If you’ve read any part of my blog you’ve noticed I’m fairly unapologetic about the positions I take and what I say. However, I do try to understand those that I disagree with, because the more you know, the easier it is to criticize. As I was talking to a friend the other day he said something that sent my mind reeling, he said “liberals may be part of the problem, but they are also part of the country – close enough to half to elect liberals a good percentage of the time…” My first thought was to build a liberal island and let it be. My second thought was, liberals are part of this country, and like it or not we must contend, and like it or not there are officials that represent them, and like it or not there are some officials that have to try to make everyone happy. What I’ve found to be the case is, the more people one is responsible for making happy, the more people one ends up ticking off.
Back to the topic, what makes this country so wonderful is that we are free. America is founded on the principles of freedom, that all men are created equal, and that all men have the freedom to life, liberty, and the PURSUIT of happiness. As a libertarian/conservative I believe the government should be as small as possible while still fulfilling the necessary roles for the efficient and smooth operation of the United States. Liberals tend to hand more (read truck-loads) power to the government in exchange for social services. When government power increases social liberties necessarily decrease, therein the problem lies. John Locke and Jean Rousseau agreed that when one employs government you give up certain rights. The more we employ the government to take care of, the more rights we forfeit. Similarly, the more liberals try to explain their rationale, the more confused they get. 
Now then, what should happen when a nation becomes polarized, nearly torn in half by liberals demanding more social services, and conservatives frantically fighting against government invasion? There are times when things like welfare, unemployment, Medicaid, etc. are necessary (for a short time). You would be hard pressed to find a conservative that wouldn’t admit to that, no matter how constipated he looks while pulling his wallet out. But these issues are not the issues splitting the nation. To catch you up, in case you’ve been living under a rock or in D.C. for the last two years, the biggest issues freaking Americans out is ‘BamaCare and the national debt. As always, coming from a purely pragmatic and non-partisan position, the republicans are 100% correct. Seriously though, when you look at the principles upon which the nation was founded, in an event that power and freedoms are being forfeited or inhibited, and when America is split as deep as it is, logically it makes sense to err on the side of liberty.
We all have to live together and abide by the same national laws. When it comes to doling out more power to the government and handing over liberty, unless it is agreed upon by a landslide majority, the issue shouldn’t even be considered! Why? That’s a very good question Grasshopper. The quick, wrong answer is because our founding fathers granted us liberty. The correct answer is because God granted us liberty. That which grants may also take away, that which receives may also forfeit, that which does neither is the government. The government does not grant us liberty, God does. We receive liberty, and forfeit some of it in exchange for protection, it is re-appropriated to the government. Now then, when you get a mass of people that do not believe in a god, government can become God. Under government-god there is no re-appropriation of liberty, merely grantor and receiver. In that scenario, one is thankful to the government for a bread line.
On the flip side, Americans as a whole depend too much on the government to take care of people. Believe it or not, there was a time in America before welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, disability, unemployment, social security, food stamps, FEMA, the EPA, et cetera. And, believe it or not, natural disasters and poverty occurred. Crazy I know, but hold on to your hat one more time. Neighbors and churches helped each other through these things!… I know it sounds like folklore, but it’s true. People really do help each other in times of need, but now it’s just expected for people to turn to government aid at the first sign of trouble. This has, in turn, increased taxes making charitable donations and good ol’ neighborly help much more difficult. However, the more we help each other and our community, the less the government is involved, and the less say it has. The less responsibility we give the government, the more freedom we retain.
I could write a book on this topic but I’ll stop here. Post your comments, questions, snarky remarks, anything, I love your feedback.
Coming soon – When efficiency and freedom compete
elizabethnokleby
I am quite impressed with your writing, missy. Also, I agree with you.
I would have more to say, but only half of my brain is currently awake. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Dana! That means a lot coming from you! Thanks for reading.
One could say that government, being instituted by God, could be viewed as an extension of God, and therefore be a grantor of liberty. The framers of the Union declared,
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — 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 framers realized that to secure our rights, a Government would have to be formed. Maybe God is Government is disguise. This is what our learned liberal countrymen must be thinking. While our concerned liberty conscious conservatives must be thinking, ‘its time to burn down the rat infested, disease ridden barn, and rebuild.