A System of Checks and Credit Cards

In history class we're studying the Enlightenment of the 16-1700s. This means that we get into discussions of Voltaire, John Locke, and other such notables. A recurring theme is that these are the people who shaped modern governments such as ours in the States. The values that these men defined are central to America and our freedom. However, as much as this was true even ten years ago, it isn't so much anymore. In Locke's Two Treatises on Government, he outlines the fact that the governing body is there to protect the rights and property of the people. When the government no longer fulfills this function, the people have the right to do away with it, just as they would do away with a thief robbing them of their things. Also emphasized is the value of keeping too much power away from one person or governing body---the origin of the modern check-and-balance system.

We definitely need Locke today. The current administration is not serving or protecting us as it should. It is not adhering to the check-and-balance system; rather, lawmakers seem to be chosen and legislation passed by a system of checks and credit cards. They promised to make us safe. Now, in the name of security, fairness and freedom are being sacrificed. What do we have to show for it?