When an American thinks about Congress, what comes to mind? Perhaps money, power, lies, scandals, unaccountable, and irresponsible, but what about delays and shutdowns. Over the past four, almost five decades, Congress has passed all appropriations on time four of forty-eight times. If Americans didn’t know better, we would be left to believe Congress intentionally delays funding to place fear, chaos, and division in the minds of the American people. Congressional members have manufactured a mental dependence on Congress by threatening the core functions of our government. Congress’s lack of accountability and total contempt for fulfilling their duties in a timely and responsible manner has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade. It has become acceptable and tolerable for either side of Congress to stall the other side, not on principle, but to maintain power among themselves behind closed doors. This is not to say that there are not a few honest and faithful, but what can a few do against an organized swamp of liars and cowards willing to do anything to preserve their grasp on power. It has always been incumbent on the American people to preserve the integrity and dignity of elected office during every election cycle. However, our responsibility to elect our officials wisely does not outshine the duty of every elected official. The individuals that “We the People” choose to elect to federal office bear a great responsibility to care for the affairs of our nation and the current members of Congress behave in a manner that brings reproach on the offices they hold. This is a multi-fold problem. Those in office should experience great remorse and seek to rectify their mistakes and failures, but they will not. Why, you ask? Because Americans keep electing the same individuals to office. It stands to reason that individuals who campaign on lies and have a record of failure wouldn’t stand a chance at re-election, but Congressional members (Senate & House of Representatives) found out if you throw enough money at elections, a large percentage of the time, you can keep your seat in Congress. This knowledge leads to elected officials working with donors and lobbyists more readily than towards the people’s agenda. What’s worse, Patriots who seek to go to Washington D.C. to implement change face major, seemingly insurmountable hurdles.

             The current system of politics in Washington is governed by money and while this remains true, Americans will continue to watch the decay of our government. Delayed funding, political bullying, and undermining by elected officials are not things our founding fathers desired or wanted for our nation. But the founding fathers were very wise in their understanding of what power can do to people and with careful precision they crafted our nation’s government with a framework that has endured for 2 ½ centuries. A framework, designed to ensure that the lure of power was checked inside the government, by the three branches, but ultimately, by the American people. One American citizen alone lacks the ability to wield such power, but a nation governed by Biblical principles and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal, UNITED, can decide if a Congressional member is worthy of the office they seek. Congressional members will fulfill their duty to the American people and the United States Constitution, or “We the People” must fulfill our duty and replace failed politicians with American Patriot leaders.