Commentary on the State of our Political System

If we are all created equal, as defined by our Declaration of Independence, how can we tolerate our government being controlled by large corporations and their wealthy backers? Since most of our politicians wrap themselves in Christian dogma, what happened to following Christ’s teaching, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” [Matthew 7:12].

While Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican President, warned us of the influence of the military industrial complex, we ignore the disasters of the Vietnam and Iraqi Wars while now spending over $8 million a day to finance opposition to ISIS in the Middle East. While the price of oil has dropped to historic lows, the price of gas at the pump continues to rise uniformly at every station. With hearing problems tormenting millions of Americans, Medicare refuses to cover the cost of hearing aids, leaving older working men and women having to pay over $5,000 to obtain them.

Butterflies and bees are disappearing while we Hoosiers seek to authorize trapping river otters as we gun down deer raised on farms. Is it just a farce that we honor St. Francis of Assisi for the way he treated small animals and birds?

Glaciers are melting while water is slowly disappearing in the American West and we do next to nothing. While the EPA’s attempt to eliminate air pollution is opposed by some as government overreach, they simultaneously want the government to be in control of a woman’s uterus.

More Americans are shot and killed by Americans every year than those killed by ISIS in the Middle East or by Boco Haram in Africa. If we’re really worried about terrorists here in the United States, has anyone considered their ready access to firearms like the bikers who left 9 dead in Waco, Texas?

It is worth remembering that we Americans have a minimal obligation to promote the common good. Shouldn’t we dedicate our lives to trying to find some joy as opposed to griping about anything and everything? I suspect that we’d all be better off.