A treatise for limited government?
This is my next to final blog post for my Democracy class. It was published on the class blog November 29, today is December 3, in case anyone has thoughts of plagiarism from this blog to that one.
There were a lot of good ideas presented, how to make government better, how to have a bigger role in our grand experiment. I am antiquated, a dinosaur if you will when it comes to what works and what doesn’t. These solutions are all great, and in my view, any time we increase interaction with the leviathan is a good thing. You know what is coming now, don’t you? But…
The founders understood too well what unbridled democracy would lead to. It was evidenced just a few years later in the chaos of the French Revolution. Their goal was to create a government that would leave people alone. They felt that they built in safeguards to protect the citizenry from their government. But little by little, the government assumed power. Even those who seemed to be true to the Constitution were unable to stop the creep that is inherent in any central government. The problem with government gathering power is that it has to get that power somewhere, and it usually starts by citizens giving up a little of their power for security, or to gain advantage. Once government has sufficient power, it doesn’t ask, it just takes it, usually cheered on by some segments of the population. Sound familiar? Pre-Nazi Germany? The Castro Revolution? They always start working for the people, but it rarely lasts. Ours is a unique experiment, in that those that crafted the Constitution were very well read, and knew from the Greeks and Romans what would happen, that was the intent of their ferocious defense of inalienable rights. Were they perfect? Of course not, they were men, and men our fallible.
Am I a dreamer? Too much so apparently. Like I said, anything that will increase our participation in government is a good thing. But since we have already compromised property rights, and limited our ability to choose our vocation, are those inalienable rights really safe? Currently, nearly half of the people in this country do not pay federal income tax. With that kind of power, how does that bode for those that do? We see it already, in Occupy Wallstreet, and other movements. They start isolating “the rich”, and what do they usually do? They try to prove how much they already pay, or if they bring in income in non earning ways, bemoan how much those that earn their money have to pay, like the “oracle of Omaha” who brings in his income through capital gains, taxed at a much lower rate.
But, I am a dreamer, and as such, I really believe in the people of this nation, and the foundation of government that we have. I believe that if people are properly taught they will know how to participate. Negativity in political campaigns is intended to make people feel powerless. They belittle those that disagree with them, and call them names. While most will no doubt at this point think that I am focusing on one party, or one candidate, there can be no mistaking that few in Washington really want people to realize that they DO have the power to make a difference. I laid out a few of the ideas that I think are essential into understanding each other, and to realize that there is plenty of room for disagreement, while all coming together as fellow citizens of these United States. A dreamer and an idealist, all in one.
There were a lot of good ideas presented, how to make government better, how to have a bigger role in our grand experiment. I am antiquated, a dinosaur if you will when it comes to what works and what doesn’t. These solutions are all great, and in my view, any time we increase interaction with the leviathan is a good thing. You know what is coming now, don’t you? But…
The founders understood too well what unbridled democracy would lead to. It was evidenced just a few years later in the chaos of the French Revolution. Their goal was to create a government that would leave people alone. They felt that they built in safeguards to protect the citizenry from their government. But little by little, the government assumed power. Even those who seemed to be true to the Constitution were unable to stop the creep that is inherent in any central government. The problem with government gathering power is that it has to get that power somewhere, and it usually starts by citizens giving up a little of their power for security, or to gain advantage. Once government has sufficient power, it doesn’t ask, it just takes it, usually cheered on by some segments of the population. Sound familiar? Pre-Nazi Germany? The Castro Revolution? They always start working for the people, but it rarely lasts. Ours is a unique experiment, in that those that crafted the Constitution were very well read, and knew from the Greeks and Romans what would happen, that was the intent of their ferocious defense of inalienable rights. Were they perfect? Of course not, they were men, and men our fallible.
Am I a dreamer? Too much so apparently. Like I said, anything that will increase our participation in government is a good thing. But since we have already compromised property rights, and limited our ability to choose our vocation, are those inalienable rights really safe? Currently, nearly half of the people in this country do not pay federal income tax. With that kind of power, how does that bode for those that do? We see it already, in Occupy Wallstreet, and other movements. They start isolating “the rich”, and what do they usually do? They try to prove how much they already pay, or if they bring in income in non earning ways, bemoan how much those that earn their money have to pay, like the “oracle of Omaha” who brings in his income through capital gains, taxed at a much lower rate.
But, I am a dreamer, and as such, I really believe in the people of this nation, and the foundation of government that we have. I believe that if people are properly taught they will know how to participate. Negativity in political campaigns is intended to make people feel powerless. They belittle those that disagree with them, and call them names. While most will no doubt at this point think that I am focusing on one party, or one candidate, there can be no mistaking that few in Washington really want people to realize that they DO have the power to make a difference. I laid out a few of the ideas that I think are essential into understanding each other, and to realize that there is plenty of room for disagreement, while all coming together as fellow citizens of these United States. A dreamer and an idealist, all in one.
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