Quis custodiet ipsos custodie

You know the saying, “who watches the watchman”, but have you ever considered its meaning?

This Latin phrase goes to a much deeper question of self accountability and to the responsibility of each and every one of us has to watch and keep in check those who govern or watch over us. This phrase came about during a time when the people had no say over who governed them, they had no say who was their watchman, but they knew that it was still up to the people to keep an incredulous vigil in order to prevent being fodder for tyrants. Since those days we have formed a government and a society that has unprecedented freedoms and liberties that the ancients would marvel at and yet, at a most fundamental level we have failed one of the most basic themes of all, we stopped watching the watchman.

Americans, and our great consumer society that we have created, has encouraged a government, a media, and an educational system that tells the people what to think instead of how to think and it now dominates every aspect of our daily lives. We have abandoned civic duty, honor to education, and accountability in favor of an old system that dominated societies of ancient men, a system of faith. Faith that those in charge will govern wisely, faith that those who inform us will be credible, faith that all wrongs can be fixed by legislation, a wave of a wand, or a reach in a hat, or a prayer that divine intervention will ensue. This belief that faith will manage all has created a society of people that is no longer capable of acting on its own or in its best interest as the people have become so dependent upon those who are offering faith instead of action that they have become ineffectual in managing their own lives. This system of faith allows for the people to become lazy, complacent, and numb to reality because we believe that what is needed is not action but belief that someone else will do the job.

People say that they don’t vote or are not active in politics or current events because their vote or their opinion does not any longer matter, so this again reinforces a dependency on a system of faith, in hopes that someone else will do the right thing. We place our children in day care and after school programs with the faith that those watching them will do what is necessary to help prepare a child for later in life, yet many of those who watch over the children are from the lowest median of educational standards. We place faith that our government will act wisely on our behalf when acting as agents for the American people abroad or here at home when issues of health care, infrastructure, economics, security are at stake, yet time and time again, they fail with nothing more than a few choice words from the public. However, fret not as opportunity is at hand.

In the wake of the latest catastrophic disaster to hit America, it is becoming clear that there has been a total and utter break down of government and of society in general. A breakdown that I believe is at least in part due to a people who placed more faith in a system than they did themselves. People knew things were going to be bad but they believed that those who governed and protected them would release them from their misery, and when help did not arise, the people became angry and rightly so. This storm has shown us more than anything that we can not rely upon our government to act on our best behalf, we can not believe in a system that reinforces faith instead of personal action and involvement. We as Americans will have to rely upon each other and on ourselves instead of the current system if we ever want to see positive change in our lives.

Since this storm it has been shown that the American people have dug in their pockets, they have rolled up their sleeves in spite of the inaction of government and have proceeded to do what they can. Churches, charities, common everyday people who don’t have a pot to piss in have chipped in, in addition to all the tax dollars they have already spent on their faith based hope that government will save them and I hope people never forget this. Now, more than ever is the time for the people to watch our system as the belly of the beast lay exposed for the hollowed shell of teeth that it really is; the curtain has been pulled back on the Wizard. You can choose to keep your faith or you can become one who watches the watchman.

Flip