The Wicked Flee...

In the Army, I worked on Apache Helicopters. Any maintaining we did had to be done in accordance with "the Book" which was our technical manuals. We also had a shop full of Non-Commissioned Officers, the Quality Control Shop, who would inspect our work to ensure compliance with "the Book." Sometimes it would happen that, because of logistic problems or a rush to get one of our helicopters ready for a mission, one of my bosses, would order me to take a shortcut or overlook a safety concern. Now, if I do what I'm told, one of the Technical Inspectors from the Quality Control shop would be all over me, and could easily ruin my day. But if I don't do what I'm told, my Squad Leader or Platoon Sergeant would probably ruin my month. When faced with a situation like this most people would offer the following wisdom: "Always Choose the Lesser of Two Evils." This would mean, of course, to follow the orders that I had been given. But I always remembered another piece of advice, the underlying idea being the main reason for me to volunteer for the Army in the first place. "Evil Prevails Only When Good Men Refuse To Stand Against It." So instead of choosing a path that was more conductive to my own comfort, I choose always to follow that mystical Book. This is the most important message that I can try to pass along to anyone. Many politicians talk about choosing the hard right over the easy wrong, then turn right around and make an easy compromise rather than separate themselves from their party lines by following "The Book." "The Book" in this case being the Constitution of United States of America. Or, in many cases, they point out such things as the "General Welfare" Clause in order to justify their votes and actions. The fact that any Lawmaker must search for a way to justify what he does should set off warning bells in the minds of his or her constituents, especially since the role of government and of the US Congress is clearly spelled out by our Constitution. This brings...