Can there be any doubt that our country has strayed from its roots? Our imperfect union has degenerated from the Constitution so boldly envisioned by our Founders. George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and the rest must surely be, not just rolling over in their graves, but spitting mad.

Most modern politicians are nothing more than political prostitutes. They will say or do anything to remain in power, regardless of the consequences. We would be better off if our representatives and senators were randomly selected from the phone book.

And so I propose simply this: we, the people, must take back our heritage. We must search for and encourage honest, hard-working young people to study the Constitution, promise to abide by it and then let's get them elected. We will have to start at the level of county commissioners, small town mayors, sheriffs and the like, and then get them elected to higher offices. A steady progression from local level to state office to federal office.

In the meantime, we must insist on accountability from our current elected officials. Call or fax their offices. Better yet, go to their offices. Hold their feet to the fire. Demand that they obey the Constitution they swore to uphold and defend. Give them a copy of the Constitution. Highlight the powers enumerated to them and demand that they do nothing that would violate those powers.

I'm not a young man. While I'd like to see a steady progression of young Conservatives groomed for and elected to office, I doubt such would happen in my lifetime. And so I suppose I lean to the second of my modest proposals.

There second proposal is this: dissolve our union and create a new and better one.

Our imperfect union includes people of all walks of like and is truly a melting pot. But the pot is starting to boil over. Is our nation big enough to include people so stridently different? Can rabid anti-gun haters live in peace with those who support the right to keep and bear arms? Can the pro-abortion extremist minority assimilate into a pro-life majority? Can Conservative Christians tolerate gay marriages? Can rust-belt union members live beside right-to-work states? Maybe, maybe not.

Certainly, there are several easily identifiable regions in the USA where the states clearly belong with one another. California, Oregon and Washington share ideologies. Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Alabama and--probably-- Florida could meld. There are other examples but these suffice for the moment. The point is that people in Knoxville, Tennessee, for instance, share little in common with folks in Newark, New Jersey. Rather than struggle against each other, it may be better to separate, live apart from each other, in distinct and autonomous regions...or entirely new, smaller nations.

Let each go their own way. Those with liberal, socialist or marxist ideologies can band together in their regions while Conservatives and Libertarians who value liberty and freedom band together in their own.

I've spent the bulk of my adult life either in the military or as a cop. I lived outside the USA for quite some time. I've seen the miseries of life lived under the sort of government envisioned by those on the left. And I've had the great fortune to live in places where Conservatism reigned. I'll take a helping of Conservatism, thank you.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.