Moments after President Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden, doubters appeared demanding evidence. They wanted to see a photo or video.  They thought it was too convenient that his body was dumped into the Arabian Sea. I’ve read people who said that the USA faked the moon landing, so this could obviously be faked, too.

These people should collectively be identified as idiots.  I have far more faith in the existence of idiots than massive government coverups.  The logic is pretty simple.  There are just too many people involved to keep the operation a secret.  Sooner or later, the truth comes out.  That very fact is what lead to the raid on bin Laden’s home and his death at the hands of U.S. Navy Seals.

However, let’s say that these government conspiracy theorists were right and the hundreds, if not thousands, of analysts, service members, politicians and other government people could actually keep every aspect of this story a secret.  Doesn’t anyone think that bin Laden, if he were alive, would pop up like a whack-a-mole and taunt the USA for missing him once again?  He’s done it before, releasing his recordings a couple of times per year.

This is the simple logic.  If you claim to have killed someone, you need to make sure they’re dead so they don’t prove you wrong in the eyes of the world.  I have absolutely no qualms about believing that Osama bin Laden is dead. If his faith is true, there are 72 virgins right now going “Eew, you mean I have to fuck him?”

Let’s hope those virgins are goats.

I have a simple view of America. It means that we do the right thing. Far too often, that hasn’t been the case. We have police officers who abuse their authority to rule over the people they are supposed to protect. We have elected officials who lie to their constituents to suit their own political and personal agenda. Certainly, this isn’t the case with all people in authority, but it happens often enough that we accept it as normal. That’s not the American Way.

What I propose is rather simple – vigilance. Do not let that be confused with becoming a vigilante. We watch. When we see something wrong, we shine a light on it for all to see. We do this with words, not self-appointed acts outside the law. The United States Constitution affords us one of the most powerful charters of self-government ever created. It is also a call to responsibility. For thousands of years, human history shows us that people in power are tempted. When the population fails its responsibility to oversee those we put in power to serve us, we risk allowing them to abuse us. It can happen to anyone from your local cop to the President of the United States.

In addition to vigilance, we also need to understand temperance. In too many cases, we’ve seen a cry for termination of someone who faltered. That’s not always the solution. We can’t expect perfection of anyone. A person can’t learn from a mistake if they’re never given an opportunity to correct their ways. If we expect fair treatment for our own lapses, we have to give it to others.

Vigilance does not mean spying on your neighbor, though. It simply means being aware of your surroundings and paying attention when something isn’t right. If necessary, it means speaking up to address a problem, rather than just accepting it. Complacency is our enemy.

I built this site as a platform to speak up. The idea to use a pseudonym was simple – to keep personal distractions away from the message. People use labels to diminish those they oppose, and too easily oppose those with labels they don’t like. Conservative, Liberal, Atheist, Tree Hugger. The list goes on ad infinitum so people can skip the process of thinking for themselves and just ignore the ideas being discussed.

Of course, I can’t escape one label that people will use to dismiss me – I’m a blogger. Lawyers, doctors and other professionals will immediately attack someone who doesn’t have the label of their credentials. That’s easier than actually addressing the points of an issue. It’s time to stop taking such shortcuts and think for ourselves. Trusting others to do it for us has lead us into a mess.

I have my opinions and this is my soapbox. I’d be interested to hear your opinion on issues, too. When I see something that isn’t right, then I’ll share it here as a place to add my voice to the national discussion. I invite you to do the same.