The American Spirit

I have become increasingly angry with the tone that the Federal Government has taken with the people of America. I have a bone to pick and I want to get it off my chest. I am tired of being lectured by people who have never held a job other than politics. I have done many things in my short life. I have logged trees, cared for over 50 horses, and farmed in northern Wisconsin. I have attended college, worked as a carpenter, spent five years in the Marine Corps during war time, and am now a contractor working with military units. This is only part of the list. I have accomplished all these things without someone telling me how to think or live. I have been dirt poor and not asked for a handout. I have fallen and not asked for a safety net. I help people who need help.

I imagine that whoever may read this most likely has a similar list of various professions, experiences and accomplishments that are unique. The skills and experiences that people gain in there lives tend to be useful long after they have been learned. The same goes for career politicians. Barack Obama has not held a practical job since college. That leaves nearly 30 years of non practical experience in the political arena. Nearly 30 years of ideological development. Nearly 30 years of learning how to create policies that tell you how to live your life. I realize that he was voted into office by the American people. It is my belief that this happened because people were scared. Mostly scared of the uncertainties of an unstable economy. Every time I hear Obama speak all I hear is disdain in his voice. He constantly complains of the mess that he inherited, while forgetting that he begged us for the job. Inheritance is a passive event and a campaign is an active request for the job. This is not leadership!! In fact it is the definition of poor leadership. Leaders unite people. He has divided them. I know 19 year old Marines who know more about leadership than you Mr Obama.

Its not only him, but he is the one setting the tone. I would venture to say that there are few people in America who would look back on our wonderful history and say, "Wow, it was the government that has made this country so great". I would argue that it is the human spirit, or more specifically the American spirit that has inspired much of the world. Friedrich Hayek wrote a book called The Road to Serfdom in 1944. In the book he describes the inevitable dangers of socialist policies. He talks about the loss of economic and personal freedom, as many argue, but he touched upon an interesting concept. Of the changes socialism brings about he said, "The most important change ... is a psychological change, an alteration in the character of the people." His point is that social policies kill the spirit of a free people. It makes them less likely to innovate, or be creative to improve their lives. As John Stossel points out it is also called learned helplessness. Policies that are written in the spirit of doing for you rather than creating an environment for you to do for yourself, kills your desire to do for yourself.

The more this type of ideology continues, the more America will lose. The more people will become apathetic, and the more the government will do what it wishes regardless of what you think. It creates a why bother attitude. No thank you…not me. Some time ago I heard Glenn Beck say that he was done throwing his vote away. When I heard him say it, I didn't quite agree with it. But now I understand…I will no longer vote for someone who has not had a successful career before politics. I will no longer vote for someone who has been in office too long. I will not allow politicians to sit in office fat and happy while feeling like they can ignore the people, because they will just be reelected anyway. I will no longer vote for the person who is most likely to win. I will vote for the one who will reward success, allow failure, and harness the American Spirit, not crush it. If you want to continue voting for people who squash everything you have worked for…that is your choice. At least for now. Because the longer this goes on, your precious power of choice will become more and more narrow. It will choke the life out of you along with your money.

Usually in my posts, I go to painstaking detail to explain the reasoning behind my point. But this is not an explanation. It is a proclamation. I am not going to sit and listen to the Lecturer in Chief, imply that I need to just shut up and get on board with whatever he says. Next time he speaks, listen to what he is really saying. YOU DON'T MATTER! GET OUT OF THE WAY! I have survived this long without you Mr President…and I will survive long after you have left that office. And I will never get out of your way.

Difficult Questions

In my quest to understand the truth about our nation's history and the original understanding of our republic I came to a conclusion. Liberty is a very difficult concept for people to truly embrace. Liberty at its heart is the ability to live as we choose for ourselves. As a nation of laws and not of men we can do so within certain limits. What I am coming to understand is that Liberty also puts a great responsibility on the individual. This is coming to light in the ideological debate that is before our nation today about what role the government should play in our lives.

I believe there are two main issues at play. First is the notion that current politicians in congress are trying to sell; that they are creating the right to healthcare. But this is not the basis of our government. This is a positive understanding of rights rather than a negative one. The US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence explain that our rights are a natural condition of our existence, and that government cannot take them away. This is the basic foundational principle of limited government in our constitutional republic. Rights have been instilled in us from God who created us. Even if one does not believe in God this principle is still valid. The mere fact that you are a human means there are things about your humanity that should not be taken away. In this way those members of congress that are trying to "create" a right for the American people are wrong. Rights don't come from the government. They of course are free to believe this, but our system of government does not allow it. If they (or the reader for that matter) really believe that rights should be determined this way…that is a choice. But they need to have an open and fair discussion about this before they try to pull the wool over your eyes.

