Reformation of Government Must Start With Reformation of the People

John Adams wrote in Revolutionary Writings, (1763) p. 213:

Government is nothing more than the combined Force of Society, or the United Power of the Multitude, for the Peace, Order, Safety, Good and Happiness of the People, who compose the Society.

He also wrote, on page 214:

The Preservation of Liberty depends upon the intellectual and moral character of the People. As long as Knowledge and Virtue are diffused generally among the Body of a Nation, it is impossible they should be enslaved. This can be brought to pass only by debasing their Understandings, or by corrupting their Hearts.

As Michelle Malkin points out in her recent article, George Washington, at the age of sixteen, copied 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation, based upon rules composed by French Jesuits in 1595. It was an exercise in penmanship assigned by Washington's schoolmaster. Later Washington would create a set of rules that pertained to his time period that today would also appear to be outdated as the 1595 codes appeared in his day. However, they can be rewritten to apply to society today because they represent more than just manners.

The rules represent respect for others, which in turn reaps the gift of self-respect. It was a code that George Washington lived by and caused Parson Weems to write that it was -

...no wonder every body honoured him who honoured every body.

George Washington provided advice from his rules of civility and code of conduct:

Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company.

That should be administered within our society along with the importance of family unity – both of which the progressives have dissolved by taking over our form of government where the US Constitution is deemed out of date and codes of conduct are based upon their politically correct doctrine. By commandeering our government, they also have polluted society with Marxism where anyone with wealth is considered an enemy of the people and anyone against their progressive socialism is deemed enemies of the almighty state.

Michelle Malkin wrote:

Too bad President Obama and his best Chicago golfing buddy (BCGB), Dr. Eric Whitaker, didn't heed our Founding Father's wisdom. The duo's continued intimacy, as the stench of government corruption thickens around them, speaks volumes about our current commander in chief's reckless disregard for his reputation.

Read her article.

As far back in history as Aristotle, the importance of the development of character should be the aim of human life and activity.

James Monroe noted how society will ultimately influence government:

It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising their sovereignty. Ursurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin.

James Madison who helped provide the parts in the Constitution concerning the partition of powers that we have come to know as the Checks-and-Balances system has also slowly dissolved as Justices and Judges are chosen for their political affiliation and presidents have been elevated to the point where they produce executive orders to bypass an uncooperative Congress. This degradation of the constitutional republic cannot be solely blamed upon one political party, for Republicans, in a lesser degree have helped in the corruption of the form of government the Founders created.

Legislators are more concerned with their political affiliations and special interest donors than the will and welfare of the people. The federal government sends funding overseas while the national debt grew to $18 trillion, despite false promises by both presidential and congressional candidates who asked for the vote and ignored those promises once taking office or retaining it.

The corrupt individuals that have permeated our government from both sides of the traditional political aisle come from among us in our society – and We the People, the majority, put them there by votes.

So, when looking at the foundation of the problem, its origin, the initial blame is our society – its people. As government increasingly commandeers our lives from cradle to grave and indoctrinate the youth of the United States through control of education – the outcome will not improve.

The Founders worked diligently to create a form of government that has been deemed mistakenly as democratic, but history shows and the Founders knew that democracy ends up destroying itself. It is mainly because it begins with mob rule and ends up in the hands of the political elite as democratic socialism is incorporated. It is why Benjamin Franklin, when asked what type of government was decided by the Continental Congress, the answer was “A republic, if we can keep it”.

In the presidential campaign of 2008, character and association was not important to the majority of voters. The African American (“Black”) communities forgot the wise words of Martin Luther King, who stated in his famous speech entitled I Have a Dream:

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. ...

I look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character …

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Unruly and non-peaceful protests, especially vigilante mobs appalled John Adams, which he professed in a letter to Abigail Adams, July 17, 1774:

These private mobs, I do and will detest. ...these Tarrings and Featherings, these breaking open Houses by rude and insolent Rabbles, in Resentment for private Wrongs or in pursuance of private Prejudices and Passions, must be discountenanced, cannot be even excused upon any Principle which can be entertained by a good Citizen – a worthy Member of Society.

