I admit it. I am a little bit of a geek. The word “terabyte” turns me on. I do own the 10-Disc Superman Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD box set. (That’s the one with the version of Superman II that Richard Donner didn’t make). No, I didn’t go to Comic Con in San Diego last week. I was too busy looking for real superheroes, and finding so very few in our elected offices willing to stand for “truth, justice and the American Way”.

Weekly recap from the “heroes” elected to lead us

1. White House fires someone for being racist only to discover that she wasn’t racist and they didn’t even bother to get her side of the story or investigate the evidence first.
2. Federal Government suing Arizona for having the temerity to enforce the laws that they themselves are derelict in enforcing.
3. Charlie Rangel is a corrupt politician who lied and cheated on his taxes
4. We find out the Financial Regulation Bill exempts the SEC from public scrutiny under the “Freedom of Information Act” (It’s okay, we can trust them, right?)
5. The elected officials of the City of Bell, CA (pop 37,000) are exposed as having given themselves huge salaries and pensions. The City Manager was making nearly $800,000 and the police chief was making nearly $500,000. The average salary in Bell, CA is just over $30,000.

I need a hero.

Everyone familiar with the movie Spider-Man knows the famous line intrinsic to the idea of superheroes: “With great power comes great responsibility.” Our government has certainly attained the power, but where is the responsibility? They have a responsibility to “We the People”. They have a responsibility to “support and defend the Constitution the United States of America against all enemies foreign and domestic”. They have a responsibility to not use their office for their own corrupt, political or financial gain. They have a responsibility to enforce all the laws as if “law” means something and enforce the border as if “border” means something. They have the responsibility to be accountable and transparent to the people that they represent.

It’s no wonder that Congress ranked last on a Gallup poll last week on “confidence in institutions”. A whopping 11% of Americans trust Congress. Top on the list was the Military with 76% of America’s trust. Maybe that’s because the Military still believes in things like “Duty, Honor, and Country”.

I’m not a doe-eyed, naive believer that we can have 100% honorable people representing us 100% of the time. Still, I can’t be only one that sees that corruption, arrogance and pride have become a disease in our government. That’s not partisan. Ir’s an apolitical disease that affects both parties. The reason that the Republican and Democrat’s approval ratings are dismal and dismaler is because Americans don’t really trust either one. The only reason there’s a 10 point spread in favor of Republicans on the generic ballot is that the Democrats have made a routine of looking at the polls and doing the opposite of what the majority of Americans want. The Republicans are just standing still; only slightly better than going in the wrong direction.

Meanwhile, I look for the heroes that should be there, making the hard choices that are right for America, listening to the people, and watching out for our security, but never at the expense of our liberty. Superman could have ruled the world. He had that much power. Instead he helped others without deciding for them, expecting nothing for himself. He had that much responsibility.

The reason that I am a conservative is because I believe that we are all capable of being superheroes. We as individuals have the chance to make our world a better place, make our country a better place, make our town a better place. Every human being is capable of that, we are just blessed enough to live in a country that was founded on the idea of that. It is our right and our responsibility to shape our own destiny and live our own purpose.

What is your cause?

Live it.

– Jamie A.K.A. Defender of Freedom