Ancestry, Royalty, and the Boy Scout Motto

It's true. My ancestors really were horse thieves. Of course they were also teachers, coal miners, farmers, ranchers, and even royalty. On most days, I fall much closer to the horse thief side of the family than the royal side. That may be why the current state of things bothers me so much. Much like the Roman empire, America has seen the idea of a noble republic devolve to the point that a quasi-royalty has formed.

We have political families filled with people of dubious qualification propelled into office by pulling in favors and funding based on what their ancestors before them had done. Alarmingly few politicians seem to be elected because they are the best person for the job.

What is a politician's job exactly? For many, their only job is to keep their job for as long as possible. This leads to the political grandstanding and passing resolutions applauding a national school breakfast program or discussing how wonderful Micheal Jackson was. How did we get to this point?

The legislature spends the vast majority of their time on pointless legislation, while most of the real governing is conducted by the bloated executive branch. The executive branch, complete with Czars for everything and at least three departments working to solve each and every perceived societal problem independently of the others has no idea which way is north. The poor judicial branch has to deal with so many laws that they rarely have a prayer of getting it right and most of the higher courts are staffed by appointment with an eye towards what can you do for me, rather than is this the best person for the job.

With all this, what is a lowly horse thief to do? Can the system be fixed? Can the US avoid the fate of the Romans or is it already too late? I really don't know, but I am definitely hedging my bets. Like the Boy Scouts say, "Be Prepared."