by Kerry Thomas
January 3, 2007
In 1939 Jimmy Stewart reminded us that lost
causes are the only ones worth fighting for.
That’s just as true today as it was then.
During this past political season we were witness
to some of the most vile, underhanded, incessant political gamesmanship we’ve
ever had to endure. From the blatant
lies to the questionable tactics to the deluge of solicitations for ever more
money, every candidate was painted as a bad choice, and it was only by giving
more money to the cause that we could solve all the world’s problems.
I’m not holding my breath. I’m still waiting for my deed to the
Brooklyn Bridge.
The Democrats have been waiting since the days
of FDR for government spending to solve all the world’s problems. First it was the New Deal, with government
spending and social insurance programs to fix society. Then along came LBJ with his Great Society.
By 1994 we’d had enough. It was the Republicans’ turn to fix what
ailed society. And they got off to a
good start. But by 2006, all their high
talk about conservative values was just that, talk. Government spending under the Republicans was even worse than it
had been under the Democrats. The
“social conservative” movement today is just as tyrannical to Liberty as the
Democrats’ social welfare programs.
So now we have the Democrats in control of the
legislative branches of both our federal and state governments. And what’s their vision for fixing
society? A higher minimum wage. Socialized health care. Education.
Ending war. After all, who could
possibly be against such lofty ideals?
Anyone who values liberty, and the inalienable
right of every individual to pursue their own happiness, that’s who.
Virtually every aspect of American life today is
controlled and regulated by one governmental agency or another. From the pillows you sleep on (Do Not Remove
Under Penalty of Law tags) to the ingredient labels on your breakfast foods to
the seat belts in your car to your telephone, your mail, your computer, your
radio, the movies you watch…it’s all regulated in one way or another by your
government. Now the Democrats are out
to regulate us even more, and magnanimously allowing us to pay for it all, too.
In the Land of the Free, how did we ever allow
our public servants to become our masters?
When did we trade our Liberty for such Socialism? Make no mistake about it. Anything done “for the good of society” is
socialism, plain and simple. Look at
how Marx’s 10 planks have become commonplace in America today. We’ve fallen victim to the idea that “for
the good of society” is a good thing, even when it binds our own Liberty.
I don’t agree with much of what Senator Russ
Feingold stands for, but I do share his suspicions of the Patriot Act. We’ve given up more of our liberties in
exchange for a government promise of more security.
Benjamin Franklin warned us, “Any
society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will
deserve neither and lose both.”
And that’s how our God-given rights are eroded,
little by little, by well-intentioned politicians promising us they know how to
make our lives better.
Our Constitution was designed to limit the power
of government, not to ordain government as the source of our rights. The Founders believed in the ability of the
individual, of you and me, to determine our own destiny in life, with as little
interference from government as possible.
James Madison said, “Knowledge will forever govern
ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves
with the power knowledge gives. A popular government without popular
information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a
tragedy or perhaps both.”
It’s taken generations to turn America from a
land of rugged individualists into a nation of invertebrates, of eunuchs,
without the anatomy to stand up to popular political movements and proclaim
with a loud voice “Enough!” I don’t
expect us to shake off the shackles of our government in one generation. But I hope those who share my appreciation
of American history will remember that daring ideas are like
chessmen moved forward; they may be beaten, but they may start a winning game.
Lost causes truly are the only ones worth
fighting for.