The Founding Fathers had a specific plan for America. We dont know the exact plan, thus we have guessed for centuries what they truly wanted for the nation. But we do know that they wanted a democracy that was led by the President of the United States, who had the privilege of deciding foreign policy and leading the military. The President is to be an intelligent official with experience in politics, knowledge of the power that he or she wields, who is willing to make sacrifices for the benefit of our great nation, and who has respect for those that serve our nation. These basic traits are expected in someone who is given the ability to represent our country, if not at least the majority of our country, and protect our god-given rights as American citizens. These rights include freedoms of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition, the rights to bare arms, the ability to prevent the quartering of soldiers, the right to prevent unreasonable searches, the right to not be punished for a crime that was not proven to be committed, the right to a public and unbiased trial, the ability to resist unreasonable punishments, et cetera, et cetera. A President that wants to infringe upon any of these rights is not a true American President. But there were cases in which the President was, in fact, the one who dared to challenge the rights of American citizens. John Adams breached the right of freedom of speech, with the Sedition Act of 1798. Privacy rights were breached by the National Security Agency, with the Patriot Act. Woodrow Wilson attempted to pass an act that would censor the media whenever the government deemed it necessary. Preventing events like this from happening was the very reason the Bill of Rights was written. There are few things American citizens can truly do to stop this from happening, other than hope for the best and prepare for the worst. So leaving the decisions to the government is a gamble. It could mean something better for all of us, it could mean something better for some of us, it could mean something worse for some of us, or it could mean something worse for all of us. Sometimes the gamble is worth it, sometimes it isnt. We are gambling once again, America. History is being made. The next steps America will take may change the very course of history. Choose your next decisions wisely, my friends. The future of our nation may be at stake. -Locke
