Anti-Federalism as American as Apple Pie

The idea of the Constitution was not universallly loved by all colonists.  Indeed, many expressed a fear that the proposed federal government would take over all the powers of the state and were a recipe for tyranny.  Although it didn't happen immediately, their concerns appear to have been validated in the last century or so.  Those silly anti-federalists.

In the very first Letter From A Federal Farmer we see how the objections then, mirror the objections to the form our government has taken now.

"They will urge a thousand pretences to answer their puposes on both sides.  When we want a man to change his condition, we describe it as miserable, wretched, and despised:  and draw a pleasing picture of that which we would have him assume.  And when we wish the contrary, we reverse our descriptions.  Whenever a clamor is raised, and idle men ge to work, it is highly necessary to examine facts carefully, and without unreasonably suspecting men of falsehood, to examine, and enquire attentively, under what impressions they act.  It is too often the case in political concerns, that men state facts not as they are, but as they wish them to be; and almost every man, by calling to mind past scenes, will find this to be true."

"It is natural for men, who wish to hasten the adoption of a measure, to tell us, now is the crisis -- now is the critical moment which must be seized, or all will be lost:  and to shut the door against free enquiry, whenever conscious the thing presented has defects in it, which time and investigation will probably discover.  This has been the custom of tyrants and their dependants in all ages  If it is true, what has been so often said, that the people of this country cannot change their condition for the worse, I presume it still behoves them to endeavour deliberately to change it for the better.  The fickle and ardent, in any community, are the proper tools for establishing despotic government."

The constant call that there is a crisis and that it must be done now and without debate is nothing but tyranny, and that being true, are we now a free people living in liberty, or slaves to a tyrannical regime?  I believe you know my answer to that question.

Fearing for my Nation

On the campaign trail Michele Obama said that for the first time in her life, she was proud of her country.  Well Shelly, for the first time in my life I am afraid for my country.  Though in the past I have worried over the direction we were headed and concerned over actions that were taken, I am now truly afraid of what is going to happen, not just in, but to my country.

In the past I could always console myself with the belief that we could vote the bums out of office, but that no longer grants me solace.  I find no peace in that belief when the politicians will tell people what they want to hear during the campaign, vote against the people to advance their own agenda, and then retire before facing the wrath of the people during the next voting process.  When the politicians waste money that we don't have on things we don't need in order to advance their own purposes.  When those who are supposed to represent the people put the advancement of their own power over the advancement of the people they represent or the nation as a whole.  When the shiny new candidate to represent you is nothing but a whitewashed version of the politician you're desperate to remove.  When politicians laugh when asked about the constitutionality of their legislation; something that should not be funny to anybody.  When politicians interpret The Constitution to support their legislation instead of writing their legislation to support The Constitution.

How can I take comfort in a right to vote when the vast majority of those who run to replace the current bums are naught but bums themselves?

My America is being fundamentally transformed around me and what can I do to stop it when my voice -- the one tool I have and what was supposed to be the final check of government -- falls on deaf ears?

As I research the founding of this great nation I find so many similarities between what drove the colonists to revolution and what our government is doing to us now and I fear that soon the only option we will have open to us is a new revolution.  I am afraid of what will happen to this nation in either case.

Now the only solace I find is that God has a plan that I don't yet understand and that His plan will save us.  I pray for this every day.

Is it any wonder that for the first time in my life I am truly, deeply and legitimately afraid for the fate of my nation?

Perfect Example Of Socialism

We keep hearing that health care is a crisis.  It's a crisis, everybody agrees it's a crisis.  Never mind that 60% of Americans are against the plan, everybody agrees.  We won't actually start covering new people for 5 years but it's a crisis.  And why is it a crisis?  It's because people have to file bankruptcy due to medical bills.  Some studies say that 60% of bankruptcies filed are due to medical expenses.  It is horrible that anybody ends up in that situation and my heart goes out to them, but if 1.5 million people file bankruptcy and 60% of those are due to medical bills, that means that 900 thousand people a year go bankrupt from medical expenses out of an adult population of 217.8 million.  This means that the percent of people who file bankruptcy due to medical expenses is less than one half of 1%.

