As we review the past century, Arizona had many great leaders and some not so great. I worked along with Ernest McFarland, had contact with Barry Goldwater. They were honestly interested in people and justice, not dividing the country. What qualifies a Jay Heiler to be a Board of Regent member? Many with no constructive solutions find fault with any action of the federal government. Top the list with Tom Patterson, president of the Goldwater Institute and weekly editorial contributor to the East Valley Tribune. References to God to support political positions are not consistent with my varied Christian upbringing. Barry Goldwater was a true patriot; he should not be required to share that title with a Russell Pearce.
Barry, like I, lived though many rapid changes in America. We had fewer organized extremists, or selfish views expressed by so many. The corporate media has led people to believe political extremism by both parties is the norm. Statements that America became great because it rejected compromise and moderation are not supported by fact. Berry Goldwater quoted Madison in pointing out that there were no angles, and that is why the Constitution provided the Supreme Court.
The phony political candidates who are using the Declaration of Independence to connect the Church and remove the Government and the "perfect Union" that we fought for are being accepted by more of the public. The Founding Fathers knew how to compromise and they did by preventing Congress from interfering with the individuals of or from religion. The new conservatives trying to take away individual freedom reject what has been accomplished by sacrifice, trial and error.
The example of FDR activating the National Guard to protect the workers who were being prevented from entering the steel mills and factories because they had organized Unions to insist on decent wages and job security. That was 1935. I saw the troops and lived to see the American middle class grow from that compromise reached with the industrial barons. Then, they saw the wisdom in agreeing to large tax concessions to save the nation from bankruptcy. Moderation is the term used in describing the policies of President Harry Truman and some predecessors. They were balanced by compromises with those in Congress from the southern states. To suggest that we must continue, as a divided nation is to reject what our Founding Fathers wished for their country. They adopted the phrase E Pluribus Unum, "Out of many, one" the motto of the United States inscribed on our coins and blended in the words of the Preamble of our Constitution.
Richard T. Tracy, Sr.
Mesa
truth posted at 3:01 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
Some forget and others are not old enought to remember. the middle class did not exist much before World War 2. For example Ford Motor employees fight for a living wage and the U.S. government using troops to smash heads for corporate control.[sad][sad]
In_God_We_Trust posted at 3:21 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
Ford Motor employees fight for a living wage? When Ford first started the first assembly line producing cars or anything, his employees were paid twice what any other manufacturer was paying in wages. It's never the employees fighting for anything. It's always the big unions thugging their way to a better cut of the profits. Employees tend to come along for the ride and be used as soldiers to get the Union thug it's cut. There was a time when our government was for free enterprise. The communist threat has infiltrated every foundation and the house will soon crumble unless true Americans fight to save it. FDR, just another socialist like the Obamanation.
sdjtaz posted at 3:26 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
During the 1980's and 1990's, "compromise" became a dirty word to many in the political realm. The interesting part is that this also coincided with the rise of the "Religious Right". This group was adament that there should never be any compromise, since it would be a betrayal of their core beliefs. Since that time, there have been other groups that have risen up (most recently the "tea party" and the "occupy whatever") that have these same beliefs.
We can also throw in talk radio and tv, which tends to throw out bombs and uses inflammatory labels for entertainment purposes. This is mostly a right wing phenomenon (although Bill Maher does fit in this category). The problem is that most of the listeners don't see the conversation as being for entertainment purposes and takes it to heart. Consequently, we are stuck with those on the left talking about "King George" and those on the right talking about "Obummer" (you all know who you are). The end result is that we have people on every side simply trying to outshout the other, with no real discussion based upon fact.
The ultimate sadness is that the United States was founded on compromise. If you go back to the Constitutional Convention, you find that the Constitution was delivered in it's entirety by some divination of God. Instead, it was a series of compromises made by a group of politicians. One example is the bicameral congress (which resulted from the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey plan being settled in the Connecticut Compromise).
I hope that someday we can again realize that some of our best ideas can come from open honest discussion, which leads to compromises that pulls the best from each viewpoint.
sdjtaz posted at 3:28 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
I meant to say that the Constitution was NOT delivered by...
In_God_We_Trust posted at 3:38 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
Capitalists never compromise with socialists. The belief systems are diametrically opposed to one other. You speak of compromise as though it's in either's best interest.
truth posted at 3:46 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
God we trust, you better re-read your history. By the way the letter J did not exist before 15 th century.
sdjtaz posted at 4:34 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
In_God_We_Trust, Thank you for proving my point. You disagree with any on the left of your beliefs. Therefore, you simply call them "socialists" thinking that this is the end of the discussion. Simply because some believe that unfettered capitalism needs some form of checks and balances does not mean that they are a socialist.
Arizona Willie posted at 4:55 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
SOME degreee of socialism isn't all bad.
Many of the Scandinavian nations have socialistic economies and they have a higher standard of living and a longer life expectancy than we do in the U.S.A.
They must be doing SOMETHING right.
Capitalism is great.
