I Love Football!

I love football. I played in little league, Junior High School, High School and College. I remember that first football season after I graduated from college. I did not know what to do with myself. It is now so many years later that I can hardly remember what it felt like during those playing years. Yet, I’m still a fan, particularly of professional football. The excitement of this play-off season has ignited my imagination like few others. Now, I am a died-in-the-wool Philadelphia Eagles fan and those years when they are in the play-offs are wonderful. This year is really special. Bret Favre of the Green Bay Packers is having a career year at the age of 38 and the New England patriots are doing things that any football fan would have thought impossible until this season.

I think that my enthusiasm has less to do with the football and more to do with politics. I am sick to death of the Presidential election campaign. I believe that our electoral system is broken. I am interested to know who has the best character and ideas for the job. I am not interested in who can dig up the most dirt on the others. I’m not interested in who can confront the others with the greatest zeal and attacks. I’m not interested in race or gender. I am interested in ideas and core principles.

I think the electorate has forgotten or does not know the function of government. The primary job of government is to protect and maintain our constitutional freedoms. The government’s job is to maintain a standing military for protection of the citizens of our country from foreign incursion and to provide support for the weak around the world. Government is responsible to make and enforce laws that protect the populace. Therefore in addition to a military the government must also maintain police and fire protection.

How did the idea of entitlement creep into our national ethos? The government is not responsible to provide entitlements to anyone. In fact the government is incapable of providing anything to the populace in and of itself. The government cannot generate revenue in and of itself. It can only collect taxes to accomplish the tasks we assign to it. Remember, it is our money. It is not the government’s money. Entitlements do not come from a faceless non-personal entity, they come from us. We pay for the military, the police, the operation of government, fire protection, welfare, healthcare, etc. One candidate said that they would take the profits from oil corporations and create a national energy plan. Does that candidate not know that it is not their money? The money belongs to the stock holders. Who is that candidate to take another’s money and give it away? This is insanity and the public seems to be buying it. How sad.

I love football right now because it provides an alternative to politics. I think when football season ends I’ll need to become a basketball fan, and then of course baseball spring training is right around the corner. Please, anything other than political campaigning and commentary. Do you know who you want to vote for? I do. Here is a neat little website that can help you cut through all the rhetoric and make an informed decision; http://www.votehelp.org/, enjoy. Go Eagles!