The Reins of Power

In this day & age, especially as Election Season has almost hit us 'full-tilt' ( sound strangely like 'bull-shit' ), political prowess is being flaunted in all its inglorious aspects! We currently have a president who claims to be Christian, yet has ties with the Muslim Brotherhood & has traveled around the world basically apologizing for America's greatness. Whether you agree or not that America has done many things around the world that warrant this kind of behavior, it is abundantly clear that politics rule the day!

As we have noted previously, politics is basically 'the decision of the people'; the people decide, through majority vote ( although this is very questionable, at the least ), who they want to 'lead' the country, so, like it or not, whoever the 'powers that be' are that run this great nation, 'they' decide who will govern & that 'choice' governs basically at will; no longer must the Executive Branch go through the Judicial Branch anymore, if the president wants to do something, all he or she needs to do is sign an Executive Order & there you have it!

'Power corrupts & absolute power corrupts absolutely'! Lately, within the past 50 years or so anyway, this coinage has seen more use than a pair of old gym socks. Politicians, for the most part, have become so power-hungry that they will do almost anything within their power to win an election. The corruption we have seen from their use or abuse of power has borne manifold witness to the veracity of the statement in question & although only One truly wields Absolute Power, as far as mere human beings can wield power over others, there is the inherent potential to corrupt the one who holds it!

The question, ever since the Birth of Nations, has never been whether one should bear rule over another, but how to best exercise that power! While it has been widely accepted for many years that human beings need a governor, or ruler, the tendency for most human beings, which we have all borne witness to, is to give up their responsibility if someone else is willing to take it, in many areas anyway; we are, most of us, naturally lazy & if the government is willing to do something which we are not, we will often roll over & let them take the responsibility for our inaction. Usually this means a loss of freedom as well & oddly enough, it's not till people begin to realize that along with their responsibility goes their freedom, that they begin to take responsibility for their actions, but by then, it's often too late!

'With freedom comes responsibility'; never has that statement been more true than today! If one wants to be truly free, one must take the responsibility for his or her own actions & if we are willing to let the federal government, that corporate entity known as the U.S.Inc., absolve us of our responsibilities, then we shouldn't complain when our freedoms begin to fall into their far-reaching hands as well. Self-governance seems to be almost a foreign concept to some people anymore; no longer do they do what's right simply because it's right; they do what they do, right or wrong, either because it is or isn't the law! Now, I realize that this might be the exception, but as a general rule, it seems that most people have given their power over ( gladly ) to an entity that changes its face every 4-8 years.

Although, for the past 50-100 years, these United States of America have been A Nation of Sheeple, as more & more wake up & smell the coffee burning, we are witnessing a growth in the number of those ( too late, in some cases ) who ARE waking up & realizing the mistakes of the past. Although too many are going about it the wrong way, these are doing the best they know how to rectify the situation & are beginning to practice a sort of self government!

The Reins of Power, as the Founding Fathers knew, rest squarely in the hands of the people! Politics is truly 'of the people, for the people, by the people', but the powers that were granted to the federal government, our representatives, have corrupted them to the point that many or most politicians see themselves, not as servants but as rulers! From the beginning, this was not so; representatives were chosen from among the people, by the people & for the best interests of the people. Today, Politics has become so corrupt that, not only do they no longer truly represent us as they're supposed to, it's nothing more than the old 'bait & switch', a very dangerous stage show!

'How can we retrieve these reins', you might ask, 'how can we take back the freedoms that have been wrested from our cold, dead ( lifeless ) fingers?' In some cases, it may be too late for anything but blood-shed ( drastic ) to retrieve what's ours by right, but the simplest way at our disposal is to live as free men & women. When we begin to take responsibility for our own actions & live rightly just because it IS right, not because some law says we have to, we will again begin to experience the freedom that only comes with responsibility; we will have once again taken up The Reins of Power!

Can you imagine if all the people around us saw our freedom ( with responsibility ) & decided they want it too? Why, it might become a movement & folks, that's what it is, the Self Governing Kingdom of Heaven Movement & to join it, all you have to do is sing it the next time it comes around on the guitar....................

Charles Haddon Shank