Making Adult Decisions in Government

Why I shouldn't buy my Granddaughter a mini-bike

1. She is four years old
2. It is too expensive
3. Her mother (my daughter) would kill me.
4. She would flaunt authority with it.
5. She would torment the family pets with it.
6. It is dangerous, and I do not wish her harm.
Wouldn't it be nice if the same adult decision making could occur in Washington?

"Why shouldn't I invade Iraq (or Iran)?" asks Mr. Bush?
Because the Iraqis were not ready for my intervention, and my troops were not trained or prepared for the task they would be asked to perform.
Because it is much too expensive, considering all of the problems we have refused to solve in this country, appealing to poverty. Because, families in this country are outraged by the waste of their loved ones' lives and the families in occupied lands are turning from their peaceful lives to become insurgents, seeking vengeance for lost loved ones. Because, freed from traditional ethical guidelines, parties are behaving in a gruesome fashion that would never have occurred to them otherwise. And because as the leader of the U.S. he should be concerned for the well being of our troops, and as a Christian, he should be concerned for the well being of those in occupied lands.


"Why shouldn't I reduce regulations on major industries and appoint leaders in those industries to regulate them?" he rejoins.
Because, they do not possess the maturity to be responsible moral agents, and cannot see beyond their bottom line to their neighbor. Because, in a society groaning under massive health care expenses and the economic weight of globalization, we cannot afford either the illness that results from an increase of pollution and toxicity, nor the migration of wealth away from the people.
Because, this country is founded on the principal that the citizens come before the elite and that the only reason governments are instituted among men is to secure the rights of the people. Because they have demonstrated that they will flaunt authority and even go as far as to terrorize those citizens that oppose them. And finally, because as the leader of this nation, he should be unwilling to see it's people come to harm.

But alas, George W. Bush, or even the Republicans are not the entire
problem.

"Why should there not be a draft?" Congressman Charles Rangel asks?
Because, pipe dreams aside a draft would neither be administer fairly nor prevent war. It is too costly, both economically and to the spirit of our nation. Ramping up the apparatus would cost a fortune and it would demoralize both the youth and those older folks (like me) who worked so hard to eliminate it the last time. It would divide the nation and cause unrest.
The privileged would find loop holes, as they did last time, even if you stipulated there to be no exceptions. Texas will always need a few (not so) bright young men for their Air National Guard (or Alabama). And those not so endowed would, once again, face long separations from their family to either hide in a foreign land or enter a war that is unjust. And war time is not the time to institute a draft, because deaths will most assuredly occur on account of it.

"Why shouldn't I make back room deals with industry leaders, trading regulations for benefits that 'we the people' should be cooperating to ensure?" asks Congressman Barney Frank.
Because those industry leaders (again) cannot be trusted. The regulations have already been dangerously relaxed and the "benefits" that the industry offers under duress, leaves their workers still unable to afford essential service.
Because, reclaiming those services from the private sector and back into the public trust will remove a powerful bargaining block from them, in terms of employment and corporate responsibility, returning the power back to the American people.

Instead of political tricks and sleeping with the enemy, the new Democratic Congress needs to get back to the peoples business.