Pedro's Podium: The 2012 Quest

Diogenes of Sinope is said to have walked the streets of ancient Greece, looking for an honest man. This journey was considered fruitless. He is also known as Diogenes the Cynic. His cynicism grew from his final belief that it was impossible to find an honest person. I’m not so sure if there is really a truly honest person in the world. It is hard not to be cynical. It is health to have some cynicism in your life. Too much trust can be a dangerous thing, but there are times when you have to trust people. The current leadership in our national government is playing upon this natural cynical nature of people. The use of class warfare to divide and conquer our nation must be the transparency that was was promised at the beginning of the Obama Administration. Considering that they decided to receive an award for transparency in secret, I can only believe it.

Every four years the United States goes through an exercise to find an individual that is willing and able to lead the nation. We hope to find an honest person to fill the job. I was told once that: Anyone who has done everything required to become President of the United States, should never be given the job. There are times when I believe it. It is said that the road to the White House requires a person to make deals and sell their soul to obtain this job with so much power. Over the years there have been many presidents who were seen as corrupt. Many others are revered as great leaders. For the brief history of the nation, many have stepped forward for consideration for the job, but only a few have been selected. All who have accepted this job come out after their term looking much older than when they entered. It is a hard job and the process used to select the person to occupy it must be very thorough. A comprehensive search and vetting process must occur to protect our fragile republic. This process has been broken at certain times and requires those who protect our liberties to fix it. The lovers of liberty are the people who really understand the price of freedom are willing to pay the price.

Far too many of those who have acquired power today no longer respect their oath of office and are willing to protect the Constitution. The events that have occurred over the 20th century have eroded the system and put those in power who no longer respect the people of the country or our freedoms. They believe that the answers to all problems come from Washington. They see every problem as a way to increase their power and the political parties.

I see a new spirit rising in the nation. The excesses of power over the past few years have awoken many to the dangers we face from those who wish to impose a dictatorial tyrannical state upon us. The imposition of socialistic policies, the militaristic behavior, and the creation of enemy list by the President are the acts that are antithetical to the freedoms that this nation was founded upon. We have a political movement that is working hard to widen the rift in the nation to maintain their power. Next year is the year in which we must find out if we can restore our republic or will we watch the nation continue to slide into tyranny.

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As I wrote about in None of the Above in 2010, I believe that there is a new wind blowing through the nation. More and more people are beginning to trust the political parties and the political class. It is becoming clear that our elected representatives are no longer protecting the nation. They are only doing what will increase and prolong their power. We are getting tired of slick politicians.

In 2007 we were promised “hope and change” by then candidate Barack Obama. To many Americans he appeared to be an outsider. Unfortunately instead of hope we got inflation, rising unemployment, record wasteful government spending, class warfare, three dollar plus gas prices, attacks on individual freedoms, socialized medicine, and unprecedented growth of the federal government. The power shift from the individual to Washington has been breath taking over the last few years is frightening. This betrayal of the faith of the public must be corrected. I can only hope that we can continue the work that began in 2010. If enough people are left that love our freedoms and understand that the policies of Washington will enslave all of us then we can reverse our course and save the nation.

The choices in leadership, we make in 2012, will determine our destiny. I still feel that our two party system is broken. Both parties seem to have the same goals. The growth of the number of progressives in the government representing both parties is pushing us deeper into socialism. By not accepting more of the same from the political leadership we can once again restore our representative government. We must replace the politicians in Washington with citizen willing to defend the Constitution and protect the freedoms of this nation.

So far I am still undecided on whom I will support next year, but I can not and will not support the reelection of President Obama. His time in office has been bad for this nation. His lack of life experience and overall personality do not make him suited for the office he holds. I don’t trust him or his judgment. But with whom do we replace him with next year?

Our fate is in our hands and we must make sure we choose the right person to lead us out or the mess that has been created by the Progressives. Just as Diogenes was unable to find an honest man in ancient Greece, it is impossible to find a perfect candidate. After all no one is perfect, but we can find a qualified person who would be better than the current occupant of the executive suite. It is important that we don’t become too obsessed with finding someone who agrees with everything you want. We must find a person who is will to actually follow the laws of the land, stop the crony capitalism, and once again turn the nation to true prosperity. This is a quest that we must continue into 2012 and not falter until the republic has been fully restored. We owe this to those who come after us, just as our forefathers gave it to us.