Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I'll Take My Stand

Daniel Rubin a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer tells the story of an incident in March of 2009 of a Camden police officer "whose disabled son wasn't allowed to pass through airport security unless he took off his leg braces."

The father was justifiably outraged and complained to the TSA after the humiliating ordeal. To their credit the TSA has apologized and admitted that its screeners went overboard.

It's easy to get worked up about the incompetence of the screaners and the government nightmare that the TSA has quickly become. But this outrage is misplaced. We did not get into this nightmare overnight.

We Americans have made a piecemeal surrender of our rights and liberties ever since we allowed our treasonous founding felons to supplant the specific instructions of the states to strengthen the Articles of Confederation.  Instead we got the current US Constitution. The feds have been consolidating their power ever since.

The bureaucratic nightmare of the TSA and indeed of the entire US federal government is of our own making.

We Americans have chosen security and safety over liberty, freedom and individual responsibility.

I am neither going to give a detailed recitation of our surrender, nor am I going to give a detailed action plan as to how to save America and restore the original intent of the founders. It is too late for such talk.

What I want to focus on is how to start taking steps to lay a foundation for liberty, freedom and individual responsibility. How do those individuals who yet cherish liberty and freedom live in a culture of slaves?

1. Never accept a government benefit.

That means never take a social security check, welfare check, medicare and any other form of government health care. If you are taking a government benefit then you have a vested interest in the system continuing.

The argument will be made, "I paid into social security my whole working life. I am going to get my money back." It sounds like a convincing argument. It isn't. It's an excuse. It's an excuse designed to justify your slave mindset.

2. Get your children out of government schools. Send them to private school or better yet, home school. Government schools do not exist to educate your kids. Government schools exist to make shallow obedient citizens of government.

3. Voting for the 'lesser of two evils' is not wisdom. It's foolishness. The goal of both American political parties is bigger, more powerful government. If you can't see that then you should not be voting. One party wants an all out run to the goal line, the other party just wants move the ball incrementally towards the same goal line. When you vote for the lesser of two evils, you are voting for the guy that wants to move the ball incrementally. He doesn't want to reverse the direction of the ball. That's too hard. Its much easier to surrender to the direction in which the ball is going but just slow down the rate at which it is moving.

4. Stop listening to Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. About once every six weeks these guys get on their soap box and preach a good sermon about limited government. But every election cycle they faithfully circle the wagons around the Republican candidates and justify voting for the lesser of two evils.

5. If you're a business owner, never bid on or accept a government contract.

6. Vote against all tax increases and vote against all state or municipal bond proposals.

7. Never invest in a government security.

The overwhelming national problems that we face are the summation of decades of small compromises many of which we inherited. Many of us are graduates of government schools. We've learned to think and live like slaves. Learning to live and think like free men will be just about the hardest thing there is to do.

Learn to identify and hate government slavery wherever it is found. Redeem the time and place where you stand.

No comments: