you should do a search of my posts. lol
I get what you are saying and where you are coming from. It`s easier for others to perhaps see the inconsistencies in us than it is to see in ourselves. If someone see`s them in me, I appreciate being told, so long as it`s a gentle, friendly way, not being beat up by it.
true...but i never said i was christian.
If I understand you correctly here, we have to be careful. I`m sure it`s tedious to keep hearing the same thing, but, "majority rules" is a democracy, and we are not a democracy. We are a constitutional republic. Although in certain instances, we do practice a majority rule vote, it has to be kept clear that we are NOT a democracy. In a true democracy, an impassioned mob majority may vote away your rights, but in theory at least, our Constitution protects our enumerated constitutional rights, and they may not be voted away by a mob majority. There are methods for amending the Constitution, but that is a different matter.
yes. that is definitely worth pointing out. sometimes for the sake of making my point i combine related but not necessarily correct terminology. from what i have learned from history what leans us closer to a democracy (or should. there really should be only one branch that is political. over the past 60 years or so our courts have become political entities of their own) are the checks and balances of a three branch government.
that's true. my apologies for implying you did.
honest & open discussion is what it takes to fix this
Very well articulated, and I agree with every word you wrote.Let me give you my opinion on your last question first. To me, an American is a person who believes in the federal constitution as both the authority for, and a limitation on the powers of the federal government. An American understands that this country consists of separate states that have agreed to submit to certain federal powers to form a national government that should be serving the collective interests of each state, while the states retain certain powers to govern themselves. An American also understands that the true power, be it at the federal or state level, resides with the people first and foremost.
An American should be disgusted with the federal government overreaching its authority by creating laws that are not based in its constitutionally granted and limited powers. An American should be disgusted by the states doing the same. An American should be disgusted that any federal funds are ever given to any state whatsoever, for any reason, because it's an insidious way for the federal government to exercise power over the states that they should not have.
An American believes that personal liberty should be at the forefront of every political party, with minor differences of opinion on minor issues.
Unfortunately, this is not true of either of the actually viable political parties that currently exist. It's also not remotely possible because there are so few people left who actually believe in liberty for all, and are instead driven by emotion rather than logic and an understanding of true liberty.
As to the rest of your questions, let me start with the educational system. I do believe everyone should be taxed at the local level for education taxes, as it has a clear benefit to society in general to have a populace that posesses a basic high school education. However, I should be able to choose which educational institution those funds are disbursed to, whether I have kids in school or not, and that includes funding for homeschool programs. Let the schools have the freedom to teach what they want, and let the taxpayers decide which schools they want their taxes to fund.
We should allow immigration, but only to the benefit of the country at large. Have you ever looked at the immigration laws of other countries? You have to bring a skill, or a lot of money to start a company. That's how we should be. Come here to build, not drain.
And I'm sure I've stated my position clearly here, but in case you missed it, guns should never be taken from or restricted from free men, ever.
I'll stop there for now, because I know I tend to run on incessantly, but I'm trying to do better.
