White House confident ... Ebola can be flagged.

Saw a news item stating: “WH Confident That Flight Crews Can Flag Ebola Patients” It got me to thinking just what our government really can do well and subsequently take pride in doing?

Let’s see:

·         U. S. Postal Service

·         Government funded healthcare

·         Education

·         Public Health

·         Border Security

·         Continental Rail Passenger Service

·         Mental Healthcare

·         Veteran’s Benefits

·         Fair taxation

·         Indigent care & support

·         Energy independence

·         Environmental stability

·         Fiscal responsibility

·         International affairs

·         Equal justice under our laws

Choose your own list or add to the one it took me no time to assemble. Look at the various Cabinet level departments and find one that’s working properly. I can’t.

Understand, I’m far from suggesting that this is a red or blue issue, but rather one of the Federal Government rising to its maximum ineptitude in illustration of Murphy’s Law. I, for one, believe that though well minded, our Federal Government has failed UTTERLY at each attempt to solve a problem set before it with the exception of two.

·         Protect and defend the Country and

·         Govern and control relations between States

If memory serves me correctly those two were the only real charges towards that government in establishing its purpose a little over 200 years ago. Arguably we’ve done a pretty good job of defending our country’s sovereignty. Where we are today in that regard? Quien sabe? To a lesser extent and also arguably is our defense of the individual state’s rights.

It took a long time, a lot of egos and more than a bit of personal disregard for the “greater good” to get us here. I might suggest that a moving away from traditional faith based values has created a further void in our national character. Thus my concern becomes one of the availability of true hope for a better future and ALL its citizens willingness to compromise and pull together rather than strain at any particular issue or issues which divide them one from another. “Divided We Fall”, piece by piece, a little bit at a time.

Admittedly, I am a strong constitutionalist, do not believe in judicial activism, cherish the individual freedom on which this Nation was founded, feel government has become far too intrusive with respect to mandating responsibilities and benefits for its people and have a great concern for the direction in which we are headed. I wish I could say I see a light shining at the end of the tunnel we are travelling through but fear it’s only an oncoming train set to wreak yet more destruction upon the great experiment in a republic form of government which Ben Franklin suggested the founders had created, “if its citizens could keep it.”

No suggestions or answers here this time. Guess I’m just getting old and regretful of how we’ve mishandled so many, many opportunities over my lifetime, for I believed better of the character of our Nation’s peoples.