I want to start my own party, called the Common Sense Party. Want to join?

Thank you for a great article!

I enjoyee the fireworks, too.

I have in the past, worked closely supporting my [then] local government, writing articles on behalf of our local Federal member, who I believed, was worth supporting.

Getting to know him ‘one-on-one’,I was always encouraged by his vision, and his willingness to ‘listen’ when anyone from within the community spoke-
Relaying our messages through Parliament when he could and allowing people to share in any feedback!
Great ‘communication’ skills neccessary & so too the need to encourage the people to get more involved, working together, ensuring their voices ARE heard!!

Power to the people, RIGHT ON!

Jessica, you are welcome to explain more of the caucus thing. I believe individuals can make more of a difference on the local level. Groups can help, but don’t ever get in the rut on believing everything the groups leaders say. We are all human. Judge each idea, proposed change on its own merits. Being in debt is what makes people slaves to jobs, own business helps, just takes time to get from here to there.

Heidi, great minds must think alike, so I’m not the only one who hates to belong to either of the 2 main political parties. But what would be a better solution? You know as long as we stay out of politics because neither party suits us, that is giving up our chance to make a difference there.

Eileen, thanks for adding your thoughts. Beautiful words all. Rosie, thanks, I’d been neglecting my blog and need to add my thoughts more often.

Kathie, those were taken 3 years ago. Hopefully with my Sigma, I’ll have to find my archives and then I can let you know. I used my tripod, got a good one from eBay. Remember being frustrated trying to change settings in the dark, did bring a small flashlight.

Along with the celebration of our country’s birthday, it behooves us to consider all the privileges we hold as American citizens and the responsibilities we need to live up to. WE THE PEOPLE is a phrase that should resonate deeply within each of our hearts as it was not easy to come by and required blood spilled on many battlefields.

Thank you so much for reminding us of the sacred trust we bear–here’s hoping we live up to it for the sake of future generations.

“We the People” implies that it is us individuals who have the authority and responsibility to govern ourselves, and if we delegate any of that power to local or federal government, we are still responsible for its use.

Being a good responsible citizen is work, make no mistake.

“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” — Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777″

Fortunately, it is not so hard as you might think to make a difference in your own political scene. There are so few people who actually get involved with politics, that it would be relatively easy to change things if you got a small number of people to act with you.

Take caucus meetings for example. Aaron and I went to our caucus meeting a while back, and there were about 5 other people in the room that constituted our district. Had we brought 4 likeminded friends with us, we could have completely filled the state delegate seats and other offices being voted upon, amongst ourselves. So if you want the most political bang for your effort, go to your caucus meeting and bring a few friends with you. Unfortunately Aaron and I had not yet learned the importance of bringing support with us, so we didn’t get anything. But next time…state delegation here we come!

Another barrier to good citizenship that We the People must overcome is our beholdenness to our jobs and paychecks. It’s challenging to be politically active when you’re so dang exhausted when you are done working that you just want to vegetate, or you are so scrimpted for money that it becomes all you think about. So therefore if you want to be a good citizen, it behooves you to become financially independent. In other words, money is not the deciding factor of whether you do something or not. Mostly this is a mindset, which you then follow through with your disciplined actions, including living within your means.

Lastly, to be vigilant, these ideas must be constantly on our minds. I would say that the best way to make a difference in politics is to adopt the habits of good citizenship. For me, I find that it helps to attend my local FreeCapitalist study groups every week. Check out http://www.FreeCapitalist.com to see what that is. Not only do we study the great minds in politics, but also of personal success. Furthermore, the network of friends created in our study group serve as a support group to keep us on the right path.

Mom thank you for your beautiful thoughts. I revere the founding fathers and am so grateful to live in the country they started, with the help of God. We citizens must do our part to ensure that our freedoms are preserved. Being a good citizen is in fact Doable. Start at the place where you can make a difference–start small, start local, and get your friends to help.

I didn’t start this reply to be a plug for the FreeCapitalist Project, but I do believe that it has been a big influence in my life, to help me become a better citizen and person in general.