The Situation

THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated. Britain, with an army to enforce her tyranny, has declared that she has a right (not only to TAX) but "to BIND us in ALL CASES WHATSOEVER" and if being bound in that manner, is not slavery, then is there not such a thing as slavery upon earth. Even the expression is impious; for so unlimited a power can belong only to God.

That's the opening paragraph of The Crisis, written by the late and great Thomas Paine Dec. 23, 1776, shortly before General Washington's mid-winter crossing of the Delaware to take the Hessian garrison at Trenton. Up until that night the men were half starved, half clothed, half frozen and mostly demoralized after a long retreat across New Jersey. Many men deserted for the comfort of home, yet those who stayed with Washington deserve our thanks forever. Trenton was a small victory but a crucial turning point in that struggle. It gave the patriots the hope they needed to continue the struggle for the next 7 years. It certainly wasn't easy for them; sometimes my I almost get choked up with tears of gratitude when learning about what these great men and women did in forging our nation.

To quote someone famous, (was it Churchill?) Never have so few done so much for so many.

The way I see it now, our nation is under seige once again. Not by easily identified redcoats, mind you, but by a number of forces from within and without that have been attempting, subtely and systematically for the last several decades, to undermine the basic institutions that enabled us to grow from a handful of colonists into the land of liberty, prosperity, and peace we enjoy today.

Only one of the forces currently threatening us is the terrorism wielded by radical Islam. If only it were that simple! We must also contend with the forces of selfishness, socialism, laziness and mediocrity, rampant immorality, destruction of families, (the basic unit of any functional society) along with media deception, gun-control disguised as "safety," political correctness, judicial activism, bigotry, over taxation, and over-dependence on government to fix problems that simply aren't the job of government to fix. You can probably think of others. Most all these forces, along with other trends, can be categorized under one heading: The Forces of Evil. (the FOE) The FOE tend towards a condition of non-liberty and ultimately suffering. The Forces of Good tend towards a condition of freedom, peace and prosperity.

Why, you ask, "Doesn't LIBERTY mean I can just do whatever I want as long as I'm not hurting anyone?" The answer, my friend, is not blowin' in the wind. The answer is NO. Liberty is not something to be taken for granted. It is a gift that must be cherished, and with this gift come duties and responsibilities. If one believes the gift is from God, one knows that in order to enjoy liberty on a continued basis, one must act in accordance with the laws of God. If you'd rather not believe in God, and that's your choice I suppose, call it Natural Law, or a philosophy, or whatever. The crux of the matter is that liberty and freedom are not free. If we wish to keep them we must preserve them, and preserving them requires that we act in accordance with certain principles. Most of those principles are embodied in the 10 Commandments, although the list is not all-inclusive.

One of the most basic principles, and universal to all mankind whether religious or not, is embodied in what many call the Golden Rule. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." That's easy enough. If you don't want people to take your money or force you to do stuff, don't take their money, and don't make them do stuff. Most folks abide by this admirably well, but many of the same folks go wrong when it comes to using the collective force of government. If I used force or the threat thereof to take the stuff you worked for, to keep for myself or give to a lazy person, the action would be considered criminal. Yet all too often folks think it's no big deal to gang up on productive individuals, hiding behind the cloak of government, and distribute their goods amongst those who don't work.

Many leftists refer to the 80's as the "Decade of Greed." If they actually did their research, this era of prosperity, investment and capital gains turns out to be the time when more people gave more of their income, per capita, to charity than any decade before or since. That's from IRS figures and I don't know how far back the numbers go, but the point is that most people will eventually share their stuff if not forced, some won't, and that's life. Most lazy people will figure out a way to work and earn money sooner or later, unless guaranteed a handout. Some won't, or can't, and they can simply live on the non-forced charity of others, or suffer. That's what churches, families and charities are for. When government isn't in the business of wealth re-distribution, people have more to give to worthy organizations, and they don't develop the attitude of "there's no need for me to give because government takes care of everyone already." Those who can't or won't provide for themselves have a strong incentive to be loyal to their families, extended families, churches and communities if they wish to receive charity. The charitable organizations are in a far better position to determine who is deserving of support than a bumbling bureaucracy of social workers handing it out like candy, fostering a system of perpetual dependence on government.

Of course, the leftists WANT to create this dependence on government for everything, so more people will have to keep them in power or starve. Thus the Democrat party continually seeks to expand the social welfare state, as if healthcare were one of the "inalienable rights" envisioned by the founding fathers. Baah.

Granted, good government requires a minimal amount of resources to serve its proper function of preserving liberty, order, and creating the circumstances wherein citizens can engage in free commerce. (This is what the founders meant by "promoting the general welfare," not social security, medicare, welfare, food stamps, etc.) A certain level of taxation is therefore tolerable, provided an accountable legislature spends resources within tight constitutional limits.

Now that the Democrats are back in power it is difficult to imagine our social welfare budget getting any smaller or our taxes any less. History has shown that when tax rates on the top 50% of wage earners go up, tax revenue actually goes down as a result of less productivity and investment. This is old news to those who actually study economics, but generally lost on the public at large amidst chants of "tax the rich" coming from the bolsheviks in and near D.C. Nevermind that the top 50% of earners already bear 96% of the tax burden.