The Journey Begins

The Blog and why I am doing it. As you read, I am just a guy who wants to know why we are so hostile towards each other and the world around us.
I want to write an essay on the temperature of this nation and its people. Which I contend is like a radiator blowing off steam, the America I know has gone rouge on many fronts. I won’t write of better times but of current and past questions that after 20 plus years we have made no head way, or do we seem to have any plans to resolve.
These 13 (Bakers Dozen) questions cover race, heath care, religion, politics, education and taxes personal freedoms and our tolerance for change. A lot to answer for in just 13 questions but I feel they ask what is needed to help explain our current temperature. This is a mission that will test our tolerance and patients and I am sure some if not most of us will fail on one or more of the questions to remember, we are all human and have certain needs that reflect who and what we are. Hopefully we will get honest and forthright answers that might help us understand the culture we have become.
So here is how I plan to due this quest, first I will deliver 1 question per week for you ponder and examine how you feel about it. I on the other hand will be interviewing citizens on all 13 questions as I across the country. I will then compile the information and write the “Essay” to gauge the temperature of our great nation and its population.
So I will ask about one question per week for discussion, and at the end of each week I will summarizes the results of that question. The questions are asked in a specific order and I believe a pattern will show up very quickly. This discussion will be civil in nature but brutal in truth. This will be an eye- opening adventure and the next three months makes this quest a eye opener for you too.
First a little background on our founding fathers, they proposed 12 amendments to the constitution in Sept 1789.
Our founders per the “Bill of Rights” in the first paragraph state:
“After having to live and adopt to the constitution, expressed a disire in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of powers, that further declatory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the government will best ensure the benificent ends of its institution”
Ten of the twelve amendments were ratified in Dec of 1791. These learned men had the for site to know and stated so in the 1st paragraph of the “Bill of Rights” that we needed to be “flexible” and adopt change where needed. Sounds like they new what they were doing.
So here are the “Bakers Dozen”.
1) Are we still the “United States of America” our founders envisioned? Or are we just states of a union like the European Union. Another words does Maryland for example care about the needs of California or Wisconsin, or the other way around and do we care as a nation as a whole?
2) Does everyone deserve the same human rights, be it a new immigrant, black, white, gay, lesbian, republican or democrat. Do we all deserve equal human rights whatever our opinions or backgrounds?

3) Do you believe we as a nation health care as a part of our federal governments responsibility thru our tax structure that we currently pay? And should congress be made to use Veterans hospitals for their care?
4) Education; like the trades schools, college, computer and health care. Should we as a nation, provide these education areas to our citizens?
5) Would you vote to revise our tax system to a straight tax or flat tax or keep the current system to meet the needs of the nation?
6) Term limits and mandatory retirement on positions in Congress, Senate, Scotus and Potus or a change in length of time in a term to help govern more and campaign less?
7) Popular vote (true populist, will of the people) verses the electoral process (professional politician) would you change to the popular vote or stay with the electoral process?
8) With two decades of the same domestic and international problems, (Korea, middle east, Russia, china, trade agreements, health care and minimum wage) Is it time to change our political culture to strictly reflect our founder’s intent or to be easily changed to reflect modern times? Examples, “Right to bear arms” or Freedom of religion, speech and assembly.
8) Should we be the world’s police, or should we secure our boarders and spend less internationally? Examples, financially and militarily.
9) With our current military capabilities, should we divert a (%) percentage of Defense spending to domestic agendas in our own country?
10) Do you believe we are a divided nation?
a) racially
b) economically
c) both A & B
d) other
11) Woman’s rights, vs accountability for our actions, is it man vs woman?
12) Our nations founders (authors of the constitution) were wise, learned men in economics, philosophy and political science. Are our current people’s elected positions, who represent our values on changing our civil liberties, etc, are they equally as wise and learned?
13) Are you a democrat or republican or other?
So Question (1) s open for comment and discussion. I will write in comments from personal interviews.

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