For most of the world’s history, mankind lived under despots, feudalism, etc. Government ran everything, including people’s lives. Little real progress was made under such systems, as people were forced to maintain the current systems. The plow used thousands of years ago went essentially unaltered 500 years ago.
The Freedoms given in the Magna Carta opened the doors for mercantilism and a middle class. The brave who pushed back against a strong religious government were able to produce the ordinary man’s Bible. This year, we celebrate the King James’ version’s 400th anniversary. It came about because of the blood of good men, such as Tyndale. Talking with a priest in his day, he prophesied that if he had his desire, the average plow boy would know the Bible more than that priest. That prediction has come true millions of times, perhaps with its pinnacle in the life of the farm boy, Joseph Smith.
What an amazing thing it was for the 13 colonies to declare Independence against the world’s great Empire, upon which the sun never set. Yet freedom won over chains. Other revolutions followed, and still follow today, as people still seek for freedom. While many of those revolutions fail and collapse into anarchy or reemerge in another dictator, the desire for freedom still breathes in many hearts.
How is it, then, that we think large bureaucratic governments can ever be better than freedom to solve problems? Government can assist freedom’s growth, or crush it. It cannot easily do both at the same time. Lincoln had a difficult choice, and chose the greater part of freedom, while temporarily having to suspend habeas corpus, etc.
But when the Feds declare a war on drugs, poverty, medical care, etc., we all lose freedom. Glad I am for Republican and Democratic governors right now who are making the tough choices to rein in frivolous spending, and returning economic and other freedoms back to their constituents.
Friday, the White House sent out its 7th quarterly review and determined that it was able to save or create over 2 million jobs. The downside? We used $666 billion dollars to do it, or over $280,000 per job. Had we just given each of them a check for $100,000, we would have saved over $400 billion.
Can we all agree that government is inefficient? And that once the stimulus money is gone, much of the “stimulus” falls off the cliff, as we see a new slowdown occurring?
Obama’s Economists review stimulus
Here’s to true freedom, and that this Independence Day we relearn the concepts taught by the Founding Fathers, such as Jefferson and Madison. Let us reject national socialism, and jingoism, and return to moving government back down to the people on the local level, where they can easily govern themselves. Freedom involves risks, but better to have risks with freedom than to have no risks via government intervention and lose those freedoms. If you don’t believe this, then just remember this the next time the TSA wants to examine your grandmother’s diaper….
“To preserve [the] independence [of the people,] we must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt. We must make our election between economy and liberty, or profusion and servitude.” – Thomas Jefferson