The Senate has the final round of voting to pass the Reid health care bill, on this, the eve of our Lord's birth. So far, this has been an incredibly interesting and insightful look into the workings of our government.
Being a future social studies teacher, I shudder to think how I'm going to explain this process to my future students. All of the lessons and diagrams of government I've had to go over seem a little lacking, even misleading to a great degree.
How do I start with this one?
I suppose it would be important to let them know that the "right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," as written in our Declaration of Independence, are really only suggestions. Whether or not you possess the right to life depends on who is in power at the time. And if you happen to fall under the category of those not possessing that right, others will be forced to pay for your execution, even if the majority of Americans don't think that should be the case.
What else? Oh yes, elected officials are not in Washington to represent the people who elected them. What is really important is how they further the agendas of those who finance their re-election. It's perfectly fine for them to sell out any "values" or "morals" that they might have used to get elected, as long as they get a good deal. Plus, it's okay for them to distort and misrepresent the faith community they claim to belong to, because "values" and "morals" are goods for sale, not to be protected and proclaimed. That sort of stuff needs to stay at home.
I know all this sounds really pessimistic. That's the point. But, the hope is that this won't be a lesson plan I'll have to make. I still have faith in our system, but I have infinitely more faith in God.
Merry Christmas!
No comments:
Post a Comment