Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/266593
6 FEB. 26 - MARCH 4, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM The Preamble to the United States Constitution provides us with the framework of what America should look like: " We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union … do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." When I look at our government in 2014, I do not see many of our leaders following the framework provided in the Preamble. Instead we are much divided. If we are truly the United States of America, we should be working together to ensure that we are fulfilling this framework. "To form a more perfect union," is in the very first line. Now think about these words. Is this what you see when you look at the state of our government today? Our Congress has a mere 12 percent approval rating. You might ask how did we get here? We got here by forgetting who we are. When I look back at how the United States came together following the terrible events on 9/11, I remember people who were not focused on socioeconomic status. Nor were they focused on our different genders, races or religions. We truly were a people who were united as a whole. Since that time, the United States has been presented with some challenges. An economic recession, wide-spread job losses, increased prices of food and gasoline and a housing market collapse, just to name a few. If we want to overcome these challenges, we have to get back to that post 9/11 unity we embraced before. Now is the time when we should be working together. Now is the time Congress should be setting the example and focusing on the needs of the people they represent. When we elect a representative, our goal is to select an individual who will advocate for the people living in their district. Knowing what "the people," and notice I said people not party, need is vital to advocacy. We haven't seen this in most of our elected representatives. What we have seen is partisan bickering, government shutdowns and debt-ceiling crises. As evidenced by the 12 percent approval rate, this is not what the people of the United States want from our representatives. This is a failing score. Our representatives are failing us. What our representatives should be doing is working together to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. If our representatives focused on this framework, could you imagine where we would be as a country? It is time we, as the people of the United States, elect representatives who understand and adhere to the concept of a government that is of, by and for the people. Tony Morris Thanks for continuing to provide some thoughtful commentary on local and regional issues. I read about the Deputy City Manager's recommendation in the Fayetteville Observer last week and was not happy. The last thing our limited city budget needs is a new 'good idea' right from the 'government knows best' primer. We pay the salaries of the city leaders and vote for council members to focus on removing the barriers to a strong business environment, not to inject themselves into something they know little about. Crushing crime and improving our infrastructure is all they need to concern themselves with ... as these two areas are successfully addressed, businesses will grow. You are on the money. Keep up the good work, Craig Johnson What an American Government Should Look Like OPINION