Self-reliance or entitlements; liberty or tyranny; federalism or democracy - what is your choice? by Gary Wood
(conservative)
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Today we are seeing a struggle between two seemingly different philosophies for governing our society. Political parties are not the divide as members of both major parties share similar views while third party involvement has little impact on the daily government decisions. Bill O’Reilly summed up the choices by stating the choice is self-reliance or entitlements. That’s a very good view of where we are yet those in elected federal office seem to be divided more on the entitlement side of this divide.
Liberty is a key principle in our history. When government involves itself in daily life through entitlements, and a view they must guide economic activity while ‘caring’ for those in need, we must understand the tradeoff is a reduction in liberty. Through a reliance on government we become more aligned with a society focused toward a form of representative democracy where the majority of those who vote dictate their desires to the minority. We lose our federalism roots of a republic that divides power and cares for people at the lowest level of government with a focus on self-reliance. A greater reliance on government over self is not what our founding era efforts designed for posterity.
"[A] wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government." (Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, 1801) Is this the government we have today?
People focus on the fact we are a divided nation but even in 1801 there were great divisions yet principles were carried forward that secured a federalist republic. Earlier in his inaugural address Jefferson discussed this division. He stated, “We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists.” During the election of 1800 there was much contention among the parties, a struggle between those who feared the federal government was not strong enough and those who were concerned the government would grow too strong federally. Yet both sides knew people must be allowed their liberty in their homes and must embrace the belief personal self-reliance with limited government, which governed from the lowest level, was the best for our liberty to prevail. Their division was much different than the division we have today.
Today we are split between the amounts of entitlements citizens should receive from their federal government and who should pay for those entitlements. We have developed a federal government that no longer leaves us to our productive ability but rather governs it, taxes it, and redistributes it according to those in both parties ability to attract votes for power. We have two parties controlling this nation’s citizens at every turn. One says we should take more from the people who have earned more to supply the government determined needs of those who have earned less. Another says we should adjust the amount we take from the citizens in the middle to help all above and below the government determined lines of prosperity. Neither is willing to remove the shackles from our production and neither is supporting a government that trusts its citizens to care for self and family or neighbors and community.
What voice supports the sum of good government today? Where is the party or the politician who stands for allowing us to keep the bread we have earned and use it as we determine we need to? Liberty calls for self-reliance yet in listening to our two political parties do we hear any strong voices supporting federalism? It seems more like two gangs struggling to control the distribution of other people’s efforts through a representative democracy. Listen closely for the few faint voices who still understand what it takes to secure the blessings of liberty for our posterity.
There are a few yet they are few and far between. You will rarely hear them yet when you know what to listen for your ears will hear clearly determine the difference. To hear them you must first abandon your emotional attachment to specific issues and personalities. You must study principles and goals so you can determine if self-reliance or entitlements are what you want. If, through your studies, you prefer self-reliance you will have few in today’s political landscape to embrace yet you must embrace them over the most popular voices from the media delivered sound bites. If entitlements are your desire then your choices are everywhere and in both major parties.
Self-reliance is a hard choice since we are taught to rely so heavily on government through entitlements. If you are not entitled you are then told you are responsible to give for those that are. You will initially feel issues pulling you away from liberty toward democracy and you will struggle.
You will struggle with some of the choices that come through your awareness; this is not a simple process. Your neighbors will not understand your choices so you will be responsible to help educate them and guide them beyond issues and personalities. Federalism is a hard choice over representative democracy due to the fact federalism is all but dead in the United States today. Yet our choice is critically important if we are to ever restore this sum of good government over the government democracy is delivering. Study, listen, and choose knowing posterity depends on what we deliver; liberty or tyranny…self-reliance or entitlements.
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in this article are those of Gary Wood only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
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