"We the People" Ft. Hood Article

In the blog "We the People" an article was written about the recent shooting at Fort Hood (13 dead and dozens wounded). While author Ashley gives many details on what happened, I am not sure what was trying to be communicated about the American government. She does a good job in pointing surprising and ironic facts in this tragic event. The article is almost a short summary of the event and things to come of it. While it is quick and to the point, what is trying to be said about the government? Is the question of how should the military screen those who are enlisted being asked? Or of how the mental state of soldiers be dealt with? The point of how tragic this event is is clear, but in order for there to be an answer there must be a question.

The point is also made that there have been so many "mass shootings" in America. While we should " realize that life is short and you should always live as though today is your last", what can be done to help stop the shootings? There needed to be more suggestions on how to fix the problem then just stating the problem in the article. All together it is a good article, though it is very short. There could've been much more said and explained about what could be done to address the issue. As to writing simply about what happened the event, I think the author did a good job.

Democratic Design

The U.S. National government is a very interesting system. It is one of the longest lasting democracies in the world, although it isn't even really a democracy. It is a Republic. Our forefathers designed it so that it would have enough power to control, but not enough power to completely control at the same time. Each branch of the government can keep the other in check. The founding fathers were way ahead of their time when they came up with this system. It is amazing how complex things are in our government. What is more amazing is that anything ever gets done. Even just passing the smallest of things through congress and the senate takes an immense amount of work.

For a government that is supposed to be about the people, it seems to be far to complicated for the common citizen to understand. One would almost ask why would the system that is designed to protect the people of the nation, be a system that they may not be able to understand? Are we supposed to just sit back as we send the more educated to Washington D.C. to deal with the politics? Or could it be that because it is harder to understand for the average citizen is what makes us more interested? As humans we are naturally curious, if there is something we dont understand we want to understand it. Maybe this is what entices us to vote. We look to politicians to understand what is going on in our country. Which is why the President is such a figurehead. For example many usually tune in to a Presidents "Address to the Nation" on their news channels.

So it seems that Lincoln was right when he said that our governments is a "Government of the people, by the people, for the people." Our country can not function without us. If America were no longer run by its people, it would no longer be America. It is extremely important that its people take action and become involved in their country. In reality your vote for the President may not count specifically as a vote for your candidate, but it still counts for those in the electoral college. All in all some people may say voting in general is unimportant, but for our system to function, someone must vote.