The America I Would Like To Have

There are many visions of America in the minds of its citizens. Based on my life experiences and observations, I would like to have an America where:

1)The provisions of the U.S. Constitution are strictly observed and enforced, with no hidden meanings read into the document's actual text. State and local rights respected, as per the Ninth and Tenth Amendments.

2)Taxation voluntary and not compulsory. A government by truly popular democratic will has no right to go beyond the voluntary will of the American people, as expressed by their free-will financial support. Government has no intrinsic right to the people's money.

3)No military alliances or commitments to any foreign countries exist. As Thomas Jefferson said it, we should have free trade with all but entangling alliances with none.

4)There exists no national financial debt or deficit. Government always keeps its budget balanced, and the gold standard is restored. Fiscal responsibility is a key to our government's success.

5)No man or woman is bullied, harassed or hounded for reason of ideological or theological belief. Constitution First Amendment rights to express these beliefs freely without fear of retaliation are also respected.

6)The needy through no fault of their own are cared for through private charity initiative, and not through government programs. No government financial appropriations given to shield anybody from the consequences of their own fiscal recklessness and irresponsibility. Medical care not covered by private insurance are fully tax-deductible, as opposed to national government-administered programs.

7)No abortions are performed, not because of coercive laws prohibiting it, but because the women concerned sincerely feel it to be unnecessary.

8)No foreign political pressures compelling any change in the direction of American domestic politics. National energy independence is especially in view here.

9)People are free to make their own mistakes in life, rather than the government to make mistakes for them. Government does not always know best!

10)Government does not interfere with the right of parents to raise and educate their own children as they(the parents) see fit.

11)Food, air and water are free of all industrial pollutants.

12)Financial status is irrelevant to citizen access to the courts and the justice system. Equal justice under law for all, not just for the rich. Access even to the U.S. Supreme Court for all cases with Constitutional merit.

13)No marital divorce exists. Marriage as a lifetime commitment taken seriously, marital problems worked out.

14)No rights, priviledges or monetary benefits given to illegal aliens. Valid American citizenship required as a prerequisite to enjoyment of the American "good life". America does not belong unconditionally to the rest of the world!

15)Race, national origin and ancestry of all American citizens is irrelevant in the eyes of the law. Equal justice under law, and no man or woman is pilloried or penalized for the sins and crimes of their ancestors.

-Lawrence K. Marsh