Unrestrained capitalism is TERRIBLE.
Republicans hate restraint on their capitalism.
Therein lies the rub.
They removed the restraints on the financial industry and it resulted in the meltdown of the financial industry and the resultant bailouts to save us from a depression.
But all they can do is scream for removing more restrictions.
They constantly proclaim that tax cuts for the rich produce more jobs.
But we have been cutting taxes on the rich since Reagan and the number of jobs has gone down down down down.
The rich used the extra money to send the factories to China where they could use virtual slave labor and in some cases, actual slave labor.
Republicans lie.
Accuracy posted at 6:11 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
Socialists: a member of a party or political group that favor socialism, which is various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.
It is Socialism in America that provides the security of the National Guard and the Army, Navy and Marine Corps to defend the country. It provides Veterans (VA) hospitals for veterans health care, provides Medicare option health insurance coverage to people who are aged 65 and over, and provides health coverage for recipients covered under Medicaid program in the United States.
It is socialism that brings the U.S. Postal mail, from the post offices, every day to homes and businesses; socialism that provides public parks and playgrounds; socialism that provides the streets and highways that citizens drive upon to work and to the mountains; socialism which allows people various means of public transportation.
Yes, Social Security is Socialism in America; It is financed by payroll taxes -- employers and employees must each pay a 6.2 percent tax on workers' earnings up to $106,800. The amount workers pay into the Social Security trust fund has temporarily dropped from 6.2 percent of taxable wages up to $106,800 annually to 4.2 percent.
Socialism which provides us with necessary regulations and processes, such as copyrights, passports, birth certificates, marriage licenses, business licenses, consensuses, and the like; socialism which provides regulations of airline flight patterns so that we can fly from here to there in relative safety; socialism which provides regulations of airline flight patterns so that we can fly from here to there in relative safety.
So, all of these and other socialistic services in America, how are they paid for? Why, of course, by our taxes.
chatmandu002 posted at 6:46 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
Richard,
"The new conservatives trying to take away individual freedom reject what has been accomplished by sacrifice, trial and error." What the heck are you talking about?
The conservatives do have solutions to our problems, you just don't want to hear them. You are afraid that the solutions will hurt your or someone else. You complain that the conservatives are going against the sacrifice, trial and error. You complain that the right doesn't compromise. Yet you have no solutions other than to kick the can down the road. Look what compromise has gotten us. Are you happy with the compromise of the last several decades?
Rich posted at 7:28 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
So long as you fight amongst yourselves, the politicians 'compromise' behind closed doors on the best way to give you all the shaft. The best government doesn't do all that much governing. Once a government is more than twenty percent of the GDP, it's headed for collapse, but when it's under ten you have anarchy. It isn't government per se, but the fact that government must exist in proportion to the rest of society. Replace too much business with government then you have a recession, replace too much government with business, you have tyranny. Our system can correct itself, through the ballot box, but will it? When you think there are only two parties, in actuality there is only one, and the government is forty percent of the GDP. Why because politicians compromise behind closed doors, not in the light of day, it isn't that they don't compromise, but where they compromise.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 7:40 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
Where was this Letter writer when Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid were shoving ...OBAMA-CARE....down the throats of the Republicans.
Talk about .........TAKING AWAY OUR RIGHTS....OBAMA-CARE .."FINES"...YES..."FINES" ..AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO DON'T WANT OR NEED THIS .............SOCIALIST MANDATE.
Cerulean posted at 10:18 pm on Fri, Feb 17, 2012.
Richard Tracy,
I enjoyed reading your letter. Your reminder that the original motto on the Great Seal of the U.S., E Pluribus Unum “Out of many, one” begs my question – does the new motto “In God We Trust” ask anything of us?
Truth said, “By the way the letter J did not exist before 15 th century.”
Similarly the w or ‘double U’ did not exist before the middle ages and was not commonly used until the 16th century.
Dale Whiting posted at 4:22 am on Sat, Feb 18, 2012.
Richard Tracy,
Me, too. But then Cerulean and I seldom disagree.
And "algebra" was invented by Arabs. Understanding that the world was round, Egyptian schollars made the first rather accurate measurements of its diameter. All of these epic cultural developments are now discounted! The dark ages were truely dark, weren't they! But for the Moor's invasion of Spain, the dark ages may have lasted much longer.
Arizona Willie posted at 8:13 am on Sat, Feb 18, 2012.
Leon, and other mind damaged right wingers, Obamacare is actually Boehnercare.
Boehner himself said that he got " 98% of what I wanted ".
Democrats wanted a single payer health system ... but " Obamacare " actually requires that you buy a policy from a commercial for profit insurance company ... not from the government.
So, exactly how is that SOCIALISM?
It is NOT government paid healthcare.
It is EXACTLY what the INSURANCE COMPANIES WANTED.
You are being forced to buy insurance from the insurance companies and let them profit from your fear of getting sick.
That is CAPITALISM run AMOK.
It is the OPPOSITE of Socialism.
sdjtaz posted at 9:41 am on Sat, Feb 18, 2012.
