Over the
past week I have watched social media blow up over the government shutdown. Everyone is upset and rightfully so. But what bothers me more than
anything is the ignorance of the general public on how government is supposed
to function.
Successfully
passing a high school civics class is required to receive a high school diploma.
Now I don't claim to remember everything I learned in high school, but I
do remember my Social studies teacher engaging us in many discussions about our
government.
Some key
facts about the way our nation was set up.
1.
There are three branches of government to ensure a checks and balances
system. This means that no one person can rule all and make our country a
dictatorship. Each branch is equal.
Here are
the three branches of government:
a) Legislative - The United States
Congress - These are elected by the people to represent them in
Washington. The people elect those that
best represent the issues that are most important to them. They write legislation and vote on potential
laws. There are two divisions of the
legislative branch. The House of
Representatives and the Senate.
b) Executive - This is the President
of the United States - Also an elected civil servant, among other tasks, he/she
holds the power to sign bills into law, he/she also holds the power to veto or
'cancel' bills at his/her discretion. A
veto can be overridden if the house and senate both pass an override.
c) Judicial - This is the United
States Supreme Court - This branch is comprised of judges that were appointed
to the bench by the President of the United States and vetted by congress.
These officials are chosen by their ability to interpret the United States
Constitution and render judgments fairly.
The court hears and decides cases of significant value to the nation.
There is no higher judgment in the land.
2. A
bill must be passed by both the Legislative and Executive branches to become a
law. If the constitutionality is
questioned in court, the law may make it up the judicial chain and be heard
before the United States Supreme Court who will render a judgment on whether a
law has merit and will stand.
3. Our country was set up by our founding
fathers as a "government of the people, by the people, and for the
people". This gives the power to
the citizens of the United States to hire elected officials to run the country
the way we see fit. If we don't like
how we are being represented in Congress, we can remove those non-performing
representatives by electing someone else to better represent us.
4. The majority rules. - This is why we have
elections. The candidate with the most
votes wins the election.
5. The United States Congress is responsible
for passing a budget to fund the country.
If there is no budget, the people that are employed by the government
are out of work or work without pay.
This includes the United States Military, unless provisions are passed
otherwise, as we've seen President Obama do.
Why does
all this matter? Our federal government
has been shutdown by congress for the past week. The republican-led congress has issued an ultimatum to the
president to either de-fund or dismantle the Affordable Care Act, (which is
also referred to as Obamacare by the way.
It is the same thing for those of you who don't know or appear on Jimmy
Kimmel) or they will not pass a budget and close the government. They have also threatened not to raise the
debt ceiling. This would cause United
States to default on it’s debts, damaging our economy that is still recovering.
This means
that children are without nutritional assistance and school. Veterans are without the care they need and
deserve. Death benefits to families of
soldiers killed in action have stopped.
American families are left without a paycheck to pay their rent or bills. Cancer research, stopped. And yes, Jan Brewer, national parks are
closed. All because of a political
hissy-fit by the Republican party of cheap tricks, scare tactics, and bad
theatrics.
The
Affordable Care Act IS LAW. It was
passed by all three branches of government.
(see #1 above)
It is not
up for discussion, compromise, or gutting by people who don't like it. This isn't how our system is designed to
work. If a party does not agree with a
law, they can campaign and win an election.
By reelecting President Barrack Obama to the office of President of the
United States, the people of this land confirmed their approval of this
legislation.
Now here's
what I find hard to digest. The people
that scream loudest and longest about “the evil that is Obamacare” are usually
the people that don't know diddly about the legislative framework of our
constitution. You don't have to be a
lawyer. You don't have to hold a
degree. You just have to educate
yourself. If you don't, you are at the
mercy of the crazy, greedy, and unethical asshats that hold office.
I have no
patience for people who claim,
"I'm not a political person", "I don't follow
politics", "They're all the
same", "It makes no
difference anyway". Ironically,
these people are the first to bitch about things that don't go their way.
For the
love of our nation, read the constitution.
Read a civics book. Learn the
truth about the clowns that YOU have elected to congress, so the next time you
step into that voting booth you can make an educated decision.
As a citizen of the United States, it is not
only your right, but also your responsibility.
