WHOA WORLD, YOU NEED TO GET A GRIP

The condition of the county, state and country is one of turmoil.

“We the people” are suffering from an overreach by local, state and federal governments that have not taken the time to clearly think about what the county’s needs are as opposed to the dictates that come from the other side of the divide.

I use the term divide because we, in this county, are different from those on the Front Range as well as the East Coast and West Coast.

We have been forced into a one-size-fits-all mandate by an overreaction by those who believe that government, not the people, is best suited to make decisions that affect the people.

This fundamental difference defines our two political parties. I often ruminate as to why people arrive at far different perspectives regarding our mutual issues.

Many of today’s self-appointed leaders, I suspect, would not have survived the trek from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Centennial, Colorado, in the 1800s. Most are not self-sufficient but are smarmy in nature and looking to live out of the pockets of others. They do not create but only reap.

Today, there are those who are reacting as if the sky is falling (an asteroid was due to pass by Earth the day before the last election and another just passed recently) and the wolf is coming down from the mountain (not to mention reintroduction).

These people are exemplary of one of the basic human reactions: fear.

Others are focused in terms of their own well-being for preservation of their sense of wellness: need. The physiological baseline for survival: air, food, shelter, water, procreation and continuation of the species.

Some others may be in the throes of one of the most basic of human reactions: guilt. “Will what I do harm others?”

While another group may very well be bound up by their own avarice: greed. “What can be gained from others?”

These four components of human behavior are really best described as human motivators.

When taken with the theory of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, the current level of hyperventilation and hysteria is all too human.

They have forgotten that pandemics have come in the past and will come in the future. They have not learned the lessons of history.

Throw in a little sprinkling of Darwin, survival of the fittest, and we arrive with the whirling mess we find ourselves living within. People, put a paper bag over your head, breathe deeply and get your CO2 balanced.

This country was founded on the principle that the individual was the best to determine their own course throughout life. The basic principle of God-given rights — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — is tough to follow when others have seized control of one’s freedoms.

Our system of government is based on the least, not the most, intrusion by government. Government should be a good steward of the people’s interests both in a fiduciary manner and provision of what we have come to regard as public goods and services.

The guiding document, which has survived all other forms of governance, is the Constitution. Imperfect in some ways — a work in progress, perhaps — but better than any other form that existed in the past and most likely in the future.

However, the very best feature is that it can be amended through an orderly and thoughtful process that requires the people’s concurrence and consent.

We the people grant powers to the government, not the other way around. We have safeguards built in to protect the public from the tyranny of the minority and the majority. We are a representative form of government, not a democracy.

Today, we are under assault by both the far left and the far right. These factions do not come in the spirit of peace on earth and goodwill but seeking power and control of others.

A life well lived should be a goal for all.

We do not have freedom from religion but freedom of religion. Some of our elected officials have forgotten that Article 6 of the Constitution specifically prohibits a test of religion as a requirement to hold an office within government.

I was going to write an opine about why I am the best candidate for the commissioner in District 1; instead, you can go to my website and decide if you agree with me as a voter.

I close with a salutation that should be a part of everyone’s touchstone. It comes courtesy from a very wise person, who, though a fictional character, was without guile or cunning: Mr. Spock of “Star Trek” fame:

“Live long and prosper.”