@ Chatmandu: Yes, I think that conservatives have some answers for some of the problems that we face. I also believe that liberals have some answer. However, I think that most answers come from somewhere in the middle (which is why I am a moderate). Unfortunately, when conservatives spend most of their time screaming at me (are you listening Leon), I will tune them out.
@ Leon: What you call Obamacare was a series of compromises (i.e. why we are using private HMO's) received a majority of votes in the House and Senate, then was signed into law by the President. This is the American way of creating law. If the bill was shoved down anyone's throats, it was because they chose not to discuss or work with anyone when the bill was presented.
@Arizona Willie: "Boehnercare" LOL. I'm going to steal that one from you. Thanks.
Accuracy posted at 9:51 am on Sat, Feb 18, 2012.
United States official motto.........
E pluribus unum — Latin for "Out of many, one" — “E PLURIBUS UNUM” (written in capital letters) was a motto suggested by the committee Congress appointed on July 4, 1776 to design a seal for the United States of America. Later, Charles Thomson created the final Great Seal in 1782 and inscribed “E PLURIBUS UNUM” on the scroll carried in the beak of the American bald eagle who carries "the power of peace & war" in its talons.
According to the U.S. Treasury, E PLURIBUS UNUM was considered a de facto motto of the United States, and was first used on U.S. coinage in 1795. The phrase “In God We Trust” was first seen on coins during the Civil War in 1854. In 1956 the United States Congress passed an act (H.J. Resolution 396), adopting "In God We Trust" as the official motto.
President Barack Obama had referred to "E Pluribus Unum" as the national motto. Later, by a vote of 396-9, the House of Representatives reaffirmed our national motto “In God We Trust”.
The United States official motto is “In God We Trust” — our trust is in God — not “government.”
chatmandu002 posted at 11:11 am on Sat, Feb 18, 2012.
sdjtaz: So you believe that in the middle is where most of answer lie to solve our problems. When we leave the tenets of our Constitution behind and follow a path of political expediency and compromise then we end up with 47% not paying any federal income tax, we end up with a 15+ trillion dollar debt, we end up with a trillion+ dollar yearly budget deficit. We end up paying people not to work, we end up underfunding a government mandated retirement system.
When will the so-called "middle" thinkers realize there is no middle anymore? The middle policies only continue kicking the can down the road and provide more fuel for the slide into progressive socialism.
sdjtaz posted at 11:48 am on Sat, Feb 18, 2012.
Chatmandu: I find it that you would critisize the middle, since the Constitution itself was developed through a series of compromises where both extremes were moderated by those in the middle. There still is and always has been a middle and contrary to your obvious right leaning biases, the solutions are often found there.
As for the tenets of our Constitution, the Constitution has always been interpreted in different manners by those with opposing viewpoints. One needs to only look at the first major Supreme Court decision, Marbury v. Madison to understand this. This came essentially from a Constitutional argument over political appointments between the Federalist Party and the Democratic-Republican Party.
Unfortunately, to many are blinded by their own beliefs to look back at history and realize that many of the same problems that we have faced in the past are similar to what we believe today. Consequently, they become the "firebreathers" for either the left or the right and are unable to understand that not all solutions come from many different avenues. All one has to do is look at various regimes (from either side of the political spectrum) to understand when you only look at one extreme for answers.
Dale Whiting posted at 12:06 pm on Sat, Feb 18, 2012.
So which is it, guys, "One Nation under God," or "In God we trust," or "Out of many, one?" I vote for the latter. Separation of church and state infers that we be unified to cooperate, allowing each of us to worship the god or gods we choose. No sense allowing our 10% popularity legislature to choose for us. They're certain to choose wrong!
sockratties posted at 9:40 am on Sun, Feb 19, 2012.
All this shrill cacophony cast from the extremes of the political spectrum is pure tribalism. When everyone is shouting, no one can hear. When one side demonizes the other, opportunity for finding common ground is stopped and the cause becomes the defeat of the other side, the need to slay the demon.
Our ancestry, as recently as depicted in the Old Testament of the Bible, is a history of war, aggression and absolute concepts of right and wrong. Biblical history is sad commentary on humanity’s ability to be humane. Although religion tends to use the Bible as an example of right actions it should also be considered a manual on how to use hate, bias and sectarianism to divide cultures and demonize opponents. After all, Goliath was a hero to the Philistines. Regardless of one’s beliefs everyone should read the Old Testament to understand mankind’s heredity and vile instincts.
President Lincoln said in 1858 (3 years before the civil war)” A house divided against itself cannot stand.” In Matthew 12:25, Jesus said “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” History is replete with examples of failed states that were destroyed by only one side of any issue being considered. Nazi Germany and the USSR are typical.
The U.S. has been able to avoid this pitfall for the last 150 years but we are not immune. Our group-think and political zeal may be our own worst enemies. When we talk we cannot hear. When we don’t hear we don’t learn. When we believe we have all the answers we don’t ask the right questions.