From the Heart of a Patriot

I wrote this letter recently, and I shared with several friends.  They told me I should start a blog with it, so here it is:

I was born and raised as an American Patriot.  My father was a WWII Navy veteran, and I am an Army veteran.  I have been an enthusiastic participant in our American democracy, and until recently I have upheld a personal belief that our democracy will prevail with the idealism and action of the American people.

Unfortunately, patriotic idealism is a luxury that few can afford today.  Those who can afford it are likely to invest their resources elsewhere.  The patriotic idealism, principles, morals and privileges that generations of Americans have held dear have been compromised by the very leaders that have sworn to uphold them.   

We have a handful of politicians with good intentions who are engaged in a futile effort to fix a broken system.  As much as we would like to restore our nation’s integrity, I believe our democracy has passed the tipping-point in disrepair.  We have consistently allowed our government to seize our constitutional rights in the name of social justice and consistently-failed promises of prosperity, with the 10^th amendment taking the large majority of abuse.  We no longer have a democracy.

Career politicians with selfish ambitions and little or no honor or loyalty to their constituents have twisted our constitution into a hostage agreement for the American people.  They have been very successful at robbing our wallets, dividing us as a nation, and leaving us vulnerable for socio-economic defeat. 

The course of events that have led to our current condition have obviously been engineered by unseen powers that have mastered the art of “divide and conquer.”  Our division will only grow wider if we continue to foster a “them versus us” paradigm.  If we can all just take a step back and analyze the cause and effect of our actions, we can easily see that we are all being played like pawns on a chessboard. 

In this game of chess, we are precariously close to letting our opponent divide us, flank us, and leave us in checkmate.  Does it matter which side claims political victory if we allow ourselves to be crippled by division?  Are our political differences worth the cost of losing our unity and our self respect?    

America is now mocked by the rest of the world.  Our borders are largely unchallenged while our government-run social programs reward illegal immigrants.  Our national security has been relegated to a federal agency under the executive umbrella, with no military authority or capability. 

Our elected leaders have recently dishonored over 200 years of American military victory in the international community with apologies for our dominance.  How many Americans have sacrificed their lives so that we may have the freedoms that we all take for granted?  Is it a true representation of our national spirit to sit idly by and watch our leaders betray us because we have felt inadequate to stop it? 

Rather than uniting in action born of outrageous contempt, we have continued to feed untrustworthy politicians and useless, parasitic bureaucracies with our hard-earned tax dollars.  Enough is enough.  Now there’s even a hit out on Tony the Tiger because our federal government feels that it isn’t right for cartoon characters to encourage our children to eat Frosted Flakes.  

We are now in the worst financial crisis in our nation’s history, under the watch of the same politicians that are busy making promises to balance our budget.  Political affiliation aside, the overwhelming majority of our elected officials have long track records of broken promises and excuses for their failure.  They cannot be trusted.  How much of our federal tax dollars feed bureaucracies rather than supplying us with necessary services?  In contrast, how much of our local tax dollars are generally invested in direct services and benefits to the taxpayers?

Common sense is nearly extinct.  Rather than uniting as a force of change to be reckoned with, we all seem to have become complacent, yet complaining, subjects of an oppressive government.  Our ineffective paradigm has been to work within the failed system to try and change the failed system rather than abandoning what has become a cannibalistic and hostile system that is now beyond repair and threatening to bring us all down with it.  We all must accept responsibility for either positive action or continued oppression. 

We will not eliminate the political machine.  The “dog and pony show” will continue whether we like it or not.  We need to acknowledge the existence of our inflated government, and we also need to recognize that it is grossly inadequate, unequipped and unprepared to even begin fixing the mess we’re in.  The political machine is a major cause of the mess we’re in.  Rather than wasting our time and energy attempting to fix a broken machine, we must move forward with the effective action that is needed in our hometowns to support sustainable local infrastructures for our ultimate survival as a nation.  

