OneUSA

My brilliant friend, John Hawks, came up with an amazing idea- that we the citizens, regardless of political affiliations or leanings, join together to change our broken system.

The way our system stands now, corruption is rampant. As a political science major, I have given much thought to how we, as a country, could fix this system. Sadly, I focused more on political theory than on practical politics in under-grad, so my thoughts tended towards the non-helpful area. However, some ideas that others have come up with that I thought had promise are: getting rid of the primary system and switching our presidential election to a run-off system (thereby giving 3rd parties a shot at winning); of course campaign finance reform (talk about a pipe dream!); and/or term limits. But all of these require, literally, an act of congress.

But John came up with such a brilliant idea that can implemented immediately, without legislation or the polis standing out in the cold or rain holding signs. Taken from his Facebook group "About" page:

This group will attempt to find a civil common ground we can all support. The initial premise is, that while Romney & Obama generated heated factions amongst us, we CAN come together on working to get the idiotic morons out of Congress. OneUSA believes there are four ways to identify a MORON IN CONGRESS:

1. If they ALWAYS vote party lines, they are not Voting for the USA....they are voting only for their Party.....They are MORONS
2. If they won't listen to the other arguments in a civil way, then negotiate and finally compromise....They are MORONS
3. If they claim they want smaller Government except they want Government in control of a Woman's Body......They are MORONS
4. If they manipulate the truth, fail to reveal the truth or lie......They are MORONS.

Help us to develop techniques to recognize MORONIC CONGRESSMEN and CONGRESSWOMEN.

Help us point them out to others as MORONS who need to, at least leave Congress if not our OneUSA!!

If we ALL commit to voting these "morons" out of office, things will change. Will we end up with someone who aligns with us socio-politically? Probably not. However, if everyone agrees to vote out those who only vote their party lines, who refuse to except reason or to compromise, who obfuscate the truth, or who generally act like morons, and we do this regardless of our political affiliations, then the politicians will finally realize who they are truly beholden to: the citizens of the United States of America. If politicians become more driven by fear of not being reelected than by their lust for power, then we finally stand a chance of beating back the plutocracy and reclaiming our country as OURS.

Will you join the movement? Will you commit to stand for truth and against hypocrisy where possible. Come join us in our search for the truth and share accurate information when we find it! OneUSA [https://www.facebook.com/groups/102500953234489/ ]

Torn over boycotting Chick-fil-A

I love the country we live in. I love the fact that my right to decent from the popular opinion is supported in our Constitution. I love that fact that I am able to vote with the power of my dollar by supporting organizations that I agree with philosophically. I also appreciate the fact that even those I disagree with are also able to vote with their dollar and support organizations they believe in. For example: I appreciate Home Depot. There are a lot of things that I don't agree with in regards to Home Depot: they support the Republican National Convention, they are blamed for driving the independent hardware store out of business. However, due to their size, they are able to help those in need when natural disaster strikes. They are also huge sponsors of the Georgia Aquarium. But returning to their support of the RNC- if I am able to support the political party of my choice, is it not fair that others are able to support the party of their choice? Home Depot is enacting an important right that we have in this country, one that we should not take for granted nor let atrophy.

So this leaves me torn. Which do I believe in more: our inherent right to support causes of our choice or the causes themselves? I do not like the idea of my money going, indirectly, to causes I am passionately against (such as homophobia). Yet, if I am to expect my right to support my causes, doesn't that mean that we should respect others' right to support their causes?

Chick-fil-A is getting a lot of attention recently. My liberal friends are calling for us all to boycott them. Once their views on marriage equality came to light, about a year ago, I significantly cut down on the business I gave them. I could give you a long, sob story as to why I did not cut them out cold turkey but it comes down to this: at least the revenue they received from me was markedly less.

Truth be told, this could be me justifying my continued patronizing of Chick-fil-A. Yet I am left with the question: if I want the freedom to support my causes, doesn't the reverse seem important? Chick-fil-A is engaging society, supporting causes they are passionate about, and inadvertently creating important dialogue. Does this call for an all-out boycott?

Some Thoughts on Memorial Day

We all love Memorial Day Weekend- I mean really, it is the unofficial start of summer. Most folks get a three-day weekend, if they have a job that is. And with all the fun, sun, blockbuster movies, and barbeques, we tend to forget the sacrifices of those who fought to give us the freedom that allows us to have such fun holiday weekends. 

While I do not support war in general, I am grateful for those that sacrifice for our country. We live in a country that can be truly frustrating at times, no matter which side of the aisle you sit. However, we have the privilege to reside in one of the few countries in the world that allows us the freedom and ability to voice a dissenting opinion. As Voltaire said, “I may not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”

Last week, a U.S. Sailor became the 3000^th death in the Afghanistan War, per CNN. That is an inauspicious honor. The thing that strikes me is we have now sacrificed 3000 of our honorable, brave men and women to get retaliation for the deaths of 2,977 of our citizens? Where is the logic in that?