Complacency Cannot Be Tolerated If America Is To Survive

What is known around here as “season” is quickly drawing to a close, as many of our friends and neighbors start to make the journey north. Some may be gone for a month or two or even a little longer as the foliage begins to bloom north of here and temperatures rise. Many of us will still be here during those months, but what remains is our responsibilities as citizens, no matter where we are, until fall this year when we vote. 

In my opinion, our system of government, a Democratic Representative Republic, is one that potentially is as perfect as it gets. As a citizen, I’ve had the privilege to serve on the city, county and state level and have enjoyed those experiences. It, however, requires that our citizens stay informed, engaged and understand how our government should work, and what are the facts versus the “politically correct jargon” to get votes. 

“If we are to guard against ignorance and remain free, as Thomas Jefferson cautioned, it is the responsibility of every American to be informed,” said President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Those words should reverberate through our population today more than ever.

The Constitutional Convention of 1787, which was held in tight secrecy, saw Benjamin Franklin respond to an inquiry as to what type of government the new Constitution of the United States would bring to the citizens of the fledgling nation. He responded to the questioner, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” 

I’m not sure that either Jefferson or Franklin would have envisioned the world as it is today. Neither could have imagined the creation of “career politicians.” Those politicians manage to stay in power for decades on either the state or federal levels, which has a tendency to breed corruption. I am not sure either could have foreseen the power that would be wielded by the technologically advanced media throughout the world, that is piped into our living rooms every day on a non-stop basis.

It was also ironic that those men who penned the Constitution of the United States would place so much emphasis in their strong faith and in God. It is ironic because today we are so focused on “political correctness,” and the removal of those strong beliefs in faith from much of our everyday lives.  

These changes in our society are not what John Adams saw when he said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other.” For today some of our decisions are crafted around what suits our needs versus what is right.

Demanding results from those who are responsible for governing is our responsibility as a people. Our failure to be informed as to who is responsible and what they are responsible for is an ignorance we cannot afford. 

Democracy will die due to that ignorance, for we as a people will be blinded by our lack of understanding of the issues that lie before us. Failure to understand issues and the facts, while instead being misled by a frenzy of half-truths, rumors and slanderous accusations will doom us as a nation. 

We don’t even have to pick up a newspaper or turn on the radio or TV. Just look down to your phone or tablet and the many outlets such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter, to name a few. The stories that abound from those platforms will make your head spin. Each of them serves a purpose, but they should not be a substitute for your individual responsibilities to seek out the truth yourselves.

We live today in a world of instantaneous communication and a 24/7 news cycle. Where a volume of disinformation floods our everyday lives, and in many cases, we find ourselves easily drawn into making decisions that we may in fact regret for years to come.

During the early years of our nation the transfer of news may well have taken weeks, if not a months, to reach from east to west. Even the results of something as important as a Presidential Election would not be known for many weeks. Today we grow impatient if the person we call doesn’t answer on the second ring or return our call within the hour. 

It is important as citizens to become involved, informed and enlightened to the issues that face us, whether it be on the local, county, state and federal level. This will ensure we will not become easily persuaded by torrents of emails, candidate calls and attempts to influence your judgements by playing to your fears.

The strength of our nation, as well as our communities, lies within the strengths of our individual citizens. We have risen to many challenges, both externally and internally since our nation was conceived and we have overcome and persevered, while becoming a better nation and a people for the lessons learned.

However, we should not fail to take seriously the need to have our citizenry stay informed and engaged in the civic matters facing our nation and our communities. This nation cannot survive without an independent and informed electorate. It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” 

We should heed those words from the past if we are to ensure the future for generations to come.