That's why it's called a shortcut. If it were easy, it would just be "the way".

Friday, October 19, 2007

Some People Wear Their Halos Too Tight

It's scary if you think about it.....what America is becoming. I flew from Arizona to Minnesota to visit my mom's side of the family with my one year old. So here I am with my baby going through security. Prescription medicines and baby liquids like juice & formula do not need to be "claimed" in the liquid zip lock bags in containers under 3 ounces. They told me to take out any thing used to feed him. Took out the 5 oz bottles I mix with the formula. Big scene. I had to dump it out. Can't buy warm water to mix with formula to feed my kid and as any parent knows, when the plane is taking off you want the kid sucking on a bottle so their ears will pop and adjust to the change in pressure. I get so aggrivated when I think about this. They made me throw out the water I needed to make my baby a bottle. To feed my kid. Where am I supposed to get warm water to make a bottle? Have to pay airport prices of $6 for a COLD bottle of water. Being resourceful, I worked it out but the principle of the situation irriates me.

Where has common sense gone? I am a natural born citizen of this country. I am a giving and generous person who does not want to cause harm to other human beings. I am not involved in terrorism in any sense. I believe in America's freedom; our freedom of speech, the right to assemble. Now it is guilty until proven innocent and in case you're not, we're taking away the water you needed to feed your kid. If I would have argued, I would have been arrested. No free speech. I can't say, "Do you really think I am going to blow myself up with my baby?" If I were to say, "Do you think I'm going to commit a crime on a mass scale with my 1 year old son in tow?" that would be grounds enough to detain me. Maybe fine me.

This is scary. Not because I can't take water on a plane but because the rights of American citizens are being erroded. The terrorists are trying to take down America and they are winning. Through fear. Through fear they are chipping away at people's sense of security, the ability for people to say what is on their mind, the right to challenge an assinine government rule. Through fear people stare at men of Middle Eastern descent in the airport. Through fear people are acquiesing to the tighter rule of government in their lives in the name of a "safer America". It's for the good of the masses. Control. Good for the masses. Doesn't sound like a democratic place to be.

To further my rant (and possibly cause an audit by the IRS), taxes are oppresive. I work hard. Put my bills (mortgage, one car, college loan payoffs, 2 credit cards, car, health and life insurance, utilities) against my annual income and there is virtually nothing left. Groceries, gas, birthday presents, clothes for my ever-growing child (plus diapers and formula) require me to take a 2nd part time job. So between me and my husband, there are 3 incomes coming in. And there has to be to make ends meet. We are not extravagant in our spending. I shop at Wal-Mart and sometimes JC Pennys. Since the pregnancy, my feet grew. I still have not bought tennis shoes that fit. And yet, the government has figured out that I owe them $5,600. Am I here to serve my government? Obviously. I have to work, cut the small, tight budget I already live by in order to pay them back out of fear that they will take everything I have ever worked for.

My younger sister often says it is time for a revolution. The government has taken too much control, gotten the idea that We the People are here to serve them. The Senate and the House write up and pass laws for We the People yet put in clauses that make them exempt from the laws that they see as good enough for the rest of us. The IRS was created during the civil war to pay for the war. It stayed around long after the civil war. States are not allowed to vote out of federal law anymore. We cannot do what is best for our local government body. Did you know that if you make over a certain dollar amount (like $1.5M)you are exempt from taxes on any earnings above that? The U.S. collected $2.2 Trillion dollars last year in taxes from its citizens. And who benefits from the taxes? Surely We the People do. I don't mean all sour grapes. I like paved roads, electricity in the government buildings, etc. I appreciate that people who need help buying food are not left to starve in this country. I really like that kids in low income homes get health care. There is something askew about this country when there are so many instances where the constitution is stuffed. Things are getting off kilter when a hard working family is burdened by a bill from their own government and has fear that if they don't figure out how to take care of it, their whole adult life's work will be gone with just the life lessons left to stand by.

I don't know. I'm not a politics hound. I don't keep tabs on much in the political arena. These are just small observations from a voting citizen of a country that I love. I am only concerned. I am not labeled as a Republican or Democrat. I don't back any particular political icon. I am not trying to tell anyone who to believe or what to do. I am just a person who feels a bit oppressed, crushed against a government that is so big that there is nothing this one person by herself can do. There is no one that will listen to common sense because this country is so big that the Federal Government can't worry about a single individual's experiences and hardship. They can't judge a person on a specific situation as the laws apply, it is the law applies to all situations. And there are so many laws. So many rules. And the constituion isn't taught. We know more about Brittney Spears than our potential presidents for the next election.

I'm worried.