I keep up to date on political news on a daily basis.
I read the latest from news organizations online and I watch my fair share (okay, more than fair share) of cable news.
I hear a lot of commotion on the right side of the aisle and from tea party organizations about how we need to get back to the principles America was founded on.
They use words like "freedom" and hold up their pocket copy of the constitution calling on the country to go back to the way things were, as if somehow this country all of the sudden transformed into a socialist state run by a totalitarian regime.
It gets me thinking about how this country really ran back when it was first founded.
When the constitution was adopted, the votes of citizens didn't count.
Our founding fathers, as honorable as their intentions were to create a utopia of democracy and freedom, didn't trust the "unenlightened masses" to make the right decisions to make this happen.
The President of the United States was chosen by a small group of people chosen by state legislators (the Electoral College).
Thomas Jefferson was literally elected into power due to back room deals and getting just enough people to abstain from voting for John Adams in 1800.
Not only did the votes of the citizens not matter until the installment of the 12th amendment, citizens were constituted of white, male land-owners.
The bill of rights only applied to the federal government and states could violate them however they please.
And I won't even get into the issue of African-Americans being held captive as slaves and only counting as three fifths of a person.
It is my opinion that those on the far right, who claim they want to go back to the way things were when this country was founded because that will mean more freedom, do not have a clear idea of what they're talking about.
They look at our history after the Great Depression with disdain and call programs created during the New Deal era "un-American.
" For example, one newly-elected representative who will take office in a few weeks' time called Social Security Disability Insurance one of the biggest insults to freedom.
Before Social Security, one in three elderly persons lived in gut-wrenching poverty.
There was no way for many retired people to get an income.
Not to mention if you got hurt at a young age on the job which caused you to retire early, there was no way to provide for your family.
All truly free countries have public programs which allow the less-fortunate the ability to live with dignity.
It is my strong opinion that, as a free country, we have a constitutional obligation to serve the people when it is needed.
Social Security Disability Lawyers are not crooks as the far right claims they are.
They're providing a service to get people who desperately need a source of income the financial stability they deserve.
Just because our system requires a higher payment to the government by those who have been most fortunate doesn't mean we are not a free country.
Every citizen deserves life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in the spirit this country was founded on.
Just because our system needs the wealthy to pay more in order for it to balance out does not mean we are depriving them of their right to the same principles our founding fathers prescribed.