We the People

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Our government is one that was originally designed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people. That means that we, as the people, can demand our government work for us. There is no reason that we should not expect the government to provide for our health, safety, freedom, even our happiness. We are the government, therefore any services that the government provides are in fact just services we are providing to ourselves. It is frustrating to hear criticisms regarding the government using its power to help out the people, when its basic function is to do just that! What is the point of a government of the people if it is not actually helping those people?

Ask yourself this question, what do you expect from the government? Most of us have a general understanding of how the US government is set up. The different branches, with their different powers, the checks and balances system, the idea that everyone deserves a vote and to have their rights protected, but beyond this simple understanding of how the government is set up, do we ever really think about what we should expect from it? We definitely expect to live our lives freely. And we expect to have our rights protected. But beyond that, what else do we expect, should we expect? We pay taxes. Why? What services do you expect the government to provide for the income it is receiving? Mail service, garbage collection, road maintenance, infrastructure? Salaries for police, soldiers, teachers? Do we ever really think about the services that we are receiving and how we can add to them, how we can make them better?

A lot of times we focus on the negative, how to take something away from someone else. But what if instead we focused on what we can do to make things better for ourselves. For example, you don’t have a school age child, so you demand cuts to public education or you don’t like going to the park, so why not cut funding for parks and recreation. Unfortunately, the focus here is on what you can take away from someone else because it is not necessarily a benefit to you. Instead why not focus on what could be done, what could be added, to help your own life. Chances are there are things that could benefit you, that would also help others. Healthcare is a great example, since almost everyone will have a need for a doctor at some point. Why don’t we expect the government to provide more basic healthcare services? Expecting the government to provide assistance to the people shouldn’t be controversial since not only are we the government, we are also funding it. Now some may argue that the government is just not capable of providing quality services and so things like healthcare should be left to the private sector. But that is the wrong attitude to have. First it does not follow that the government has to be the sole provider for any service. Instead the government should be the basic provider while allowing for private businesses to then compete. Competition is healthy, spurs innovation, and protects the consumer, while the government’s function is to provide a minimum baseline that is designed to protect all the people, so no one is left behind. Second, again we are the government, therefore we should be able to provide quality services if we so desire. Yes, it won’t happen overnight and it will take a lot of time and effort, but it is possible, if we try.

Another thing we may not consider often is the ability of the government to regulate and how that protects the general population. Many of our laws have come about because of unfair business practices that harmed the people. Labor regulations protect employees from being exploited, food and drug regulations protect the consumer from harmful products, equal rights legislation prevents overall discrimination. Governmental regulation is important because of the uneven balance of power held by businesses or others in positions of power/authority. Typically businesses have more power to demand favourable terms, leaving the average person unable to do much but agree to whatever demands they are given, be it as an employee or as a consumer. However, the government, working as a united band of ordinary people, can demand safer, fairer practices by regulating conduct. Remember the government is not a separate entity, it is us. Thus, governmental regulations are not bad, they are necessary to protect us, the people, and to keep the country safe and fair for all.

There is nothing to prevent our government from setting up reasonable, common sense standards and programs that provide a basic safety net for all the people. Should we have to constantly worry about our health and security, our bill payments, our housing situation, whether we have enough money to eat, to provide for our families, to generally just exist. Do we have to be worried and filled with anxiety everyday? Is this really what being an adult should entail? Or can we enjoy life? Can we trust in our government, in ourselves, to provide the basics for all of us so that we can be a happy, productive people, living freely and harmoniously. It may take a lot of time, it may take a lot effort, but as long as we remember that our government is one that is of the people, by the people, and for the people — we can make it what we want.