"The American Republic will endure until the day Congress discovers that it can bribe the public with the public's money." Alexis de Tocqueville
Want to catch a glimpse of the most endangered species on the planet? Easy enough: tonight while brushing your teeth, just lean in close to the mirror and gaze upon it. You are one of a kind, and the individual rights and liberties that are yours alone are being eclipsed and consumed by one of liberty's stealthiest, most insidious predators: Statism.
Statism is today's politically correct subspecies of collectivism. In statism the rights of the individual citizen are subordinated to the demands of the state, but always, of course, with the good of the group in view. So long as the matter in question can be argued from the standpoint of 'for the greater good', individual rights can and will be sacrificed. Ever ask yourself who gets to define 'greater' and 'good'?
Statism stands in direct opposition to the core principles which drove the Founders to write the Declaration of Independence and upon which they framed the Constitution. To understand why this is so, one question must be answered: Where do our rights come from? The Declaration of Independence leaves no room for equivocation on this subject. In the Founders' view there is a God, a supreme and transcendent God without whom we would not exist. The Founders held that the rights we as humans possess, as well as our individual liberty and value, are derived directly from God. One of the theological cornerstones illuminated in the Bible is that we are created by God in His image and for His pleasure. And while that image is quite tarnished in us, the implication is that we are endowed with the ability, like God, to love, to know the existence of right and wrong, to live life relationally, to love unconditionally, and to exercise our creative and intellectual inclinations in a manner that glorifies God and clarifies, rather than denigrates, the image of God as displayed through humanity.
Understanding the Founders' perspective, we arrive at the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States, and it is not a complicated path. Clearly no ruler, foreign or domestic, has the authority to subdue or enslave us, not because we are citizens of the United States of America, but because we are human beings, beholden only to our Maker. Our value is not sourced from the ideologies we embrace or from our social standing, but comes solely from the One who created us. In this paradigm absolutes do exist and are upheld as such. Individual liberty is the only cornerstone upon which a Republic can stand.
On the other hand, when we dismiss the idea of God and ourselves as His workmanship, the perspective on 'rights' looks very different. Suddenly the rights we claim as our own are rendered into political commodities, subject to 'streamlining' by government in the best case scenario, or as has happened far too frequently in the history of human civilization, taken at gunpoint.
If the rights of the individual are not absolute, then they are presumed to be doled out by the state, and what the state giveth, the state can, and will, taketh away. Ultimately, absolutes are not recognized because the most basic unit of society is not recognized as having absolute rights. The cornerstone for government becomes a democracy, where the majority declares by consensus what is right and what is wrong. In this model, once the majority agrees that, say, stealing is OK, well then, stealing is OK, because the intent is no longer that the rights of the individual be protected, but that the will of the mob be executed.
Politicians empower themselves by acting as the gods of special interest groups, whose organizers are careful to couch their demands in the verbiage of 'rights', setting up the perfect opportunity for politicians to deprive some citizens of their individual liberties in order to 'make right' the perceived wrong. When the rights of the individual are recognized only in the context of a group affiliation, i.e. labor rights, race and gender rights, gay rights and so forth, the only outcome possible is the one we have achieved: Identity Politics, where a toxic body politic pits group against group like mud wrestling contestants vying for wee scraps of leverage while gloating politicians rake in their winnings measured in voting blocks.
Redistribution of wealth is merely the iconic tip of the iceberg, for what is really transpiring is a reallocation of rights: What one rightfully possesses as a result of his labors will be given to the one who has not earned it, yet this transaction is executed in the name of 'equality', and is based on the assumption that where inequalities in prosperity exist, liberty has been exploited by the one who has succeeded at the expense of the one who has not.
The thinking by the statist that his utopian dream can somehow be fulfilled by homogenizing living conditions through the redistribution of wealth completely disregards the nature of the inner man, wherein resides the wellspring of our humanness. It is in the heart where contentment and envy wrestle, love and hate square off, joy and despair are cultivated. And frankly, there is no political solution to the disposition of the human heart, but there are plenty who would tell you they have it. All they need is your vote and a little more cash.