While I am not suggesting that we form impenetrable militias, neither am I saying that force is not necessary.  The Outlaw Gangs of the wild west decided to leave town when all the townspeople showed up with baseball bats and farming tools in their hands.  Unity is our most powerful tool.  Unfortunately, our current governmental system does not require our unity to effect oppressive changes on our lives

We need to work smart in such a manner that we will no longer need our federal government.  We need to find a way to break our addiction to federal and state government financial support, and we need to make our local governments interdependent on each other instead.  The network of Amish communities across our nation provide us with a practical model for such interdependence.  Wouldn’t it be cool to tell our state and federal governments that we don’t want or need their money? 

I believe the collapse of our federal government is imminent.  In this light, rather than continuing to propagate ineffective and futile political rhetoric I believe it would be wise to begin focusing our time and energy on building socio-economic systems that will support our survival as Americans when it happens.  What are the opposing forces we will need to deal with?  What are the essential services we will need to support?  What are the values we will need to guide us? 

Let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water.  Let’s take a good look at the original design of our federal government and make some careful decisions. I believe our federal government should be focused entirely on our national defense, security and our international issues.  It is vitally important that we institute common-sense limitations, clear cut responsibilities, full accountability, and enforced consequences for dereliction of duty.   

I believe our local governments should be grass-roots initiatives that focus solely on the truly important issues that unite us rather than the relatively trivial issues that our unseen adversaries have been using to divide us.  This will not happen from the “top-down.”  To quote Hillary, “It takes a village.” 

Our survival as a nation is dependent on our involvement with our hometown leadership.  Every village needs to busy themselves with shoring up our vital life-supporting infrastructures.  We have all been more worried about our lifestyles than our lives.  The truth is that our modern American lifestyle is economically unsustainable.  We need to realign our priorities to reflect the truly important values that are vital to our sustainability and our ultimate survival. 

Our nation has lost favor and credibility in the international community.  Our adversaries are patiently watching and waiting for the time when they will be able to “rescue” us from ourselves.  Are you ready to learn Chinese?  We need to foster and nurture a sense of urgency to avert their plans.  Our victory will not be easy or painless, but defeat is not an option in my mind. 

Things are tough all over the world.  We are not immune, and it’s only a matter of time before we are also faced with compelling issues of true national and personal survival.  How will we adjust our lives when the cost of a gallon of gasoline is suddenly unaffordable?  How will we adjust to the corresponding catastrophic economic collapse?  In the event of a major volcanic eruption, how many of us would survive the “nuclear winter?”  It has happened before, and it can happen again.  Are we even slightly prepared for any of these things?

We all suffer with selfishness, greed, and a lust for power.  Again, we have all been more worried about our lifestyles than our lives.  When I look at the rest of the world, I feel like our nation is a lot like a Church filled with people praying for prosperity while the house next door is on fire.  This is ludicrous.  We all should be ashamed.  Compared to the rest of the world, we live like kings. 

To regain our American prosperity, I believe we must learn to view our issues in the larger scope of humanity, agree to disagree on non-vital issues, accept corresponding victories and defeats, and proceed with a clear focus on the truly important principles of democracy and vital issues of magnitude that unite us.  Maybe then we can rebuild the international respect and honor our nation once earned and held, preserving our dignity and our hope for posterity

Who will lead us?  Are you being called to lead?  We need to take a serious inventory of our possessions, our resources and our values, and we need to ready ourselves and our communities to take control of our own future in spite of our federal government’s consistent efforts to take full control of our future for their own purpose.  This doesn’t need to be hostile, but it does need to be determined, well-planned and non-negotiable.  Cooler heads will prevail, and the only way the enemy will win is if we let them.  

Patriotically Yours,

Brian Buckta

Written Impressions

103 S. State St.

La Farge, WI  54639

(608) 625-6372 / cell (608) 606-2062

brianb@wigrantwriting.com