Maizie

Great discussion and great posts.  I agree with so much.  Where did we get lost?  Power and money and the combination of the two of those is lethal.

I remember my 7th grade American History teacher Mrs. Keck.  She was older - rather prim, I remember walking by her house in wonder and awe at her garden.  Anyway, one of the lessons that she taught that has always struck me about the nature of our system was the creation by the founders of "checks and balances."  It was amazing to me how clever the system was devised to keep the different departments of government honest.  The founders understood human nature and what could happen, and I believe they were trying to set forth a system that would hold together, and be able to face the extremities caused by man’s drive for individual self-survival and dominance, as well as greed and imperialism.  They were also opposed to big government - as is evidenced by the fact that they were rebelling against one of the biggest governments on the planet - the British Empire.

Your illustration of the mansion is very telling.  It seems to me that it is more than just the corruption of time, and more than divisiveness, which at times is so petty and belittles the fact that the US was the first democracy ever established.  Many thinkers, dreamers and philosophers were moving toward that idea of freedom, limited only by the current belief systems at that time.  But the US was the only nation to actively embody those ideals with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  

The paradox, if you will,  or hypocrisy of it was that slave holders had participated in writing the declaration and the constitution.  So, even at that time, when the clearly wrong and divisive issue of slavery was there, this nation emerged. Man’s thought had evolved to the point that somewhere they could dream that there would be a realization that "all men were created equal."  So even with one of the most backward practices in existence -slavery - this experiment of democracy was engaged.  

Where did the experiment go wrong?  I remember reading a book - wow - over 15 years ago - The Lobbyists, and it described the practices in Washington at that time.  I can only think it has gotten worse with time and more laws and "ifs ands and buts" that erode the original idea - that this country is supposed to be by the people and for the people. Now it is by the special interests and for the special interests.

Owning a business that has worked in some beautiful historic homes the lesson is always go back to the original concept of the designer and the builder.  Systems get overburdened with new lights and fixtures so the old system has to be redone, but it is always with keeping within the integrity of the original idea.  Has our government gotten too convoluted in the programs it has created?  Why don’t they clean out the attic and old wiring before they just put more of it all around the old.  I don’t think they have the ability to and what is the old saying?  "Once a program is initiated there is no getting rid of it - whether it has outlived it’s relevancy or whether or not we need it.

I have said a million times that something has to be done about healthcare, but Washington can’t seem to do anything with efficiency anymore.   

Both or your posts hit to the core of some of the biggest questions of our time.  I don’t know if they are capable of answering them in Washington, but everything that is happening is waking up the populace and that is a good thing.  I think there will be turmoil for a while, but hopefully something of benefit will emerge.

Thanks Kathy Lee

There has to be healthcare reform, and no matter what we want - it will be far reaching because everyone wants a piece of the pie.  I think this bill is so unfair and will not solve much but create more bureaucracy.   But as I said, something has to be done so I am torn because I don’t want the protesting to stop healthcare reform.  I see this debacle from both sides, Bush had the house and congress as prices were soaring and they didn’t do anything - we went from paying $400 per month for health insurance and now we are at $1300 per month.  If they take us higher I don’t know what we will do.  It takes a serious bite out of our ability to save and invest for retirement.  If the repubs hadn’t ignored the issue we may not be in this problem.  Where was the visionary thinking of - hey maybe we should do something because if the dems do it we will end up with a massive expensive bureaucracy that will cost the nation tons.  Where were they?

Okay, so here we are and it just seems that this bill is too much too early.  Where are the jobs?  They say unemployment numbers aren’t so bad- but they are creating "volunteer" jobs with stimulus funds.  Better they have a job than not, but how long will those jobs last if the country goes belly up due to bankruptcy because we don’t export and manufacture?  Thousands of young men and women are turning to the military - I know that 15,000 joined in July.  I was speaking to someone from Force Command last week and he says that now they come to join and the catch phrase is "take a number".  They send them home and they come back the next day.  Their parents are taking the part time jobs they used to work.  We need as much effort as they are focusing healthcare put on job creation.  I don’t get it.