This begs the question…How are they able to sell the notion that they create your rights? This is the second issue at play. The answer highlights the importance of the individual in our constitutional republic. We are in danger of losing liberty because we as Americans are beginning to lose our backbone. Living with liberty, as it turns out, takes hard work and courage. Liberty places a great responsibility on the recipient. It means YOU are responsible for YOU. The more you ask the government to take care of you, the more liberty is lost. The problem is that it is not a proportional balance. It is exponential. You may ask for healthcare but what you get in return is the government having control of your body and the status of your citizenship. The current healthcare bills threatening to pass congress put a mandate on people to buy a product as a condition of citizenship. And as a natural condition of government, it will create an enormous bureaucracy to administer healthcare that will necessarily reduce your access to it. Healthcare is only one current and practical example of the ongoing ideological fight in our society now.

This is not a lecture from my high horse, but merely a call to others to think about this concept. For it is the most important concept to ensure our free way of life. It took the improper and aggressive action of congress to wake me up to what is happening. I am trying to share with others what I have learned. That living with liberty means that individuals have to exercise self control and self responsibility, just as God asks us to do. If you’re wondering what this means for those who are poor, can't afford healthcare, unemployed, or live day to day; my answer is stop asking the government to caudle them and treat them like children! Start treating them with respect; treat them like capable human beings. Grab someone's hand and help them get back on their feet. If you have identified a need in your community…do something about it…don't ask an entity with coercive powers to do it for you. Protecting our rights, it seems, is our responsibility. A difficult question to me and the reader is…What are you going to do about it? Comments, as always, are welcome

Well its 2010 and this year will be a big year for politics. According to Politico.com there will be over 500 House, Senate, and gubernatorial seats up for election in 2010. This means that voters will have some decisions to make. The question is: Why should you care? Don't forget that when a politician of any type asks you for your vote they are asking you to put them in a position that will allow them to make important decisions over the way you live your life and the way you spend your money.

Think about that for a Moment. Does that make you nervous? It sure makes me nervous. It should motivate you to know everything you can about the people asking for your vote. Their background, what they believe in, what makes them tick, what ideas and information have influenced them in the past and how they will use that information. Ultimately we try to find out what role they think the government should play in our lives. We use all of these things to make our decisions about voting.

However, I hear a lot of people tell me, "I don't understand these complex issues so how can I choose a candidate?" Then they tell me "I just choose not to vote". I understand this position, but I strongly disagree with it. We all need to do something very important...we need to know what we believe in, what makes us tick, and what ideas and information influence us. If we don't know these things about ourselves how can we choose a representative that most closely resembles our beliefs? If we fail to do so, we are more vulnerable to be swindled by dishonest people. For example if you are not willing to go into credit card debt because it puts you in a compromising financial position then you probably don't want to vote for someone who advocates spending money on social programs when the government doesn't have the money. Common sense goes a long way. Good principles still work when applied to government. Anyone who tells you different is probably either a progressive or a politician...and maybe both.

I don't mean to sound condescending, but I think it is all too common for people to look at political parties and merely vote for their team. I firmly beleive that if more people truly voted for the candidate that had character our political landscape would look very different in America. Political parties have dictated the terms of politics for far too long. I don't think political parties are inherently evil, but because we have allowed career politicians to get fat and happy within the government, political parties have become institutions filled with power hungry fat cats. We need a reset.

I suggest during this voting season that we all do our duty as Americans and inform ourselves. I suggest starting with a website called Project Vote Smart (http://votesmart.org/). Don't just listen to the candidates and believe them...do your homework. This is the perfect moment in America for us to change the face of politics. Liberty and limited government is best safeguarded by our vote.

What About Liberty?

So now we’re starting to see the effects of the government economic stimulus and recovery cash injections according to the Whitehouse. The Obama Administration (and his cheerleading squad) of course says it is a success. If you consult “economists” to get an answer you will be sadly disappointed, because most of them contradict each other. If you do some quick research on your own, what you will find is that unemployment is still going up and most of the 3.5% of the reported 3rd quarter growth was growth of government, and oh yeah by the way we have increased our money supply by 120% in the past year; which leads to hyperinflation. “Hyperinflations are caused by extremely rapid growth in the supply of “paper” money. They occur when the monetary and fiscal authorities of a nation regularly issue large quantities of money to pay for a large stream of government expenditures. In effect, inflation is a form of taxation in which the government gains at the expense of those who hold money while its value is declining. Hyperinflations are very large taxation schemes.” (http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Hyperinflation.html). If you look at history you will find that this formula has proven disastrous. In the mean time, our national deficit is skyrocketing, and politicians are proposing a scheme to add a trillion dollars to that deficit, because it’s just too difficult to ask people to be responsible to pay for their own healthcare or generally take responsibility for themselves.