Those who call themselves Progressives, the 'New Age Liberal' do not recognize that what Mr. Adams wrote in 1774 applies in the 20^th century and now in the 21^st century when unruly mobs commit arson and looting as what took place in Ferguson, Missouri. The media has become as corrupted as Progressive politicians, who work hand-in-hand in ignoring that the Constitution permits peaceful protesting, but not arson and looting no matter what principles they are deceivingly justifying in such actions. It becomes a tool for the corrupt political elite to do what Julius Caesar described in his tactic of divide and conquer.

Abraham Lincoln worked diligently to hold together the union of the United States, declaring truthfully that a nation undivided cannot stand in his campaign speech and later emphasized in his Gettysburg Address.

One hundred years later the Civil Rights Act finally protected minorities and gender; indeed, the African American was provided the right to vote before women could.

The saddest part of the BH Obama legacy is that he represented the transition from slavery to civil rights to the first 'Black' president that only represents a politically corrupted entity and mark him as one of the most corrupted administrations. It is an affront and embarrassment to the people of his racial background. Voters were more concerned about having the first 'Black” president rather than ensuring that the one chosen had good character and qualifications. That is undeniably racist; for racism is NOT a one-way street. His mysterious background, his associations, and his character were not considered – despite being presented in clear view. Thus, whenever objections against his unconstitutional acts and inept handling of foreign and domestic affairs is presented – it is instantly made to look like racism, both by his political party and the cooperating and manipulating media – the latter no longer the eyes and ears of the People.

Americans want reform of our government as well as the corrupted media, but it cannot be reformed until they realize they must first reform itself as a society. American youth should not be told that rules to develop good character are old fashioned or that the Constitution is out dated. If it is, that is why amendments are created (and repealed) in order to keep USS America on a steady course away from destructive shoals that other forms of government have demonstrated in the course of history that continues today. Is it not odd and hypocritical that those who denounce the Constitution as out dated are the first to cry out and invoke the First Amendment. They are a pick-and-choose political entity who has put their lives in the hands of the political elite instead of what made the United States great – individuality and freedom of choice that demands responsibility of those choices. Collectivism seems to be their choice in their quest for the fantasy of Utopia. As good as it is, even the constitutional republic is not perfect, and it is because humanity is not perfect. But it does not mean we cannot strive to improve and maintain those values and morals that make up a successful society.

It does not mean that Christianity must be intertwined into government business, for morality is not just a religious demeanor, it incorporates into a society that prides in character, honesty and integrity. An educated citizenry is paramount in a successful society and government. 

Individual freedom does not mean we must have a selfish attitude toward others, as the Progressives have created and indoctrinated into new generations. We must be unified as individuals, which is different than collectivism because the former promotes a successful and evolving society that encourages new ideas and inventions, yet keeping the tried-and-proven standards of what a good society is. It then promotes and maintains a better government.

Traditions create a bond among the people of a nation. We must also accept that people of different ethnic backgrounds also make up the nation called the United States; thus we should be looking upon other legal citizens as fellow Americans, for that is what unifies us. Division through multiculturalism can only divide us, cause strife, and make our nation weak.

There will always be those who are prejudice for one reason or another, but we do not need to make it a national hallmark.

We the People must ensure that those we vote for are qualified and have good character. Would it not be sensible to demand that candidates pass a security background check before elected to an office that has access to sensitive and national security documents? It is demanded that security background checks be passed for government employees – why not their bosses?

There are many tasks to perform to reform our government and the longer we wait the more serious the consequences. It just requires some diligent and objective research, re-educating oneself, if necessary – since the federal controlled education system no longer puts emphasis upon education standards and requirements necessary to promote responsible and informative citizens who can think for themselves.

It is time to denounce political correctness and progressive politics who demand that certain groups not be "offended" while at the same time unjustly destroy a person or group's character viciously.

Progressives are chronic hypocrites.

We do not need their 'New Deals' nor their Utopian 'Great Society' - we need:

The only foundation of a free Constitution, is pure virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our people, in a great measure, than they have it now, they may change their rulers, and the forms of government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty. – John Adams, letter to Zabdiel Adams, 1776