Vision For The Future

Conservatives often speak in terms of what our founding fathers meant when they declared our nation free and established the back drop of how our nation was to be governed. As always, there were splits on how things should be worded and the ever present compromises between the parties. One of the big decisions was whether the federal government or the states should have the most of the power. The 10th amendment to the Constitution states, "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." This simple line says that the authority of Congress is limited to that given in Article 1 of the United States Constitution. It provides a list of what the founding fathers thought should be the limits of Congressional authority. Unfortunately, that genie has long since left the bottle.

Through the efforts of the Supreme Court, this amendment has been relegated to the recycle bin and diluted to nothing more than the words on the page. Whether you realize it or not, Congress has reached into your life and changed the way you live. This means that your freedom, that power reserved for you by the Constitution when it says, "or to the people." is being systematically stripped away. We are so oblivious to the reduction of our freedoms that we just blindly accept them for our own good. Creeping incrementalism.

We no longer have the freedom to drive without seat belts. Is that for our safety? It is a great way to introduce a restriction but now they are levying fines for not wearing them. Not only has our freedom of choice been stripped away but we are paying tribute to Caesar for the loss of freedom. By the way, I wear my seat belt and have not been issued a ticket so this is not a rant because I have been busted. We do not have the option of receiving our full paycheck (before taxes are removed) because the government does not want us to see how much we are giving back. Our wise elected officials think it is easier if we think of our take home pay as after taxes. How many people would be really angry if they had to hand their hard earned money back after it had been in their hands? Would they be so ready to hand over their paychecks if they held the money in their hands? You would see pitchforks and torches or the modern equivalent if we were allowed manage that part of our lives.

No sense crying over what is. It is up to us to elect the government we want or as the Declaration of Independence says, "... That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or 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." Oh well, we can pine for the good old days when everyone wore powdered wigs and horses were a luxury. Or we can use the powers reserved by our founding fathers and reverse the loss of freedom. As Roger Taylor (the drummer for Queen on A Day At the Races) in his song Drowse says, "Have my eggs poached for breakfast, I guess."

Happy Birthday America

Icool

Cobb