{"id":338,"date":"2006-07-04T07:09:00","date_gmt":"2006-07-04T13:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/07\/declaration-of-independence-teaches-us-that-democracy-requires-participation-not-excuses\/"},"modified":"2006-07-04T07:09:00","modified_gmt":"2006-07-04T13:09:00","slug":"declaration-of-independence-teaches-us-that-democracy-requires-participation-not-excuses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2006\/07\/declaration-of-independence-teaches-us-that-democracy-requires-participation-not-excuses\/","title":{"rendered":"Declaration of Independence teaches us that democracy requires participation, not excuses"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cYesterday the greatest question was decided which was ever debated in America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>, and a greater perhaps never was, nor will be, decided among men,\u201d John Adams wrote to his wife in 1776. \u201cA resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, that those United Colonies are, and of right out to be, free and independent States.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

He was, of course, referring to the Declaration of Independence. You know, it\u2019s that little document that proclaimed \u201c<\/span><\/span>that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty<\/st1:place><\/st1:City> and the pursuit of Happiness.\u201d<\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As we pause to celebrate the founding of our nation, it\u2019s important to examine what\u2019s happening in America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> today.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

We\u2019re becoming more polarized. Many are choosing their sides and sticking to them; others are increasingly staying out of the game because they don\u2019t like either side and don\u2019t see another option.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

They don\u2019t believe their voices count.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But as the U.S. Supreme Court reminded us in 1994, \u201cat the heart of the First Amendment lies the principle that each person should decide for him or herself the ideas and beliefs deserving of expression, consideration and adherence. Our political system and cultural life rest upon this ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Every single one of us is different. No two have the same ideals.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

We all have our causes. We\u2019re all passionate about something. Our system is dependent upon the debate of those ideas about how things should be done, and the compromise that results.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the bigger picture: We\u2019re all entitled to our own beliefs, but we all live together in a society. It\u2019s the discussion and debate of our beliefs that makes our system work.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That\u2019s democracy.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As the Democratic and Republican parties become increasingly obnoxious and partisan, more people are registering independent of either party. That\u2019s a good thing. The problem is, they\u2019re also choosing to stay mostly, if not entirely, out of the political process.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Voting every four years when there\u2019s a presidential race barely counts as being politically active.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Our voices are not only important: They are necessary for democracy to survive. Of course, people have the right to be silent. But those who choose to keep quiet miss the point.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Imagine if our nation\u2019s founders had continued to keep quiet.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a debate that could benefit from additional voices:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

A proposal that would allow Congress to ban the burning of the American flag died last week in the Senate by one vote. It had already passed the House. I applauded the failure of this proposal. I see it as a freedom of speech issue. Take away my right to burn the flag, and what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Dave McCollum, publisher of the Las Cruces Bulletin, sees the issue differently. He believes it\u2019s about the protection of our nation\u2019s most treasured symbol, which he believes is more important than free speech.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I\u2019m certain he\u2019s as passionate about his view as I am about mine.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The debate is part of a larger discussion about the balance between freedom and security in the post-9\/11 world. It\u2019s an important topic, and various viewpoints all include valid arguments and ideas.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Hopefully, in engaging in this debate, we\u2019ll reach a compromise that will benefit all.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But our lawmakers need help. Most of them don\u2019t live in our world. They are wealthier and have become Washington<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> insiders. Our necessary role in the political process is in keeping them honest, and making them see things from different perspectives before they make decisions.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

As I said, I am passionate about the right to burn an American flag. But I have to keep my belief in perspective. It\u2019s the discussion, debate and testing of beliefs like mine \u2013 not the beliefs themselves \u2013 that moves our society closer to what our founding fathers intended: a place where all men and women are not only created equal but treated that way, a land of opportunity, a land distinguished by freedom and justice for all.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

We\u2019re so far from that goal, but the hope is that we\u2019re moving toward it.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to complain. It\u2019s easy to be skeptical and believe your opinion doesn\u2019t count.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s also wrong. Your opinion doesn\u2019t count only if you choose to keep it to yourself.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Staying silent is making a choice to take the easier path, but it\u2019s also the path that leads nowhere.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The road to becoming what our Founding Fathers intended is much more difficult. But the promise at the end is worth the work and risk. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cYesterday the greatest question was decided which was ever debated in America, and a greater perhaps never was, nor will be, decided among men,\u201d John Adams wrote to his wife in 1776. \u201cA resolution was passed without one dissenting colony, that those United Colonies are, and of right out to be, free and independent States.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}