The founding principles of our nation were designed around
individual liberty and limited government intervention. In today’s language our
founders were simply saying to the world and future politicians in America:
Mind Your Own Business! The founders knew that a robust federal government was
the biggest threat to the burgeoning nation. The founders had lived the
disaster of centralized government that was intent on crushing individual
liberty. They knew a government of the people, by the people, and for the
people would not be easy but it would be worth it. They knew it was time for a
different and new approach.
I am reading a great history book about the ratification
arguments at the state conventions, and the arguments could be summed up as a
healthy and passionate skepticism for the need of any central government, never
mind a powerful intrusive federal government. I know what you’re thinking, “who
the heck reads books like that!” but I do and I love it! I feel like I should
have lived in that time period! The bottom line is we are looking at a complete
reversal of the founding principles in today’s political environment.
Every time there is a national incident the call goes out “what
is the government going to do about that? (place issue here)” It is a result of
historical ignorance of the founding principles our government was built
around. Except for making pot illegal, too many in the younger generation believe
the government has a role in every issue without question. It is assumed that
the government has a role in everything. It is not just the young; many in the “baby
boomer” generation have accepted the intrusion of the federal government.
Otherwise how did we get federal regulations that limit our toilet flushes and
light bulbs we use in our lamps?
The one thing I have noticed as a result of the current
Obama administration’s attempt to transform America from the individual to the
state, is a renewed interest in our Constitution. There has been so much
lawlessness in this administration that Americans instinctively feel something
is not right. The economy is being smothered in regulation creating less
opportunity, the federal government takeover of the greatest healthcare system
in the world is quickly changing the system into a mess of regulation and
chaos, and the thousands of environmental regulations limiting the production
of energy that fuels our economy is stagnating job growth. The list of federal
government intrusion is at a crescendo!
The founders knew this would be the result if they didn’t
limit the federal government’s role in the US Constitution. The problem is they
expected Americans to be as passionate about protecting their individual
liberty as they were. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore although it may
be growing. We should return to the founding principles and simply follow the
chant of Federal Government “Mind Your Own Business!”
Or we could simply hold the government to the limits in the
law of the land the US Constitution. Now that would be a novel idea!
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