Posted by
David Smith on Monday, October 15, 2007 10:49:42 PM
I have developed over the years a profound respect for men who limit the role of government, given our tawdry history as a species at lording over others our power as rulers. And none are exempt from this disease.
Nobody by the name of Napolean may boast of his service to his people because when it is all said and done, they are simply a power-hungry conqueror, long on greed, short on good sense.
None by the name of Marx may boast of new theories of governance of the people, for the people, and by the people. For every time that their "theories" are put in place, innocents die at the hands of those enacting their theories--by the millions! This is neither self-rule, nor is it of the people. It is tyrannical despotism just like the monarchies of Old Europe, except much more brutal in its atheism than Christianity ever hoped to be.
And none with Roman numerals behind their name (i.e. Louis, George, et al) may boast of their record, for even those who proved to be great rulers were only a generation removed from sons and grandsons--and in some cases, daughters!--who shame the name of those who preceded them.
No, we today prove our own inadequacies when we elect men--and now, women, too!--who cannot break the chains of history, that bind them to repeating the mistakes of the past. And some of those not too distant in the past! I say we, because it falls to us in the United States to choose wise, noble leaders to represent us, not so much lead us, and we continue to dwell on appearance and "brand name," and not the content of their character as our primary measuring stick.
No, we today are no better than those names in our history books, long forgotten, dust ridden.
That is why men by the names Madison, Hamilton, Houston, and Crockett so stand out in our modern times, and in the history of our own nation, as men who were different. If not in what the did, in the case of the former two, then for what they instituted. And in the case of the latter two, for what they adhered to, formerly instituted, and fought for to be instituted elsewhere.
I have shared with you my appreciation for Col. David Crockett in my previous post, both for the words quoted there, as well as his sacrifice in resigning his cushy position in Congress to die by musket and bayonnet for what he believed in Texas.
Another hero would be Sam Houston, a man of too many titles to choose one to precede his name with. Governor and Senator of both Tennessee and Texas is still not big enough to remember him by. Father of Texas belongs to another. This was a great man, and one whom my State and our nation was well-served by.
The principles these men adhered to were discussed at length in Col. Crockett's own words previously. They are summarized best on a memorial plaque at Sam Houston's statue on Interstate 45 in Huntsville, Texas: "Govern Wisely, and as Little as Possible."
Our government today governs neither wisely, nor very little, preferring instead to involve themselves in every matter, in every manner possible. Col. Crockett was given a dressing-down by a constituent over $20,000, not on amount of money, but principle! Mr. Horatio Bunce, backwoods Tennessee farmer, and I both understand that the Congress takes upon itself far too much, and thinks of itself far too greatly. And we today see the effect of this out-of-control national government.
We see what happens when the government, as Col. Crockett was instructed, hands out charity it is not given the Power to give out. Social Security makes an awful lot of old people happy who vote with much greater regularity than do we 30-somethings. But the Power to plan for peoples' retirement is neither a matter given to the Federal Government, nor is the Power to self-award such Power via Statutory Law (i.e. The Social Security Act) given to Washington.
The very ideas contained in such Socialist, or "charitable," programs are exactly what Mr. Bunce "streaked" Col. Crockett in regards to. By the way, the term "streak" as Col. Crockett referred to feeling after his dressing down at the hands of Mr. Bunce was the same as the Apostle Paul referred to in regards to himself when he listed the marks on his own body from lashings he received at the hands of those who opposed his preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They were like nigh unto the very "streak(s)" laid on our Savior's back before His crucifixion.
And Col. Crockett's immediate and undelayed, appropriate response was exactly what we should see from our Congress today--humility, regret, remorse, and a promise to mend his/their ways.
Col. Crockett went so far as to say, "If I fail to live up to the expectations of the Constitution, then line me up and shoot me!" Now, this may be taking things just a tad far, but it shows the gravity of the situation he faced, and the model response our contemporary Representatives should echo.
And if they do not echo his sentiments, then they should be executed 21st Century-style--"Turn the rascals out!" A quote from my college Poly Sci professor, meaning--vote them out!
As Mr. Houston (what do you call a man due so much respect??) stated, and as quoted in his memorial in Huntsville, Texas, our government has far-exceeded its Powers and the best way for it to respond is to begin "govern(ing) as little as possible."
The Constitution of the United States is still the governing document of our nation. And contained within it's words are many principles still in effect, though forgotten in practice today.
10th Amendment States' (and Individual) Rights--meaning that any Power not specifically granted the United States remains reserved to the States. And in lieu of the States acting on a measure--say, Healthcare Insurance--it is strictly reserved to the people.
That means that if I choose to invest 12% of my income in the stock market, I have the freedom to do so, and not have a power-hungry Federal Government take that 12% and give it to some old person in Paduccah, Ypsilanti, or Mamaroneck! Pardon me if I got the spellings wrong, but there is not one person who, if from the time they started working invested 12% of their salary in a 401 (k)-type savings account would not retire a millionaire several times over. Instead, we are beholden to the Federal Government for our measly $900 per month, equivalent to 90% of the average retiree's retirement savings!
Social Security indeed!!
But instead of trusting the People to take care of themselves in their "pursuit of Happiness," the Hillary Clinton's, Barak Obama's and John Edwards' of the world, not to mention the rest of the Democratic Party who prefers Socialism to Free-Market Capitalism, despite all of the empirical evidence of the former's dreadful failures, continue to propose pouring on program after bureacratic program, further dragging down our economy and raising our tax rates.
Limited Government. This is a term that applied to the Framers' Constitution that we have forgotten today.
And it is one that has been called upon by heroes of every era since then.
And it is one that should we continue to, in ignorance of the purpose of government under our Constitution, ignore, will destroy both our Constitution and the nation that it founded.
And we will just go down in the anals of history as one more pathetic Roman numeral.