Jewish faith, and the Christian faith, is that care and patience must be administered when judging cases as vital as these. In time human beings become complacent. Through this complacency, the spirit of why the commandment was created is lost. This problem that both the Christians and Jews have, is the same problem that the Muslims have, and we Americans have. We support a bill that becomes law to stop a behavior of the human being that causes harm to self/or others.
The government should not dictate the health care of its citizens. The fear here is that soon the government will decide who lives and who dies. That is the problem with requiring all persons to pay for healthcare in an unequal way. Some may think that making all people pay for abortions, and contraception, is "preventative healthcare" but it is not. When one group says it harms the human person, self and others, it cannot be considered healthcare or preventative healthcare. Some may have been educated in a misrepresentation of the concept. This misconception is that "we cannot stop our children from having sex, therefore if they are going to engage in the act, protect themselves." This is a misrepresentation of the power of the parents.
Naturally speaking the Parents are like God to their children. If children do not honor their parents, then the above statement becomes an uncontrollable reality, and in some circles becomes a violent circle of genocide. To combat this circle, religions have preached the philosophy for centuries to refrain from such actions, until one falls in love and promises for life to band together with members of the opposite sex. Then a marriage is instituted for the purpose to starting a family.
Since the family is the first government a human being is introduced to, it is up to the parents to lay down the rules, so that the children can survive and start their own governments. Then through the family, nations are formed. But when the parents give up on their children, it is as if the government gives up on their people. This is the trap that causes us to fail. By destroying this marriage unit of a family, by destroying the identity of the family, we change the dynamic of the nation. Thus, if a father cannot control his family, and a mother cannot advise the father in matters concerning the family, the family falls apart. The same could be said about government and society. The government is like the father, and society is like the mother. In this dynamic the people are nourished and they grow.
In many families, especially the American family, children do question their parents. Just like we question our government. Parents learn from their children, just like government and society learn from the people. Ideas should always be explored. The father that is intolerant on new ideas, makes the family suffer. Just as if the father is open to all ideas. There must be a balance between the ideas. For the past 30 years we all have be indoctrinated into just one type of idea. That is the ideas from one certain type of view point. When that view point is not accepted, those who do not accept that idea are ridiculed and seen as outcasts.
Every group in the United States at one point or another has undergone this. Every group to date has been discriminated against, open your eyes. Every group, from the Roman Catholics to the Jews, to the Protestants, to the Irish Americans, English Americans, Native Americans, Italian Americans, German Americans, French Americans, to the Muslim Americans, from the Orientals, to the Blacks, to the Whites to any group in America, we were all discriminated against. The fact is, any group that comes here to live, is at first welcome, then they are hated then they fight and a new freedom is realized, and America becomes great again. We were great before and after the Revolution. We were great again when we fought the Mexican War. We became greater after the Civil War, and yet Greater again after the Spanish American War. The bond of Americans coming together began during the stock market crash of 1929, and we became even greater after World War II.
But this in my opinion, was just the beginning. With the greatest generation dying off, they leave behind a strong generation of Americans that learned about hard work, and the rewards thereof. They taught us about the evils of the world, the evils that threatened us, then they passed the torch to us. Korea and Vietnam taught us that a government filled with pride from hard work, forgets the work that was done, and squanders all the prosperity of their labor. Broken families began to surface. The old way no longer seemed to work. Then two groups emerged. One group that believes in the public and one group that doesn't believe in the public. Soon these two groups would trade power, from Nixon to Ford to Carter to Reagan to Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama, and now Trump.
From Ford to Trump we lived a life of free love, no responsibility, drugs, and now that three generations have gone by, we are now just sobering up. The ghosts of those who were injured from the discrimination of the past come forth as it is a problem today, sounding like the over sensitive child at the playground that gets picked on. Patience is taken over by instant gratification.
If we replace and repeal Obamacare, the idea that Socialism is better than Capitalism shall end. If we represent freedom in this country to the world, then Free Healthcare should be embraced. Free Healthcare is where we choose our benefits and our employment can handle the bill. Anything that the government regulates have proven to fail. The Highways, Aviation etc. have failed when the government's leash was either too short or too long. But if we the people start governing ourselves, not only is the government's job easier, but prosperity will return, without having to win a war. War will not be needed, under these circumstances that I speak of. But I can explain that in more detail later.
It is time that we Americans put away our differences and identify ourselves not as a divided group but as an American. If I were black, I would prefer to be called an American then to be called an African American, a Negro American, or a black American. I would want to be called an American. We should write legislation to embrace the fact that we are American and we are free. Rather than embrace the divided groups that we give so much money to.
If we really want to end a majority of the problems this nation faces, we would give money to America, and take away money from all the special interest groups. We in our freedom must look towards each other as Americans, nothing more. Each group fights in our wars. We all built this country. We all have voiced our opinions. The News is full of all of this and what I am writing about is nothing new.
So first we must stop dividing ourselves, and reinvent what it means to be American. We need to put away that one group is better than the other and embrace that we are all Americans. I would be happy if we had fifty groups than all the special interest groups. What right do I have to go to England and protest because they don't accept Muslims in their country. I have no right to protest England. Would England even hear me? Then why should America hear other nations?
Now let me ask you this question, since you are a writer: Define and describe the identity of an American. Not a special interest American, just define what it means to be American. In your research you will find that everything I have stated here in, should be the identity that many Americans are looking for and its about time that it is recognized.
Then after you identify what an American is, then look back on the past thirty years, and identify all the actions that both society did and the government did that was against that identity of America you came up with. Then and only then will you understand me, and many that follow me. We are not looking for an identity for we already have one, we want to be recognized for we are the ones who are persecuted in the cross fire of the liberal-conservative battle. The special interest groups vs the people. The faithful and the secular. The straights vs the Gays. The Trump supporters vs the anti-Trump supporters. We are the ones that pay. We are the ones that suffer.
Now if you can't see our group that is growing while you extremists continue to fight against each other, then you are blind to what really is happening. We must be Americans not anything other than Americans. We don't get handouts or entitlements because it is said as an excuse we don't qualify. If I had 1/10 of the benefits that were given out during the Obama Administration, I would have my doctorate in Electrical Engineering by now.
But since I am caught in the crossfire, I am labeled and I say enough is enough. I have a voice, just as boisterous as the man in the White House. I suppose the excuse for the extremists is this, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." So we must be like the grass on the other side of the fence? No. I am an American! And I will not concede to becoming something I am not. I live in a Democrat Republic, not a Socialistic Society. We must start thinking this way, and start using wisdom. Hitler got his power by taking over Germany's health care system.