SIGN POSTS A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS Volume V

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I am primarily a poet; these essays are intended to help “flesh out” various themes and topics found in my poetry. Where I feel it is appropriate, I might refer you, dear reader, to a particular poem that further elucidates certain thoughts or sentiments. These and other materials are marked with an asterisk.
If not otherwise noted, such inclusions are my own work.

THE GREATEST CHALLENGE

The greatest challenge for our constitutional republic is an educational one. A participative democracy needs an informed populace—and a motivated one. To put it straightforwardly: we need a citizenry that is smart enough to vote. Let’s all do what we can to help each other become informed enough to maintain our freedoms by shouldering our personal, social, and governmental responsibilities.

The themes of the day are complex and extremely important. Deficit Spending, Legislative Agendas, Immigration, Appropriate Military Response, and Freedoms are among some of the most important.

THE FACTS AT HAND

“The republican is the only form of government which is not eternally at open or secret war with the rights of mankind.”
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to William Hunter, 1790

We have recently crossed an unfortunate milestone—slightly more people now receive government assistance than work full time. About half of wage earners in the U.S. pay no income tax, and about half of the population receives some form of government assistance. This is obviously anathema to the facts at hand concerning the nature and survival of the species, as has been amply demonstrated by history.

And as a compromised country and culture, we have elected a compromised president. And that is not a rhetorical we, it is a fraternal “we” in that biblical sense: “I am my brother’s keeper.” If I believe that you can’t see—that you are lost—I am obligated to care for you, as the Samaritan did for his brother…