I have often said that your life is not about the circumstances that you find yourself in, but rather the way you choose to face those circumstances. I think as a country we are failing to face our circumstances with wisdom and dignity. Instead of hunkering down and relying on each other as individual neighbors, we have chosen to ask the government to save us from discomfort. The funny thing is that there are social democracies all over Europe that have done the same thing. All of their economies are in trouble as well. Many have tax rates of 40-50 percent and government run healthcare plans that are so difficult to maintain they have to be heavily rationed. The main difference is that their governments are so big and powerful, that the individual is powerless to effect change. We won’t be saved from the discomfort. We will only prolong it.

If we throw away liberty in the pursuit of free stuff, or to relieve ourselves of our responsibility, what does that say about us? When the government can no longer sustain itself, you are taxed to the hilt and are powerless to change it because you gave liberty away...what will you have to show for it? Liberty, as it turns out, is not easy. It takes self responsibility, determination and hard work. But I would rather work at keeping liberty than work at getting it back.

"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." – Thomas Jefferson 1791

And the Sesame Street Letter of the Day is?

To prepare a rebuttal on another blog I began re-reading parts of the Federalist Papers created by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay under the pen name Publius. While in the midst of doing so I had an interesting thought. It was not the content of the Federalist Papers that gave me the thought; it was its purpose. The Federalist Papers were written to inform people in early America about the content of the Constitution created in the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Each Essay of the entire work was printed in newspapers at the time. They were also printed in entirety later and distributed to ordinary citizens. At the time there were other opinions about how government should be organized. Anti-federalists and others disagreed with the implementation of the constitution. Other writers created works refuting the constitution and the some of the Federalist Papers’ essays were designed to refute some of these other writers. All of this was done to argue multiple sides of complex issues within the view of mainstream America. The constitutional convention was held in 1787 Yet the constitution as we know it in its original form (with the bill of rights added) was not assembled until 1791. It took four years of debate and discussion to fully adopt the constitution in its full form.

What happened to that concept? Our current form of political debate in America is whether you cheer for the Democrats or the Republicans as they ridicule each other in the coliseum and decide what role government should play in your life while pundits give their play by play commentary. Is that really the best we can do? Is this really the America that our founders fought to create? I recently read an article by Gene Healy of the Cato Institute where he talks about the current attitude of politicians in America (http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10700). He highlights how several senators and congressmen laughed when asked if they have read some of the bills that are being proposed in congress right now. Healy also says “In February 2003, the New York Times reported that both parties had hired lawyers to run seminars for congressmen, explaining the requirements of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law they had just passed”. That’s interesting considering that most of our politicians ARE lawyers.

It’s a two part problem:

1. The National government is becoming a ridiculous entity that doesn’t even know what it is doing anymore. They don’t even know what their own legislation means. How can they intelligently tell me that what they are doing is good for me. They can’t. This problem can be fixed easily by imposing term limits to prevent career politicians from becoming the political class, but the second fix is actually the second part of the problem.

2. YOU and I are also the problem. We allow politicians to pigeon hole our opinions, beliefs, views, and thoughts into two categories. Think about who this really helps. Does it help you or politicians? You and I both have to question boldly and debate with each other. Next time someone asserts something that you disagree with, set down your cell phone for a few minutes and talk with him or her. Don’t let it become a shouting match. Don’t just dismiss them as a ridiculous liberal or an oppressive conservative, but consider what the other person is saying and agree or disagree while supporting your opinion. If we are all vocal about what we really believe in and discuss these ideas openly and even vigorously debate them without resorting to arguing the Sesame Street letter of the day (D or R) politics will have to change. If politicians cannot convince you to vote for a letter, believe me they will try something else. Don’t let Washington convince you that these matters are too complex for you to understand, or that they will take care of you, or that they know better. We are not on the D team or the R team we are on the team of the people and they are on the team of the government. They are asking for YOUR vote not the other way around. Make them work for it.

At the end of the constitutional convention of 1787 Ben Franklin was asked “Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?”, to which Franklin Replied “A Republic, if you can keep it.”