Failed State

Every year the legislature gets together to re-up the National Defense Authorization Act. Every year, under the auspices of this legislation, the Constitution that is supposed to protect the "inalienable human rights" bestowed upon us by our very nature as human beings, is being systematically destroyed. The entire system of government in the United States is working to undermine the basic freedoms we as citizenry ought to be able to take for granted.

Beyond any idealism, the systematic evisceration of the Constitution is not something that can be attributed to just one administration. Bush and Obama are no different in this respect. There is little reason to believe that during this election cycle, Obama will revert back to his campaign "promises." Rather, the current president should be known as the propagandist of the century, for his rhetoric during his election initially has been completely ignored. Government is no longer working to protect the citizenry; Government is a body of lawyers and lobbied special interests working to only protect those who have large sums of money invested in the policy making machine. Government is neither for the people, nor the State. Government is out for itself. People in power will fight to stay in power at all costs.

During wartime, these laws effectively give the President, as Commander and Chief, the power to do literally as he pleases, domestically and otherwise. It just so happens that we are engaged in an endless undeclared war on terrorism. Come to think of it, when is the last time our government actually followed the Constitution and declared war? There has never been any congressional discussion or debate as to whether or not the president, on the whims of his own decision making, has grounds to send the military to war. And yet, here we are. We are living in an age of unauthorized, unprecedented government seizure of power over the entire country; it could be argued as well that that very same power extends to everywhere the United States has presence. The idea that the world is now an authorized battleground is no longer fantastical.

Those of us that are glued to our television screens absorbing the mass propaganda of the now moot mainstream media will not see the full picture. The media is programmed to emit limited information on limited subject matter. Journalism no longer operates under the principles upon which it was founded. Freedom of the Press was extended under the Bill of Rights to ensure a constantly opened window into the fortress that is now the Government. Such amendments are now being systematically ignored. With sports and entertainment news consuming the headlines, and pundits swaying and misinforming the public on issues that matter, there is also very little reason to believe that the public will ever have a chance to become truly informed. As a result, the public will continue to vote for major leaders of the major political parties, further exacerbating the corruption now inherent in the system.

If these issues remain ignored, it will no longer be the fault of the Government, but of the masses, for they will unknowingly participate in the destruction, or the failure, of the State they are pretending to vote in the best interest of.