We Americans have been free too long. Many of our citizens no longer value the freedom for which our ancestors fought and died, at least not enough to keep it.
Many of us see nothing wrong with trading that freedom for money, inspiring a particularly unprincipled class of politicians to compete to buy the most votes with the taxpayers’ hard-earned money. That’s the money those politicians have sworn to use wisely. Apparently, "wisely" is in the eye of the beholder, or maybe just in the eye of the guy holding the key to the taxpayers’ bank account.
Both that class of politicians and those citizens subscribe to the "Robin Hood" model of government, "Take from the rich and give to the poor." Inexplicably, they consider such "taking and giving" a badge of honor.
Have we truly devolved to this extent? How do we decide for whom we will vote? Let’s analyze some basic human tendencies: Most citizens who vote for the man they think will be the best manager, the best CEO, become Republicans. Democrats like the candidate who grabs their emotions, who dramatically assures them of their victim status, tells them the owner of the corner store is ripping them off, and promises them the goodies they "deserve". If he makes good on that promise, he is guaranteed a lifetime in office, the perks of which he can and will manipulate to set himself up for life.
Basic human nature never changes, but there always have been and always will be aberrations, for which we can be extremely grateful. There are some truly honorable elected officials and some equally honorable voters.
Such are the last, best hope of mankind’s freedom. And we need more of them!