Copyright 2009
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Reading List
OK...Myself and a friend have finally waded through Liberal Fascism, by Jonah Goldberg, and I can safely say it needs to be on your 'must read' list. Or if you happen to be staring down a long car ride of, say, about 15 hours, it is available in audio book format. The review on the simplyaudiobooks.com website reads:"In this angry, funny, smart, contentious book, Jonah Goldberg offers a startling new perspective on the theories and practices that define fascist politics..." which is a pretty accurate and succinct synopsis. However, I would add that Liberal Fascism is an indepth look at the history of the Progressive Movement in America, what they stand for, and against. More importantly, the Progressive Movement is in full blown resurrection mode, and inquiring minds will want to know the truth about this movement in order to contrast it with the founding principles that created our great Republic.
And if you are a bit fuzzy on those founding principles, another Must Read is The 5,000 Year Leap, by Cleon Skousen. Just read it. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_5?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=5+000+year+leap&sprefix=5%2C000
And if you are a bit fuzzy on those founding principles, another Must Read is The 5,000 Year Leap, by Cleon Skousen. Just read it. http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw_0_5?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=5+000+year+leap&sprefix=5%2C000
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Seize the Moment
An ill wind of historic proportions has hit our shores. Americans are fretful and apprehensive. Our citadel of financial security has been shown to be corruptible, as are many things, by dishonesty. And while a dedicated cadre continue their public disavowal of the “In God We Trust” motto on our currency, these days God seems less and less the long shot.
But the real dilemma is this: What value will we now place on our Republic as it was handed down to us from our Founders? We were bequeathed a nation in which we are free to pursue our dreams and to harness our talents, to work as hard as we want - or as little as we want. And when that hard work manifests itself in financial reward, then that is our due. It is not a shameful thing. In fact it has blessed humanity.
Since its inception our nation has exploded the frontiers of human accomplishment. In the span of less than 200 years we moved mankind beyond his 2000 year history of oceanic travel by sailing ships and into the world of air travel, space travel and moon walks. Human beings, either individually or collaboratively, are the spark of creativity that ignite the bonfires of achievement and propel civilization to new heights. Being free to excel and to benefit from our endeavors is at the heart of capitalism, but more importantly, at the heart of progress. Capitalism dovetails with our constitutionally protected rights in that the principled pursuit of one’s passions, talents and work ethic commingle to reward the individual and consequently humanity. On the contrary, not a single invention or technological advancement can be credited to a government, because government is in the business of control; it is the antithesis of the creative and industrious processes which generate real product, real change.
Today, because of free enterprise, we live awash in a sea of extravagance that our ancestors could not have imagined. We are each the beneficiary of the products and services created by others. Even among those we label as ‘disadvantaged’, the fruits of capitalism are at work enriching life, making necessary goods and services available to all, regardless of means. Recently Michelle Obama served meals at a soup kitchen window, ostensibly for the poor, and found herself being photographed with cell phone cameras by the kitchen’s clientele. The life of poverty in America, according to our government’s own data, includes car ownership, air conditioning, most household appliances, cable or satellite television, DVD or VCR and stereo equipment, and better than adequate nutrition.
There is a very real difference between poverty and envy, and it is malfeasance by government to provoke the latter, let alone use it as leverage to insist upon equal reward for unequal effort. And as enigmatic as it is to government, much of life’s reward comes not from the accumulation of material goods, but from endeavoring to progress as individuals; and there exists no prescribed route for this, though many in government strain to create one. To fixate on materialism as the measurement of equality is a surefire way to instill envy and foment dissatisfaction…which is, of course, an excellent strategy by which to set up salvation by government.
As the winds of crisis pound away at our resolve, if not our very roots, we find ourselves facing the prospect of genuine hardship. We simply must step back and examine the bigger picture. We are nearing a precipice which may claim the engine of our nation’s great success. Onerous debt will preclude economic growth and prosperity. Too much Funny Money and we will be living under inflation’s smothering cloak. The ‘solutions’ coming out of Washington seem to have one thing going for them: they increase the scope and power of government.
