R.I.P. Facts

"Facts died Wednesday, April 18, after a long battle for relevancy with the 24-hour news cycle, blogs and the Internet," he wrote in a staggeringly brilliant "obituary." Huppke says Facts (360 B.C.-A.D. 2012) took a fatal blow when Rep. Allen West (R-FL) claimed that Congress is rife with communists. Facts is survived by its siblings, Rumor, Innuendo and Emphatic Assertion."

I really wish political satirists and writers like Huppke got more attention than talent-less celebrities. They have so much more to offer than your average Kardashian. While you may not agree with their point-of-view, you can at least find value in the fact that they draw attention to an important issue and you may even end up getting a laugh out of it. Much like a child could learn a life lesson from an episode of Sesame Street, an adult could become enlightened by reading a political cartoon. I don't know about anyone else, but I've never felt enlighted after reading about Lindsay Lohan or any other celebrity for that matter.

I've been a long-time critic of our political system and more specificly, of the polticians who operate within it. Though I lack the artistic talent to illustrate my criticisms, I find that my opinions are best expressed through the written word. Many people might say that being critical of our government makes me unpatriotic and some would probably suggest I shut up or even move to a different country. However, I think healthy criticism is very patriotic and quite necessary as a matter of fact. Gerald Ford once said that "a government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." The chilling reality is that if the power that governs us goes unchecked and unopposed, it will undoubtedly turn into the power that rules us.

That reality is what makes me believe so strongly in a small government. Is government necessary? Absolutely. However, the bigger the government gets, the smaller our liberties become. If you rewind about 200 years, we fought that same battle to win our independence from Britain. I'd venture to say that by comparison, it is much easier to fight a tyrant from across the Atantic, than to fight a tyrannical government that we created ourselves. 

It seems as though most people have been convinced that all of the power is centralized within our government. These people are terribly mistaken. Our government works for us, not the other way around. We have all the power we need to make the changes we want, we just have to assert ourselves and get involved. The people who are currently holding office are only there because our votes (or lack thereof) allow them to be there. So unfortunately, we are doing this damage to ourselves - we are simply handing them power that they have no business having.

The less people vote, the less power we have. The less power we have, the stronger the government gets. The stronger the government gets, the weaker our power gets. Rinse and repeat.

It's funny how one news article or political cartoon can stir your thoughts. This post is my proof and prime example of the influence that they have over me (and I hope others as well). Do yourself a favor - read.

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