The American Report Card

I was recently prompted by a message board on myspace (of all places) for a group of impressionable young minds seeking truth, honor and justice in the world in which they lived. A single post, laden with the concept that Congress was attempting to force political bloggers to register with the government and would be jailing those who refused. A terrible blow to civil rights, correct?

It would be if it were at all true.

The post listed the bill in question as S. 1, and specifically cited section 220 as the culprit that would do away with the free speech flowing from so many parents' basements. The problem is that when an intelligent human looks up the bill online - readily available since all bills of Congress are public record - he or she would notice that the bill says nothing of the sort. In fact, it deals with grass roots campaigning and registering those group who lobby directly for a candidate.

The point, the government still doesn't care about stifling the voice of the citizen.

But that didn't stop over twenty people from posting their disgust with our government within only a few hours of the post popping up like a pimple on the ass of common sense. This type of thing happens on a daily basis though, and the worst part about it is the lack of understanding the belies our governmental system.

It's easy to criticize the government - the people making the policies and doing the work. It's almost just as easy to forget that we are the government. The creation of this nation was undertaken by people who believed that the people should make policies for themselves. Does it get sticky when there's 300 million of us? Sure, and direct representation is nearly impossible. In the end though, whenever a television pundit, political color commentator or pimple-faced teenager with a Nader 2000 sticker on his backpack decides to stick it to The Man, it would do them well to remember that the person who could be doing more to make the country a better place is the one taking time to virtually bitch about a phantom bill.

Reading is hard! Going online to learn about Congressional bills is tough! Being informed is impossible what with my work/school/masturbation schedule!

Go ahead and take every criticism of the government and apply it to yourselves. See if you make the grade. If you do, kudos. If you don't, feel free to post on here and bitch because I've just caught word that Senate bill 289238 is being voted on today and will effectively place all citizens into prison indefinitely to be beaten by large, anthropomorphic lamps who won' t stop singing show tunes.

I can't figure out if the idiocy or the prospect of show tunes is more frightening.