Bring America Back To The People

It's time to bring America back to its roots as a true republic; enough with the neo-conservative, neo-fascist ideology of endless war and spending, enough with the bloated bureaucracy of Washington D.C. and enough with the gutless, ineffective politicians. America is supposed to be a nation of the people, governed by the people, for the people, and it's our right to have it that way. The following steps - in no particular order - are ways we can take our country back.

One step on the road to a republic is to vote out any member of Congress who supports the status quo. Regardless of party affiliation, we need to get rid of politicians who are content to do exactly what the politicians before them did - nothing. Passing non-binding resolutions just to make a statement is all well and good but not when there are other problems to solve. Instead of dealing with the skyrocketing national debt, imperialist foreign policy or impoverished American citizens, the government has been busily debating about whether it's OK to burn the American flag. Maybe that issue is important to some people out there, but far more important is the number of our soldiers fighting and dying across the ocean. It is far more patriotic to be concerned with the number of our friends, family and neighbors becoming casualties overseas than the sanctity of a piece of cloth. Our elected leaders sat by idly while thousands of American troops and Iraqi civilians were killed and they must pay for their incompetence.

Another way we can return to our roots as a freedom-loving republic is to start respecting free speech again. So-called "diversity" and "pro-tolerance" groups are some of the most intolerant voices in the political arena today. Among their ranks are proponents of European-style laws, which seek to make certain opinions illegal. If we're going to allow the extreme-leftists a platform to promote their censorship of "intolerant" things like Christianity and Judaism, we must also allow extreme right-wingers to promote their agendas of racism and fear mongering. Flag burning, gay pride, prayer, racism, Christmas, communism, religion, anarchy and Nazism are all examples of things that are OK to talk about because they are protected by our right to free speech. The sooner people get over themselves and realize this, the better off our country will be. The best way to combat hate and intolerance is by letting it exist. This way, like a fungus that grows when placed in the dark and hidden from view, it will wither away when exposed to sunlight for all to see. Freedom of speech must be respected in order to promote productive debates.

America also must do away with its standing armed forces. Having a standing army has become an enormous drain on our treasury. It also allows the political powers that be to start a war whenever they so choose. Instead, we should expand the National Guard drastically. With a fighting force made up of civilians, our leaders would have to think a little harder before sending them off to fight wars in other countries. It is difficult and time-consuming to mobilize the National Guard to fight wars overseas, but this is exactly the idea. The National Guard is built for defense, which is all we need an army for. America is not the world's policeman. By withdrawing our troops from bases overseas, we would save money and deprive the terrorists of one incredibly effective recruitment line - "the Americans are occupying our lands." Also, we must realize that all the problems in the world cannot be solved with force. Our costly Middle East power balance scheme involved sending billions of dollars' worth of weapons to Israel to counter Iran's influence. Then we had to counter Israel's influence by giving weapons to Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Giving people weapons has gotten us in trouble before - look at al Qaeda, armed and trained by the CIA - so we should learn from our mistakes and stop distributing these instruments of death around the world at the expense of American taxpayers. Our extreme militarism is costing us more money and lives than the poor security it provides is worth.

In addition to all the previous steps, America must also begin dismantling the bloated tumor that our federal government has become. FEMA is the most obvious example. The inefficiency and lack of oversight after Hurricane Katrina has exacerbated an already terrible situation. The cleanup from the hurricane is still going on today, over two years later. Instead of spending money on FEMA, that money should be used by individual states to create rapid response teams that are most suited to their needs. Besides FEMA, there's the relatively new Department of Homeland Security. This must be a bad joke. According to a study done last year, Homeland Security officers at airports missed 60 percent of a series of fake bombs that testers attempted to sneak onto planes. How is that safe? What are they doing with $40 million each year? This is appalling. Again, the power should be entrusted to the states. Because each state obviously has fewer airports than the entire United States, statewide agencies would have less goings-on to keep track of. This allows for more oversight and a greater ability to ensure the money goes where it should be. States should also be responsible for their own education systems, health care and transportation systems. The more departments we add to the federal government, the less effective it will become. The feds should only be in charge of border security and little else.

Finally, we must get rid of affirmative action and other programs that rely on reverse racism. Instead of giving people scholarships based on their race, allocate the scholarships based on income. Instead of hiring in an attempt to create artificial diversity, hire the best person for the job. Apply the law equally to all, regardless of their ethnicity. Have the guts to stand up and defy cultural stereotypes. Racism is racism, regardless of who is being discriminated against.

America needs to reject the neo-conservatives who are calling for more money for guns, more money for war and more spying into your personal lives. They must also turn away from idealistic liberals who call for an overreaching central government with little power in the hands of the states. Forget political correctness and say what you feel. Take back the power the federal government has unjustly stolen from you.

Weekly Columnist George Maynard is a 3rd-semester natural resources and engineering major. His column runs on Thursdays. He can be reached at George.Maynard@UConn.edu.