The "Oh, so sensitive gun control debate."

Good Evening Readers!

I hope you had a productive, yet enjoyable week. Tonight, I will attempt to tackle the very delicate topic of gun control and legislation in America. This is an incredibly complex topic and I will try my best to refrain from voicing my personal opinion on the matter. I say this only because honestly, I don’t have a complete, one hundred percent, flawless answer to this problem.

Gun violence seems all too common to Americans these days with what has happened in our very near past. Just to name a few, there was the Aurora Colorado shooting in 2012, the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in 2012, and the Naval Shipyard shooting in 2013. All of these shootings focused many eyes toward the all too prevalent gun control problem in America. Both sides of the debate have their arguments and I think both sides have great points.  

On one side.... 
Some people believe that guns aren't safe. They believe that too many criminals are able to purchase guns illegally and commit these awful crimes. They believe that semi-automatic weapons are strictly for military use only and should not be allowed for recreational use. This side of the argument believes that there are many misguided individuals in our society, and that we as society will be better off if we had less access to guns. Lastly, these people believe that the key to protecting the American democracy is to have informed citizens, not armed ones.

On the other side...

Some Americans say that strict gun control laws will infringe on their 2^nd amendment rights. Whether it be for recreational use or to defend themselves,  they don't want their ability to purchase firearms and ammunition to become more difficult. These same people also believe that if guns were outlawed, the criminals doing these heinous crimes would still be able to obtain these weapons (just like they obtain other illegal things). Last but not least,  guns don't kill people, people do.  They believe the  media plays a role in glorifying violence and boosting the lack of respect for people's rights and the law. These people believe that the concentration should not be on gun control laws, but on the morals and basic values of our citizens.

Where ever you stand on this argument, it is obvious that there is a problem and a huge divide because of this issue. At the end of the day, there are husbands and wives that lost their spouses, parents that lost their kids, children that lost their parents, and students that lost their teachers. Gun violence is a very bad thing. But is there an underlying factor? Is it the gun's fault?

I don't know if I have an answer to this massive topic, but I once again want to thank you for reading! I want to pray for all those who have lost loved ones in any violent gun crime. Please comment with an opinion or feedback on this matter. Once again, thank you and we will see you all next week Sunday at 8:00 pm!

The Impending Government Shut-down A.K.A. Midnight on September 30th

Good Evening Readers!

I hope everyone had a great week/ weekend. Tonight I will be discussing the recent allegations of the imminent government shutdown. For all who don’t know, this is a very real issue that could occur very soon here in America. A government shutdown is where legislators cannot agree on budgeting its government programs for the pending fiscal year. If this occurs, the effects are just as bad as it sounds. The first changes that ensue will be a large number of civilian employees furloughed. If an employee is furloughed, they are placed on temporary unpaid leave which is a scary thought to many considering the current state of America’s economic status.

Something similar will happen with our military personnel except they aren't placed on leave.  Another difference is that they will be paid eventually, but not on schedule. To me, this is the most heart wrenching because our military personnel can’t just stop what they are doing. These men and women are overseas fighting for each of our freedoms. They will have to continue their tireless work while Washington bickers about their differences. After these changes, the precise details of halting government functions are determined by the Office of Management and Budget.

Not all is lost!

To clear the air and to calm some restless thoughts, if the government shuts down, it all won’t disappear. Everything that we have fought for and paid for won’t be erased for eternity. All that changes is there will be temporary shutdowns. The only way to fix this budget is for our Legislation to agree. It sounds so simple saying it, but it has been proven to not be so simple in our recent past. This is an example of that “give and take” that I talked about in my first post. There must be compromise inside our government! 

Thank you once again for reading and pray for our country! Please leave your comments, feedback and opinion on this matter. Hope to see you again next week!

    

Partisanship's disease: How it affects us all

Good Evening readers,

I hope all of my readers had a great weekend! The topic I will be discussing tonight is a very deadly disease tearing through many Americans as we speak. The Partisanship disease is incredibly harmful to a democratic republic like America. When I look up Partisanship in the dictionary, this is the definition that comes up: prejudice in favor of a particular cause; bias.

In politics there must be give and take, compromise, cooperation and negotiation. This idea is as old as America itself. Yet at this current time, America is about as far away from that as possible. Instead of that very compromise and cooperation in congress, one political party acts as a block to the others legislation. And this occurs on both sides of the isle. Pure Partisanship. Looking at our present situation, many people may think that this idea of bi-partisanship is an impossible task to accomplish. That couldn't be further from the truth. I can think of a few different scenarios of bipartisanship in the past eras.

The first was Democratic President Lyndon Johnson and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. While working with Republicans and Democrats, he signed a bill that made segregation by race in public facilities illegal. The next was President Republican President Ronald Reagan and his bipartisan bill to keep Social Security secure for the generations to come (1983). President Reagan, Republican leader Bob Michel and Democratic leader Tip O’Neill put aside their feelings for each other and their agendas to push this compromise through. I will also note that O’Neill was often very critical of Reagan and his politics. That goes to show me and hopefully my fellow readers that bipartisanship IS possible.

Our biggest problem is the active leaders of our political parties have allowed our political gatherings to become rally group meetings for our own prejudices against the other party.

Where do we go from here?

I truly believe that if congress and President Obama can set aside their differences and their pride that this can be accomplished. I also believe that if our leaders change their meeting styles into more listening than attacking, we can fix this partisan problem. If our party leaders would meet often to discuss ways of bipartisanship, and then meet with the president on the same issue, this could help solve the problem.

One thing we all must remember is that politicians are not trying to destroy America. They simply have different ideas on how they think America could become more successful. Sen. John Kerry said it well in a 2004 presidential debate when he stated that he and President Bush had different ideas on how to make America flourish.  

I will leave you with a few quotes from former presidents and other politician. I thank you all for reading tonight and I would love to hear your comments and opinions on this matter! I hope to see you next week!

We Must now put aside bitterness and rancor, move beyond partisanship.

-Bill Clinton

It is time to put aside partisan rivalries and work together for our nation's future.

-Ronald Reagan

Introductory Post

Do you enjoy learning and hearing about politics?

Well, if you do, you have found the right place.  In America today, politics to the public is something that we are sick of hearing about due to controversy, deception, and complete partisanship. What Americans need to believe is that we do have a say in how this country is run and handled. This blog will tackle the very difficult topics in American politics and attempt to reclaim the bi-partisanship that she used to have not so long ago.

Every Sunday at 8:00 pm , I will be posting on a front burning issue in American politics. I hope to see you on my next post!