I am tired of hearing from the Democratic party that American needs change and Obama is going to be the one to do it.

America DOES NOT need to change. America is the freeist and greatest nation in the world. Americans are the most ambitious resourceful people. More opportunities (even those afforded to Obama) are available to the average citizen in America than any other place in the world. There is no greater place on earth than the United States of America!

America DOES NOT need to change. America's GOVERNMENT needs to return to its true form and proper role. See my previous posting. The federal government needs to get its controlling fingers out of our day to day lives and out of free enterprise. The federal government needs to allow the citizens (the rulers) to keep their hard earned income so they can pursue their American dream, instead of taking money and providing services at diminished value. STOP penalizing those who have been successful, allow those with money to put that money back into the economy. Give the people back the power to make decision for themselves!

Government NEEDS to change. The Democratic party won't allow any of this to happen. The Democratic party will continue to cause lower economic class to fight with the upper economic class. The Democratic party will continue to bride the middle economic class. The Democratic party will continue to increase social (socialist) services at a diminished value! The Democratic party will cause us to pay more to get less. The Democratic party will take away the right of the individual to make the best decisions for themselves.

The Democratic party wants to make the American people the subjects instead of the rulers! I will not become a slave to the demands of the government!

Give me liberty or give me death!

Again I refer you to my post "Where Responsibility Lies".

As you can tell the two previous posts, my main argument is where responsibility lies. This is the issue that is being avoided. Democrats do not like the argument, and Republicans are too distracted or unknowledgeable to make this key issue the center of the discussion.

Responsibility in the United States does not ultimately lie in the hands of the government.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
--United States of America's Declaration of Independence (www.ushistory.org)

Responsibility and power ultimately lies in the hands of the citizens of the United States. Ultimately, we each as individuals have the responsibility for ourselves and for the country.

We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
--Constitution of the United State of America (www.ushistory.org)

Conservativism holds and believes that it is the responsibility of the federal government as the collective body of the United States to provide these services specifically identify to it in the Constitution (along with the amendments). Beyond these responsibilities enumerated in the Constitution, it is the individual's responsibility and duty to take care of individual, familiar, and community needs.

Individuals are first responsible for themselves, providing for their own needs and desires. They are then responsible to meet the needs of their family and dependents. If an individual is not able to meet these responsibilities it is next the responsibility of that individual's family to aide them. In the same situation, the neighbor should have a responsibility in the absence of family. The capable individual is responsible to help along with their neighbors for the need of their community.

This chain of responsibility must not and need not to include the federal government. They should be meet by local means, which may even include local and state government. This is the purpose of the federal-state governing system. Local public and private means are crucial.

But we have lost this concept. If there is a problem, people look straight to the federal government. If a parent does not properly raise their child, the solution is sought within the federal government instead of within the family or community. If unemployment rises and the economy is in decline, the solution is sought through federal government and macro regulation instead of local and micro intervention.

The best place to seek solutions is at the most local level. A solution in Texas may not be the best solution in Vermont. A solution in Los Angeles probably will not fix a problem in El Dorado, Arkansas. An issue of concern might not need the same fix for someone in the affluent part of town as the poorer part of town.

There is a place for the federal government, just as there is a place for state and local governments. But government is not by default the solution source. We should look within our own means as individuals and neighbors to find solutions. Examples of this can be found in churches and other religious institutions, non-profit organizations, corporate sponsorship, private enterprise, and entrepreneurship.

We as individuals are free to accomplish anything we choose for ourselves. Together we are the rulers and not the ones being ruled. Why would we want to give up this that the founding Fathers and original patriots fought? The federal government should defend our nation from foreign enemies, protect our individual rights and freedoms from domestic enemies, and to guarantee these unalienable rights and freedoms for the generations to come.

It is a weakness and a fault to rely on the federal government for anything else. It is a voluntary degradation of our society to forfeit our own individual authority provided by our Creator to a lower authority that is the federal government. The authority, rights, and freedoms are ours to be used for our own and our neighbors' best interest. If we return to this fundamental principle, our societal problems will diminish, individuals will be empowered, families will strengthen, and the condition of our communities become whole and united again.

My friend included discussion of children the future of energy use and future availability, and here is my specific response to this issue:

On the particular issue of energy, everyone wants to provide energy that is inexpensive and not damaging the earth. We are approaching the ability to attain efficient and effective use of renewable, non-polluting energy, but we ARE NOT there yet. The debate is how do we get there. In my opinion, we are still in need of a transition from carbon-based to renewable energy. And just as important, we need to become self-sufficient. While we transition, we must become self-sufficient and remain self-sufficient.

And again, it is not the responsibility of the government to make these changes but the responsibility of the American people and free enterprise. As consumers demand more renewable energy use, the producers will develop and provide those products and services.

A friend of mine expressed concern that both parties do not fully appreciated government's role in the lives of America's children. In general, the Democratic party does not recognize a child's unalienable right to be born, and the Republican party does not recognize government's responsibility is their welfare. Here was my response:

With all respect, the philosophy of the Republican party and conservativism is to empower parents to raise their children and to provide for their children and to maintain the parents' responsibility. It is not the government's responsibility to take care of children. Yes, more services need to be provided to the underprivileged, but that is not the responsible of the government. Just as McCain called for during his acceptance speech, it is the responsibility of the American people through private organizations just as the church used to do.

The question is where the responsibility lies. It is not the responsibility of the government. It is the responsibility of each and every American citizen. It is the fault of the American people for these problems. By accusing government of not providing these services, we are collectively denying our each, God-given responsibility.

I remember when Bill Clinton ran for president in 1992.  That summer I traveled across the south from Georgia to Texas with my grandfather, talking politics all along the way at the age of 11.  I wrote President Clinton shortly after his inauguration, curious with one main question.

“What does it mean to be a New Democrat?”

I find myself asking the very same question again in 2008 as I have every four years for the past 16 years.  (And oh, I received a response from the President but no answer to my question.)  The fact is I now know the answer: the Democratic Party of McGovern and Carter is no different from that of Clinton, Gore, and Obama.  The goals of the Democrats have not changed since of the hayday of Teddy Kennedy.

The “new” party is just the same package in different wrapping.  The package has been a failure, but Democrats are convinced if it can be disguised in a new light it will be successful.  The Democratic Party does not want to enable the American people to be self-sustaining and self-reliant.  The Democratic Party does not want to empower each American to achieve the American dream.  The Democratic Party wants to be the source, the supplier, the Ruler.

The Democratic Party is anti-individual freedom.  The Democratic Party is against self-determination and the pursuit of happiness.  The Democratic Party is anti-capitalism and free enterprise.  Look at the policies of the Democratic Party.  These policies seek to take decisions from the American citizen in order to make those decisions for the American citizen.