Monday, March 22, 2010

The Birth of a Constitution, Health Care, Totalitarianism, and Anarchy


With the passage of the very socialistic Health Care legislation that is but the foundation of an ultimately communistic type of system the Democrats would like to put into place, the limiting principles of the U.S. Constitution are being constantly referred to by those that oppose this legislation. No place in that document does the federal government have the authority to pass legislation in regards to health care. One of the reasons our health care system is among the best in the world is because of the private nature of the system. In fact, our health care model did not begin to suffer from fraud, corruption, high costs, and an epidemic of denied claims until the government began to manipulate the industry with heavy regulation and unrealistic expectations.

If government is so dangerous, argues a member of a forum I am a member of, then why not eliminate government completely? Anarchy, claims this person, is the only form of society that eliminates the evils of government, and forces the people to work together.

Anarchy is unsustainable, and fails to take into consideration the aspect of human nature that drives humanity to organize, create a hierarchy within that organization, and ultimately allow some kind of leadership to take the reins of that society.

In the end, Anarchy and Communism/Socialism have the same goals, a Utopian society in which communal participation among the people eliminate the need for government. A noble gesture, one may think, but unrealistic, and ultimately a very dangerous proposition.

Human nature makes society without government impossible, except maybe on very small scales. In fact, the pilgrims experimented with such systems that one could call "socialism" and "anarchism," but the problem was that eventually people worked less, but still pulled from the public coffer no differently, eventually resulting in less going in than coming out. Eventually a few successful farmers were feeding everyone, while having nothing remaining for their own families. In turn, a heavily intrusive governmental system jeopardizes the freedoms of the individuals as well. The Founders realized the individual needed the freedom to be personally responsible for their own subsistence, while somehow also contributing to the overall society. A government was going to be needed to be in place, but rather than the rule of man, the Rule of Law through some kind of agreement needed to be in place.

The Founding Fathers, through their experiences and research, determined that though government is necessary, it must be limited as much as possible. Therefore, they placed within their founding document many limiting principles on the federal government, and called that agreement among The States "The Articles of Confederation." Big Government guys like Alexander Hamilton complained that the Articles limited the federal government too much, and that the individual sovereign states needed a stronger government for the purpose of protecting the union, ensuring that commerce flowed regularly through the states, and so that a larger federal entity was available to settle squabbles among the states. Everyone agreed to amend the Articles in such a way, but their revisions retained the limiting principles against the federal government as much as possible.

Five months passed in 1787 as these patriots hammered out this new document, arguing constantly, ultimately rejecting the idea of a strong, central government (as suggested by Alexander Hamilton), and turning out a new document so different from the Articles of Confederation that they determined the new document should have a new name, and they called it the United States Constitution - a document that limits the federal government, but is neither one of socialism, or anarchism, for both are dangerous forms that ultimately lead to a totalitarianistic form of government.

The Constitution became the Law of the Land, and the new nation would be governed based on The Rule of Law as prescribed by that document. The new America under the U.S. Constitution would be a land where men were self-reliant and personally responsible, the states were independent and sovereign, and the federal government was limited in its powers. The federal government was to provide the things that protects the union, and the states were given the authority to manage their own affairs without federal intervention. Each state was expected to run its own economy, pass its own laws, and even have constitutions of their own. The states paid taxes to the federal government in order to fund the services of the federal government, which were to protect the union militarily, ensure the post moved freely and that post offices were created, and that commerce flowed regularly, and with ease, among the states.

Then, as now, there were those that did not appreciate the limiting principles of the U.S. Constitution, and endeavored to grow the federal government, to expand the authorities given to the federal government, and to make our government unlike the Constitutional Republic it was originally intended to be. These Federalists used the judiciary to manipulate the system, with the claim that they were simply trying to "interpret" the Constitution. The Federalists were behind the formation of a centralized bank (Bank of the United States I and II) and behind the push for a bigger federal government.

The People did not accept the drive for tyranny that was not much unlike what they had just fought against in the Revolutionary War. As a result, the Federalist Party faded away by the 1820s, and until 1860 the majority of the Presidents of the United States were men that believed in the limiting principles of the U.S. Constitution.

A balance had been struck. America prospered and became a shining beacon on the hill. People from around the world endeavored to come to America to experience freedom that was not available in their own countries. No longer would these immigrants be subjects of a centralized government, but self-reliant individuals enjoying liberty, and the fruits of a free society. The United States was neither a nation of totalitarianism, nor of anarchy. The necessary evil of government existed, but with limiting principles that allowed the states to run their own affairs. People were responsible for their own lives, be it putting food on the table, or paying for health care services should any members of the family fall ill. The labors of the people under the free market system were rewarded with low costs, competing services that ensured a high standard of quality, and a prosperous nation that became great because the people were responsible for themselves. Sure, society still had its concerns, but a good, moral nation like the United States was working to eliminate the problems through a common sense approach, and a system driven by state's rights.

Now, the government has grown into a behemoth of regulations and restrictions. Businesses are going overseas because it is not fiscally reasonable to run operations here in the United States with all of the regulations and taxes against them. People are burdened with excessive taxes, and the culture has been taught by big government to depend upon entitlement programs, instead of themselves, for their necessities of life. Over forty percent of the population is considered poor, and on the government dole. The government's system of welfare programs keeps the poor poor, and eliminates any desire to be self-reliant. But the ever-expanding government is not happy with only controlling nearly half of the country with incentive killing entitlement programs. Now the federal government has set its sights on the Middle Class, hoping to rein in those people into the government umbrella of slavery as they have with the ever increasing population of the poor.

President Obama proclaimed that the passage of the Health Care legislation was necessary to take control of a health insurance industry running amok. He somehow does not see the harm in replacing an out of control insurance industry with an out of control federal government running amok. The reason the Democrats don't see the harm is because what they are doing is by design. Like the Federalists of the early years of this nation, they desire a powerful government that controls the people, and limits liberty.

The political left is working to keep the poor poor, keep the Middle Class down, and to penalize the wealthy for their success through a Marxist system of progressive taxation. As far as these liberals are concerned, the only people that know what is best for you is them. In order to create their Utopian society, in which they make decisions for everyone else, they are trying to make the Middle Class dependent upon government for all of its needs, and to add them to the ranks of the poor as a perpetual voting class for the big government Democrats.

Republicans and Conservatives call what is happening very dangerous, and a leap towards socialism.

Our Founding Fathers would call it tyranny.

The twelfth hour is upon us. Are we willing to do as our Founding Fathers were willing to do? As they proclaimed in the final sentence of the Declaration of Independence: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

The Revolution has begun.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

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