In order to fix the problem for 0.4% of our population, Congress is willing to pass a health care bill that has the possibility of bankrupting the nation.  Therefore, instead of 0.4% of the population being bankrupt, we'll ALL be bankrupt.

This is the real problem with socialism.  It seeks "economic equality" or "economic justice".  The government and socialist policies cannot make us all equally wealthy, all they can do is make us equally poor.  The health care bill is the perfect example of what socialism really does.  It does not raise us all to the same high level, but reduces us all to the lowest common denominator.  Is that what we really want to be? 

From Selfless to Selfish - An American Journey

Much has been said about the path of our country and whether or not we are headed in the right direction. I would like to share with you my perspective on the path we, as a nation, have embarked upon. To do so I must begin with the history of what we were, how many of us still are, and how we continue to view ourselves.

I have repeatedly heard it said that the USA is the most generous nation in the world. We see ourselves as a nation of generous people quick to lend a hand in times of trial or tragedy. To a certain extent this is still true, though what constitutes trial or tragedy appears to have changed from an illness or loss of job to a natural disaster or terrorist attack.

We were once a nation of self-sufficient people determined to carve out their own destiny from the hard earth beneath their feet. They faced hardships head on and accepted that life was a challenge to be risen to. We once understood that what you earned for yourself was of far more value that what was handed to you and we worked and sacrificed in order to make a better life for ourselves and our children. We were a nation of people who would go without so another could have. We would assist when someone fell on hard times. We would open our homes to family members in need of our aid and help them get back on their own feet. We understood the pride of earning what we had and would find ways to assist an individual that allowed him to keep his pride intact. Most importantly, and most definitively we would sacrifice our own lives in order to save the life of another. This is who we were.

Although we would still like to view ourselves in that soft light, that is no longer who we are. So what have we become instead? We are now a nation of people willing to delegate our responsibilities to another to uphold. We cry for our fellow man to bail us out of situations we created for ourselves. We sacrifice our children's future for a more comfortable present for ourselves. We spend money we don't have on things we don't need and wonder why there's not money for what we truly require. We believe our government when it tells us we are owed something and we expect somebody else to pay for it. We embrace new social programs but we cry out in anger when we are expected to foot the bill. We tell our officials and ourselves that we should not be responsible, that the man next door is more able to afford it so he should be the one to pay. Instead of sacrificing ourselves for others, we now sacrifice others for ourselves. Instead of liberating the oppressed as we have always done, we now trade our own liberty for a creature comfort we are more than capable of earning for ourselves with the hard work and perseverance that served us so well in the past. We expect things to be fast and easy and throw in the towel when they turn out to be long and difficult tasks. Life is no longer a challenge to be risen to, but a reason to protest. Instead of sacrificing so our children are cared for, we sacrifice our children on the altar of our own convenience and comfort.

We are steadily moving down the path from being the most generous nation in the world to being the most selfish and this quite literally breaks my heart. I love this nation and her people. I love the true American principle that with hard work and perseverance you can change your life and forge your own destiny. I believe in what we once were and with all my heart and soul I want to see us turn back on our current path and return to the selfless generosity we once possessed. I believe that the USA is still the shining city upon a hill, the beacon of hope and liberty to the world, but there are those among us who wish to douse that flame of hope and liberty. They wish us to follow instead of lead and they wish us to sacrifice our liberty for new government programs. They wish us to abdicate our American right and privilege of self-government so that we can be taken care of. A concept that would have filled the people we once were with outrage and disgust.

I pray with every fiber of my being that we, as a nation, remember who we were meant to be. That we are designed to be a nation who takes care of ourselves and neither needs nor seeks to have a keeper in our state or federal governments. We are a free people and we do still control our own destinies if only we would remember to do so.

May that beacon of hope forever shine in the glorious city upon a hill.