"...if you can keep it" Can we?

It has been said that a woman asked the following question of Benjamin Franklin as he exited the last session of the framing of the Constitution: “Mr. Franklin, what sort of government have you given us?” The following words were attributed to him as his response: “A Republic, Madam, if you can keep it!” Whether or not this is fact or myth, his answer almost rings the Liberty Bell again in a call for action today.

Well? Can we? Within the first 80 years of our new country factions began to develop, which began to “divide” these United States of America. This culminated in a war in America, which has gone by many names: “Civil War”, “War Between The States”, “The War of Northern Aggression”, and “The War of Secession”. The names don’t matter. What does matter is that citizens of our country could not resolve their differences in a peaceful manner, and fought a war over those differences.

Because of that failure to resolve differences peacefully, the structure of our government changed with several amendments after the war that created a new philosophy that the Federal Government is “superior” to the States and the citizens in them, putting dampers on the concepts of Creator/created, and consent of the governed. This “superiority”, combined with the current 2-party system of running our legislative branch, has left the ordinary citizen feeling helpless to do anything about the warning from Franklin. That warning implied that the responsibility for keeping the government as our Founding Fathers intended was totally ours, We The People.

But what to do now that it is so out of control? Actually, we still have the same tool that our Founding Fathers gave us in this Republic form of government. They gave to us a House of Representatives whom we put in office. And, they gave that House some amazing tools as checks and balances on the other two branches of our government. So, why are we in such a mess today? This is because the two “factions” refuse to use those tools, shirking their sworn duty to impeach Presidents who act in unconstitutional actions such as conducting wars without a declaration from Congress and failing miserably in controlling the finances of the government. So why don’t we use the vote we were given and kick them all out of office for not doing their duty?

Aaaah! Now we get to the heart of the matter. It is because WE have allowed ourselves to be divided into factions also! How many times have Liberal minded people wagged their finger at someone who is considered a Conservative in a manner that suggests “I’m right!”? Not happy with that last sentence? That’s no problem. Reverse the Liberal-Conservative words in the sentence. It is the same problem, but different people. Let’s face it. There are no two people in all 50 states that agree 100% on all issues. So do we continue to gang up on each other and try to find ways to “whip the other side”? I would submit that we look at the results of that mode of operation. Hmmm? Not too good, right?

There is a solution. Why don’t we put aside all those differences, sit down with ALL the people in a District, and put someone in office that will “best fit” the desires of ALL the people in a District? What does “best fit” mean? That’s for YOU to determine, but for sure, it should NOT be a Party-1 or a Party-2 candidate, as they are the cause of the mess we are in today.

The solution is GOOOH. Get Out Of Our House. It is a citizens’ process for nominating non-party candidates by answering questions about ISSUES, and comparing them to the answers of the prospective candidates. All it takes is YOU to make it work. www.goooh.com. Check it out. Form a group in your District and rid our Congress of people who refuse to respect our desires, and act as true representatives of the people. The “best fit” he or she is out there. Find that person!

Robert Humphries