Our president continuously warns of catastrophic results if we do not yield to his will, and that of the Pelosi-Reid congress. A monstrous spending bill has slithered through Congress and now bears the president’s seal. Similar bills are promised, leaving the citizens of this nation with a brutish choice. We can sit mutely on the sidelines and allow Congress to saddle future generations with a debt that guarantees crushing taxation and conscription to a lifetime of shoveling earnings into Washington’s fiery fiscal furnace. Or, we can play the hand we’ve been dealt, trusting in, and exercising, our combined grit, resourcefulness and compassion to deal with what now comes our way.
The demise of Liberty is never more than a crisis away. Will this crisis make us, or break us? The choice is ours… but only for a moment.
But the real dilemma is this: What value will we now place on our Republic as it was handed down to us from our Founders? We were bequeathed a nation in which we are free to pursue our dreams and to harness our talents, to work as hard as we want - or as little as we want. And when that hard work manifests itself in financial reward, then that is our due. It is not a shameful thing. In fact it has blessed humanity.
Since its inception our nation has exploded the frontiers of human accomplishment. In the span of less than 200 years we moved mankind beyond his 2000 year history of oceanic travel by sailing ships and into the world of air travel, space travel and moon walks. Human beings, either individually or collaboratively, are the spark of creativity that ignite the bonfires of achievement and propel civilization to new heights. Being free to excel and to benefit from our endeavors is at the heart of capitalism, but more importantly, at the heart of progress. Capitalism dovetails with our constitutionally protected rights in that the principled pursuit of one’s passions, talents and work ethic commingle to reward the individual and consequently humanity. On the contrary, not a single invention or technological advancement can be credited to a government, because government is in the business of control; it is the antithesis of the creative and industrious processes which generate real product, real change.
Today, because of free enterprise, we live awash in a sea of extravagance that our ancestors could not have imagined. We are each the beneficiary of the products and services created by others. Even among those we label as ‘disadvantaged’, the fruits of capitalism are at work enriching life, making necessary goods and services available to all, regardless of means. Recently Michelle Obama served meals at a soup kitchen window, ostensibly for the poor, and found herself being photographed with cell phone cameras by the kitchen’s clientele. The life of poverty in America, according to our government’s own data, includes car ownership, air conditioning, most household appliances, cable or satellite television, DVD or VCR and stereo equipment, and better than adequate nutrition.
There is a very real difference between poverty and envy, and it is malfeasance by government to provoke the latter, let alone use it as leverage to insist upon equal reward for unequal effort. And as enigmatic as it is to government, much of life’s reward comes not from the accumulation of material goods, but from endeavoring to progress as individuals; and there exists no prescribed route for this, though many in government strain to create one. To fixate on materialism as the measurement of equality is a surefire way to instill envy and foment dissatisfaction…which is, of course, an excellent strategy by which to set up salvation by government.
As the winds of crisis pound away at our resolve, if not our very roots, we find ourselves facing the prospect of genuine hardship. We simply must step back and examine the bigger picture. We are nearing a precipice which may claim the engine of our nation’s great success. Onerous debt will preclude economic growth and prosperity. Too much Funny Money and we will be living under inflation’s smothering cloak. The ‘solutions’ coming out of Washington seem to have one thing going for them: they increase the scope and power of government.
Our president continuously warns of catastrophic results if we do not yield to his will, and that of the Pelosi-Reid congress. A monstrous spending bill has slithered through Congress and now bears the president’s seal. Similar bills are promised, leaving the citizens of this nation with a brutish choice. We can sit mutely on the sidelines and allow Congress to saddle future generations with a debt that guarantees crushing taxation and conscription to a lifetime of shoveling earnings into Washington’s fiery fiscal furnace. Or, we can play the hand we’ve been dealt, trusting in, and exercising, our combined grit, resourcefulness and compassion to deal with what now comes our way.
The demise of Liberty is never more than a crisis away. Will this crisis make us, or break us? The choice is ours… but only for a moment.
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