If I made an attempt to list the many ills that our republic is suffering through, it would take a three volume set just to list them with no elaboration. And we all know it. So I won’t bore you with that effort. What America really must address are the systemic reasons why this is so. How did we lose control? Why are we on the edge of the cliff and facing tyranny from our ruling class? Do we treat the symptoms or the root causes? Currently we’re treating symptoms.

In my judgment, it boils down to two critical points: education and political accountability. We have allowed our education system to be hijacked by leftist propagandists, and we have not held those we elect to public office accountable. These two oversights by the citizenry have exploded in our modern day society leading to our near term implosion.

Since the 1960s, slowly but surely, the socialists, Marxists, communists and progressives have infiltrated our colleges and universities and conducted a propaganda campaign under the ruse of “education.” And it’s still ongoing. For an in-depth review of the role the Department of Education (DOE) plays, and the weak efforts to abolish it, going back to the Reagan days, check out this link. You will be horrified and angry but you’ll understand the impact DOE has had, continues to have, and why we have such a weakened education system.

We have two generations of mankind who have not been taught our history, our founding documents or their civic duty and obligation to uphold same. Patriotism? Gone! God given rights? Replaced by man’s desires. Diversity, multiculturalism, political correctness, immorality, a self-serving mentality, and “free stuff” trumps the core values that made us the most exceptional nation on earth. These two generations don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t know that they consistently vote for their own serfdom.

“While, then, the constituent body retains its present sound and healthful state, everything will be safe. They will choose competent and faithful representatives for every department. It is only when the people become ignorant and corrupt, when they degenerate into a populace, that they are incapable of exercising the sovereignty. Usurpation is then an easy attainment, and an usurper soon found. The people themselves become the willing instruments of their own debasement and ruin.” —James Monroe, First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1817

“The philosophy in the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of the government in the next.” —Abraham Lincoln

Since 1913 we have allowed the political class to gain more power, the citizenry to lose more control, accountability of this political class to be severely weakened, and thus we have a career path that egomaniacal narcissists pour their heart and soul into attaining and retaining at all costs. We have allowed an elitist ruling class to dominate our republic when our founding documents clearly set up a system for that to not happen. Our Founders warned us but we have not listened.

“If ever time should come when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.” —Samuel Adams

Two generations were not even taught what our Founders said. There are less voters today who are responsible and informed than there are those who are irresponsible and uninformed. Thus the politicians ignore the informed and pander to the uninformed. Patriot groups, tea parties and other grassroots groups have made valiant efforts to rein in this “establishment” ruling class in both political parties, but little has changed. These groups contain informed patriots, but there’s not enough of them to counterbalance the numbers of the stupefied cohort. It’s like throwing a glass of water on a large three alarm apartment fire. It has no effect. The politicians pacify us with talk but take little meaningful action. We can all cite examples.

“OK, so you’ve identified the problem, what’s the solution?” Glad you asked. In my judgment, we MUST attack the political class first. There’s maybe 100,000 (+/-) (elected and appointed) of them across the nation at the state and federal level whereas there are millions upon millions of dumbed-down citizens who vote. A few million who are not even citizens or are deceased. And those of us who are patriots and informed are aging fast. We’re already vastly outnumbered and soon we’ll be gone altogether. Thus time is important. All one has to do is look at the quality of the five remaining presidential candidates, and the one still in the White House, to see that our future is not good under any of them. And look at the millions of adoring, clueless fans each one has under their influence. Hell awaits our nation. We must restore integrity, character, honesty, trustworthiness and honor to the political class. As it is now their priorities once in office are as follows: self, party, special interest groups, big money donors, dumb voters, smart voters. That must change. Where is the Constitution? The Oath of Office?

“Nothing is more essential to the establishment of manners in a State than that all persons employed in places of power and trust must be men of unexceptional characters.” —Samuel Adams, 1775

Two things must happen to start the process of reining in the career ruling class politician: Term limits and repeal of the 17th Amendment. These two links give you our Founders’ opinions of limited, accountable government, and a brief history of how we allowed it to get out of control. If sufficient numbers of patriot voters/groups do not stand up and force these two initiatives, only civil war will do so, if that. The glass of water against the raging fire, i.e. supporting one particular candidate, or a bill before Congress won’t solve the problem. Hoping for better results on the next election won’t do it. Again, look at what we have to choose from in the upcoming election. That’s treating symptoms. If members of Congress were term limited, We the People would be in charge. They wouldn’t stay in office until they died or fossilized. New blood could be placed in elective office more frequently. We’d have more choices and, in time, far better choices; statesmen, not politicians. Term limits would attract the statesmen who want to serve and repel career politicians who want to feed their egos. Just ask any politician their opinion of term limits. Their answer says it all — “That’s what elections are for.” And with the 17th gone, state legislatures could select better people for the Senate and recall senators anytime they got out of control and didn’t represent the states. That’s what our Founders set up originally. We must not put another person in Congress who will not sign a pledge to introduce term limits and repeal the 17th Amendment, period!

For education, to start with, abolish the Department of Education. Show me in the U.S. Constitution the article/section that says the federal government has any role to play in education. It is a state function, plain and simple, yet we have allowed the feds to dictate our education system as states willingly comply with their wishes so as to get the federal dollars. States are held hostage by the feds on education among other issues for the almighty dollar. Abolishing the Department of Education allows the states to begin to properly educate our youth. States know better than does the Feds unless the goal is globalism, a “new world order,” or a one world government. That is the goal of DOE and most of our federal government now but not of We the Sovereign People. It won’t do much for the two generations already propagandized, but it will stop the bleeding long term. Abolishing DOE simplifies the challenge. Instead of one huge challenge we’d have fifty smaller challenges, but more officials working on them. All three issues will take time just as it took time to arrive in our current state.

So what if all these hundreds of grassroots groups, made up of tens of thousands of patriots, came together under one united effort in three initiatives: term limits, repeal of the 17th Amendment, and abolishing the Department of Education — would it help restore our republic? In my judgment, yes, unequivocally. But therein lies yet another dilemma: leadership in all these various groups have their own agenda and seldom are willing to give it up to unite with others to really solve the problem. Got a glass of water?

Accountability with our education system, and our system of electing officials, is essential to begin to restore our republic. Otherwise we’re fooling ourselves. It will either be a dictatorship or civil war.

And finally…“No people will tamely surrender their liberties, nor can any be easily subdued, when knowledge is diffused and virtue is preserved. On the contrary, when people are universally ignorant, and debauched in their manners, they will sink under their own weight without the aid of foreign invaders.” —Samuel Adams, 1775

Comments welcomed.

(Mr. Reams is a Christian, senior citizen, family man, veteran, conservative and retired small business owner. www.AllianceOfConstitutionalPatriots.com; http://VeteransVent.Wordpress.com)