We the People: The 4th Branch

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rockbeyondbelief/

I believe that there is a fourth branch of government, and I believe the inaction of this branch is exactly why the U.S. has fallen from greatness.  There is the Executive.  There is the Legislative.  There is the Judicial.

And there is us, The People.

We have shirked our responsibilities as citizens of this great Democratic state.  We have allowed ourselves to be distracted away from the actions of our government toward other nations, and toward ourselves.  We have allowed ourselves to become complacent - and therefore complicit - in the gradual erosion of our rights.

Our amber waves of grain, our majestic mountains and natural wonders are being exploited by the very companies that lobbied our government to give them equal status as us, those who suffer their mistakes through our taxes and through our lives (see: DeepWater Horizon oil disaster by B.P.).  The rights won through the blood, sweat, and tears of our historically oppressed citizens - our women, our minorities, our immigrants, our homosexuals, our intellectuals, our union workers, our... - are being forgone in exchange for re-election monies and for a brief boost of egos.

Our districts are constantly gerrymandered - not to reflect the actually demographics of our communities, but so that elected leaders who have proven themselves ineffective and corrupt can win another round...

If we are to expect a better government, better politicians, better corporations, and a better future, we must first expect and force ourselves to become better.  We must find the time to know who our representatives and senators are, who we've elected onto our city councils.  We must find the time to care what riders are being put onto bills that must pass, and be wary of those political actors who seek to corrupt the system for our own benefit.

We must raise ourselves to our own expectations, and make ourselves in the image of our ideal.
We must take back the power, the rights, and the duties bestowed upon us, and strive for solidarity with fellow Americans; only then can we truly call ourselves 'The 4th Branch', the American People.