Volume 4, Issue 1
What the colonies faced in the mid 1770s was a government that was abusing them, but also, in a sense, was sustaining them. It’s like receiving three square meals a day in prison, but you don’t want to live there. They sought a better way of life under self-government rule. But it was not clear what independence would provide or how to achieve independence.
We find ourselves at this very same moment of decision.
Today the President announced further Executive Orders to regulate and restrict the purchase of firearms. A majority of the public does not support this action. Yet Congress seems incapable of stopping the overreach. The public is confused about their own democracy and how such government action can become law, restricting their lives without their permission. The process of overturning an Executive Order in one sense is complicated, and in another sense, very simple. However, the result is that American citizens feel powerless to protect their Constitutional rights and their individual liberty from the intellectual arrogance of government elites.
The presidential primary season is upon us. The policy positions of the candidates are as divisive as in the time of the Revolutionary era. For the first time since the turn of the 19th century, political scientists measure sectors of society by anger rather than by principled policy positions. There is anger over immigration, anger over race relations, anger over economic government programs, anger over regulation, and anger over health care reform. There is no projection of a vision for America that unifies the segments of society. Without vision, the people have only their natural instincts upon which to rely. Without leadership, the people despair.
At the time of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the great debate in our country was whether or not to endure business as usual. At least it provided some order. The alternative was to seek an entire new life based upon a restructuring and reform of government that was more responsive to the grassroots of society. Thomas Paine argued eloquently that business as usual would ultimately end badly. And that future generations would be relegated into servitude for the benefit of the ruling classes. It was clear to the patriots that the definition of ‘pursuit of happiness’ was different for those in power than for the masses. But further that the ruling government’s power required the masses to adhere to their concept of ‘pursuit of happiness’, rather than let there be different definitions of said pursuit. In other words, the ruling elite required servitude. Today the ruling elite require standardization of all lifestyles to meet the protocol of their egalitarian view of how the order of society should work.
The result of today’s dictates of an overreaching federal government, incapable of exercising checks and balances against itself, is a disruption of American society beyond their ability to understand. A small family-owned business attempting to provide a service for their community is over regulated, overlooked, and under-served by a federal government. Government today is willing to sacrifice a family’s idea of ‘pursuit of happiness’ for the elites’ overall objective of egalitarianism as they deem appropriate.
Now what’s to be done about it?
What is necessary at this moment of decision is for those who care about a unified republic to participate and support an idea of reform in government and its representations as dramatic as the Declaration of Independence. The most prevalent argument advanced against independence in 1776 was that no view had been proffered as to how a new Continental government would be established and by what structure and means it would provide services. The argument that carried the day was that a true representative government, generated from the states, would provide clear and cogent direction to the federal government for actions, orders, and laws for the common good. The colonists ultimately decided that they could better direct government to facilitate the idea of ‘pursuit of happiness’ than the King could determine for them. They did have one advantage – there weren’t that many government services being provided at the time. Today we must decide together how to prioritize government services, reform federal-state relations, and restructure how government services are provided in order to be able to afford them.
The colonists met in the setting of a Continental Congress to flesh out the ideas of a new and independent government, of and by the people. It wasn’t easy. It took eight years of experiment until the passage of a Constitution established a rhythm of government protocol in which the people had confidence. But the point is this. They believed in principle based policy and the individual right to the ‘pursuit of happiness.’ Yes, compromise was necessary. Sacrifices were made. Power was given up. But always in the debate was the consideration for individual liberty and individual ‘pursuit of happiness’. No one’s flame was extinguished by the wind of government dictates of intellectual elitism.
The world continues to deteriorate into political and economic dysfunctionality. The economic problems in China and the political and religious turmoil in the Middle East have no near term solutions. Only the United States can lead the world to stability. Our system of government is proven when the Constitution is properly respected. Our free enterprise system is unparalleled in history in producing jobs, stability, and prosperity. Our rule of law and due process is based upon individual liberty, not the interest of elites. The path forward is to recommit to the idea of principle based policy based upon the protection of an individual’s right to ‘pursuit of happiness.’ The course may not be easy, but it is navigable. The destination of the journey may be beyond the horizon, but the direction is clear when principles are protected as the basis for each step.
Thomas Paine incited his fellow countrymen to take action with these words,
“O! ye that love mankind! Ye that dare oppose not only the tyranny but the tyrant, stand forth! Every spot of the old world is overrun with oppression. Freedom hath been hunted round the Globe. Asia and Africa have long expelled her. Europe regards her like a stranger, and England hath given her warning to depart. O! receive the fugitive, and prepare in time an asylum for mankind.”
The catch 22 decision of whether to accept business as usual or demand change for liberty is at hand. Americans must stand forth and tell the federal government, and all the candidates running for President, what we demand in these times from all governments in their rule over us as we exercise our moral right in our ‘pursuit of happiness.’
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?