Constitutional Libertarianism

Constitutional Libertarianism

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Respect the office, watch the office holder like a hawk

I am sooo tired of this faux blind patriotism that partisan drones push on thinking people.

They tell us that in order to really "respect" the office of the president, Congress, supreme court, etc.. that we should stand behind anything and everything they do.

No friends, don't question them or their work because to do so is, gasp ...un-American.

It is our obligation, nay, our duty, to question the actions and behaviors of those people we place into government office by election or appointment as well as everyone those offices employ.

I have said it before and I mean it with utmost sincerity.  Our government and our Constitution are ideals.  These are the ways we want to be as Americans.

We as Americans strive to put our best foot forward, or at least we used to.  That's what our Constitution is all about, not just settling for what we already are, but we know and expect ourselves and others to be.

The office of the President of the United States, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate and our Supreme Court judges as well as every person employed by those offices are expected to be exemplary of those ideals.  to conduct themselves like statesmen.

When we see that these people holding these offices are not conducting themselves in such a manner, when they are abusing the authority and responsibility entrusted to them, we have to call them on it.

They don't get a free pass on bad behavior and compromised ethics just because they won an election or succeeded in appointment.  On the contrary, they are held to even higher scrutiny to see if they will uphold that office and position in the manner the American people expect that office to be carried out as.

The office is more than the individual.  The office is a representation of expectations and ideals of a nation at large.  An individual is imperfect, we know that, but being imperfect is no excuse nor does is it give permission to not make every effort to keep trying one's best to perform up to those expectations.

Our representatives fail us because we have come to expect and tolerate such failure. Instead we should expect, nay demand, as a citizenry in common, that they perform at those idealistic and expected levels.

"No more!" we say, from this moment on.  No more apathy, no more disinterest.  We insist that our representatives do just that, represent, those ideals and values that we have placed in our Constitution, in our representative government and in those offices meant to portray the best our society has to offer.


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