There are many political organizations online that offer free newsletters to keep you informed. Simply search online for liberal newsletters or conservative newsletters...or liberal or conservative political organizations. There are a plethora of them.
Most senators and congressmen (and women) also publish electronic newsletters. To find out how to contact your senators visit: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
To contact your congressmen (or women) visit: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtmlUse these links to keep your representative informed of your views on current and upcoming legislation. It is important for all of us to remember that senators and congressmen (and women) work for US - something I think many, maybe even most, have forgotten. It is up to us to remind them.
It is also important that we all exercise our right to vote. I hear a lot of people voice their dissatisfaction on issues. I say to them: 'did you vote'? 'Did you write your representative?'
I love freedom! My husband and eldest son fought for and continue to fight for your freedom. Many Americans have died so we can live free. Freedom is something we should never take for granted. There are those who would take our freedom away so they can gain more power. It is up to us, 'we the people', to preserve our freedom.
With regard to the Republican form of government (that of a Republic) Madison wrote in The Federalist:
"As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust: So there are other qualities in human nature which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence. Republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form. Were the pictures which have been drawn by the political jealousy of some among us faithful likenesses of the human character, the influence would be that there is no sufficient virtue among men for self government; and that nothing less than the chains of despotism can restrain them from destroying and devouring one another."
As is now apparent, we have a Republic form of government for a reason: to protect our Individual liberties. Many of our liberties are more and more in jeopardy every day. Regardless of where you stand in the political spectrum, it behooves you to get and stay involved in the political process. The legislation being considered at the federal level impacts us now and our children and families in the future. It is now easier than ever to get informed and stay involved with so many technological tools at our disposal.
The Framing (Federal) Convention's record proves that by dcrying the 'excesses of democracy' the Framers were not opposing a popular type of government for the United States - their whole purpose was to create a sound system of this type. To contend to the contrary is to falsify history - which not only maligns the Framers but also the spirit of the Free Man in America - all those people of that period who were grateful for the Constitution. The Constitution provided, under the Republic it created, liberties protected against abuse by all possible violators, including the Majority.
By protesting the 'excesses of democracy', the Framers were simply making clear their sound reasons for preferring a Republic as the proper form of government. As a result of history, the Framers knew that a Republic provided the best safeguards and only effective safeguards for people's liberties. This of course supposes that a Republic form of government is actually enforced. It is interesting to note that in 1789 Jefferson wrote to Madison:
"The tyranny of the legislatures is the most formidable dread at present, and will be for many long years. That of the executive will come its turn, but it will be a remote period."
In any Democracy, Direct or Representative, as a form of government, there can be no legal system which protects the Individual or Minority (any or all) against unlimited tyranny by the Majority. A Republic, however, is an entirely different form of government and therefore has a different purpose. Its purpose is to protect the Individual's God-given, unalienable rights and liberties of people in general. It strictly controls the Majority. A Republic is a constitutionally limited government of the representative type created by a written constitution, adopted by the people and changeable by them only by its amendment, with powers divided between three separate branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial.
As parents, there are many things in life we are passionate about - our children, our spouses, our families, etc. The political landscape of today has brought another passion to the forefront for me: Freedom.
I grew up free. I grew up knowing I had many options for my future and adult life. As a parent today, I am greatly concerned about the country in which my children are growing up.
Our freedoms are slowly and systematically being overtaken by those in power insistent on turning our country into a 'nanny state'. That is certainly not what I want. Nor, according to most polls, is it what the majority of Americans want.
In order to better understand what is at stake, it is important to understand how we, the United States of America, came to be and why we have the form of government known as a Republic.
A Republic? Yes. Many think our form of government is a Democracy, so I want to clarify the difference between the two. The chief characteristic and distinguishing feature of a Democracy is rule by Omnipotent Majority. In a Democracy, the Individual and any group of Individuals composing any Minority, have no protection against the unlimited power of the Majority. It is a case of Majority over Man. This is true whether it is a Direct Democracy or a Representative Democracy. In both types, the Majority's power is unlimited and absolute. Any decisions made by the Majority are unappealable under the legal system established to give effect to this form of government. This provides an environment for a Tyranny by Majority. This was what the Framers of the United States Constitution meant in 1787 in debates in the Federal Convention when they condemned the 'excesses of democracy' and abuses of the unalienable rights of the Individual by the Majority.
