Nothing changes ... whose fault is it?

A long-time friend and colleague recently wrote me about politics in general and the state of politics today.

After a lot of back and forth via email, we agreed to disagree on a whole bunch of issues. He's an O'Reilly and Hannity guy and I tend to watch Morning Joe on MSNBC in order to get, to some degree, both sides of an issue. 

We have been friends since the mid-'70s, and neither of us are going to go out of our way to jeopardize that friendship, but we also are not in the mindset to back down from a good discussion.

So, we agree to disagree without being disagreeable. I am an Independent in my political bent; I vote for the person, not the party. Every member of my family thinks I am a liberal, but, honestly, I voted for the Lesser Bush ... once. In the '70s, I confess to being a screaming liberal. i was pro-abortion, hated the Vietnam War, dismissed the idea of capital punishment and wanted to fund every help-you program on the planet. Now, believe in capital punishment with a fervor for heinous crimes. I still don't see the purpose of the Vietnam War. I still like help-those-that-can't-help-themselves programs but also want a balanced federal budget; eliminating government waste and duplication alone could balance the budget. I believe in individual rights but don't believe that old, white men have any business telling women what they can and cannot do with their bodies. 

I have really studied the Constitution over the past several years ... and while a great document, it is, like the Bible, open to interpretation. Few absolutes rest in that venerable document. And, as always, that's the rub. You say "toMAHto" and I say "toMAYto."

I, like the conservatives in this country, am cynical about government. But, lamenting about what it has become does no good. Change, real change, must be affected before our public serpents (no, that is not misspelled) perform their duties for the benefit of the people and not to their personal collection of false gods, i.e., lobbyists and monied special interest groups.

What to do? Without term limits the "ins" will perpetually keep doing whatever they have to do to stay "in." Without limiting or abolishing the amount of stupid pork barrel projects -- delivering "bacon" back home to ensure re-election -- nothing is going to change.

We can all blame the President for all ills, but that office, regardless of who holds its, is just one corner of the four-pronged problem: President, Congress, courts ... and me and you. It's not "them" that are screwed up -- though, of course, they are -- it is US for allowing THEM to maintain the status quo.

I am reading Jon Meacham's book about Jefferson, "The Art of Power." The same type of political shenanigans happening in Washington today were happening in the federal government back in his day. 

Nothing changes, does it?