What Can We Agree On?

The political world has created a barrier to real debate on very important issues to every American. It seems contrived by politicians to keep citizens divided all the while they drive the government in the direction they prefer. It seems at times that every political question divides us no matter what the question is so the question is: Is there any issue most Americans can agree on?

Freedom in general terms: Can Americans agree that freedom is important? I think so. I believe if you ask Americans if they believe that freedom is important an overwhelming majority would agree.

Free Markets: The question of free markets is often asked with qualifiers that blur the overall concept of free markets. If you ask Americans: Do you believe that the economy benefits when citizens are able to own and run businesses with little interference from government? A majority of people will agree. If you ask: Should businesses be able to run their business any way they choose without any government oversight? Most people would disagree. America was built on free markets and is wealthy because of free market capitalism. It has been a concerted effort of demonization of capitalism which has led to an acceptance of government regulation.  

Government Regulation: Can Americans agree there is too much government regulation? I believe most would agree. Can Americans agree there is a role for government regulation? I believe most would agree. The problem is we have political parties that are pandering to every special interest and every special interest is looking to regulate something that creates an advantage for them. This must stop. Most Americans would agree.

Immigration: Can Americans agree that immigration has been good for America? I think most would agree. Is allowing people that have broken our laws to get here a policy Americans want continued? I believe most Americans want immigration fixed. Most Americans want a secured border. Most Americans want immigrants that are here to assimilate and not to take advantage of our generosity through welfare programs. Most Americans don’t want to see children of illegal immigrants kicked out of the country but they are conflicted on the remedy. So why not just secure the border to start?

Gay Marriage: Most Americans believe that gay couples should have all the legal rights of married heterosexuals. Most Americans see this as a fairness issue. Civil Unions are supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans. The definition of “marriage” has always been a union between a man and woman. A majority of Americans believe in marriage as a sacred tradition. Why not allow civil unions the same benefits and leave the definition of marriage alone? The other option is to remove any government benefits related to marriage.

Debt and Deficit: Americans agree the federal government and all levels of government spend too much and therefore take too much in taxes. Americans agree we should spend less and balance the budget by reduced spending. Americans manage their budgets and believe government should do the same.

Taxes: Most Americans hate taxes and fear the IRS. Most Americans support a simplified tax system. Most people believe everyone should pay into the system. When asked the question should the “rich” pay more too many people agree. But with a flat tax the billionaire paying 15% of a billion pays a lot more than a person that pays 15% of $10,000. If asked the question whether or not taxes should be flat a majority of Americans would agree.

There is a lot we as Americans can agree on but it is not in the interest of politicians to ask the right questions. The American people need to reject politicians that don’t agree with us…

 

Topic # 1 Declaration of Independence

Lesson # 2 – Government derives their just powers from the consent of the governed…

That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to
alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation
on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem
most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The “Tea Party” movement of today is being criticized and labeled radical by many progressives and people that believe our constitution is a “living” document, or outdated. But in reality the critics are the root of the many problems we face today. When you read this excerpt from the declaration it is clear that the founders believed that it was the right of the governed, when faced with a government that was destructive to the underlying principles of the governed, that government would be subject to being abolished or changed by the governed.

The critics of the tea party folks are the group that must be seen as outside the norm of the American principle. When the federal government takes over the financial industry, the car industry, student loans, and healthcare, and refuses to perform its constitutional duty to protect our borders or treat terrorism as the real threat to our lives that it is, it is incumbent upon us to abolish, reform, or replace that government with one that reflects the values of Americans. I submit that what the tea party movement is about is the restoration of our constitutional republic form of government.

Today is different in only one way with the time of our founding, at the time our Declaration was new, and our constitutional government was being crafted. Because of the founder’s dedication and foresight, today we are blessed with the wisdom of those already proven documents in hand. So we as a people only have to re-commit to our constitution. That is all of the revolution we need. That is only accomplished when enough Americans understand the founding documents.

Schools today do not teach this concept well or at all in public schools. It has been taught for generations that America is a democracy, which it is not, we are no longer taught the underlying strength of the republican form of government compared to a democracy, and are often left with the perception that the federal government is the all powerful part of government when it was truly limited to be the smallest link in our lives. As we continue to delve into the founding documents, we will see how upside down our education system is when it comes to teaching the structure of our government. I encourage you to visit the Tenth Amendment website (www.tenthamendmentcenter.com) to get a true understanding of the role of the states in our republic and the defined role of our federal government.

Today we are faced with a failing economy, high unemployment, huge deficits, a fast growing debt, the loss of our freedoms, and absolute chaos on so many levels due to the fact we have ignored our founding principles. The people that are working toward a return to our constitutional principles are not revolutionaries - they simply understand our history and the importance our founding principles have on the future success or even survival of our nation.

The people that are ignoring the constitution and increasing the power of the central government over us are truly the revolutionaries. If they were honest and wanted to change our government in a constitutional manner, they would be working toward constitutional amendments we could all debate. Instead they are unlawfully implementing programs to change our form of government right in front of our eyes. They get away with it because people have not taken the time to understand the history and founding documents of our country. The education system gets an F in the history of America. They are busy teaching kids how great the rest of the world is when the miracle of the world is truly the American “experiment”.

Homework: Read about the republican form of government and the democratic form of government. Our founders chose a republic for many reasons but in my opinion the most important reason was the republic defines the power of government close to the people and away from a central government. Centralized governments are inefficient, a threat to liberty, and most importantly unconstitutional. Look at the federal government’s proposals today and compare them to the defined responsibilities in Article I section 8 of the constitution. Try to find the constitutional authority for federal healthcare, social security, private industry takeovers, or any of the recent infringements against the private sector and citizens. They will be nowhere to be found except in the minds of progressive revolutionaries.