The America I Seek
I have to pass on a great post by a contributor to OnTheBorderline by Bil Danielson. As we approach the 4th of July weekend, it is wise to reflect on our founding fathers visions and actions of that era and reflect it to what it means for us today.
The America I Seek by Bil Danielson
I know for myself, and I can only speak for myself, that I engage in this battlefield of ideas for one and only one reason - to further my own, and my family's, self interest. If done honestly and with respect to others rights to the same, we live a large part of the vision of the Founders. I am an American first, a Classical Liberal second, and a Republican last - I do not live as an indentured servant to the greater good of society.
Capitalism, in this view, is the only system that will provide a level playing field and the rule of law the only arbiter to settle just disputes. I firmly believe that, ideally, beyond securing life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness from the threat of violence government intervention is fundamentally immoral and can only grow into tyranny. Clearly there is a legitimate role for government, essential services are just that and certainly, there are times when in the course of events people come together to solve a particular problem that cannot be solved individually. But the idea is to get it done, and then move on leaving not a beauracracy and a new dependent class in the wake but rather a problem solved - more liberty, at least as much, certainly not less. Too often, the other side will seek as a primary goal less liberty, at worst the status quo, and most certainly not more.
I don't write on the blog, or in the paper, to impress people with fancy language or sharp wit. Rather, I am constantly trying to make a point that freedom is the most valuable commodity of all. I love that bumper sticker, Think Freedom First. I sense most of you do the same. Am I an idealist? Perhaps. But, individual freedom and liberty to me is really all that matters insofar as it relates to the juxtoposition of me and the government. In short, the fundamental notion that it is the individual who is soveriegn, not the government or its agents. Whether it is in support of the Second Amendment, exercising the First, or in arguing against the further growth and ingrainment of the government monopoly over education (in effect, demanding the Tenth), to me it is all the same fight. The Founding Fathers knew what tyranny looked like, they lived under it and so declared their independence from King George by pledging their Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor - not to just anyone, but to each other. We don't and cannot know what it must have been like, we can only take their word for it. But frankly, I would argue we are getting closer by the day to tyranny as the size and scope of government grows. The vision of Thomas Paine as he sat in a rotting jail cell in Paris penning The Age of Reason, or the vision of Patrick Henry as he stood to speak at St Johns Church in Richmond; it's all the same, their vision has been lost in the conciousness of the here and now. I would argue that the statists and interventionists are winning at the compromise game. Once you get to the compromise table, all too often you have already surrendered too much.
Not everyone is cut out to handle the backlash that comes with challenging the statists, they will come after those who speak out. Their livelihood, family incomes, mortgage payments, college tuitions, car payments, groceries, vacations, big screen tv's, trips to Disneyland, etc., are all based on maintaining and increasing the statist status quo. No one will fault those who remove themselves from the fray, but the words of Sam Adams allways keep me motivated: "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude more than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
I believe to my core that the unique original vision of America is long lost and must somehow once again be discovered. I don't subscribe to the idea that "if we don't do something, our liberty and freedom will be at risk." It has already been compromised and usurped. The best we can do are small steps, hard arguments, challenging the status quo at every turn. It's a long hard road, in fact a lifetime of intellectual labor, but one I see as the only road - all others lead in support of the wrong cause. I think these thoughts, write, and argue not for your sake but for mine. Because in the end if we do not take care of ourselves first, we will have nothing to call our own and the collective will have won. Respect others unalienable rights, pursue your own vision - that is the America I seek.
(For a quick primer on classical liberalism, please check this link Amy did a fine job...)
The America I Seek by Bil Danielson
I know for myself, and I can only speak for myself, that I engage in this battlefield of ideas for one and only one reason - to further my own, and my family's, self interest. If done honestly and with respect to others rights to the same, we live a large part of the vision of the Founders. I am an American first, a Classical Liberal second, and a Republican last - I do not live as an indentured servant to the greater good of society.
Capitalism, in this view, is the only system that will provide a level playing field and the rule of law the only arbiter to settle just disputes. I firmly believe that, ideally, beyond securing life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness from the threat of violence government intervention is fundamentally immoral and can only grow into tyranny. Clearly there is a legitimate role for government, essential services are just that and certainly, there are times when in the course of events people come together to solve a particular problem that cannot be solved individually. But the idea is to get it done, and then move on leaving not a beauracracy and a new dependent class in the wake but rather a problem solved - more liberty, at least as much, certainly not less. Too often, the other side will seek as a primary goal less liberty, at worst the status quo, and most certainly not more.
I don't write on the blog, or in the paper, to impress people with fancy language or sharp wit. Rather, I am constantly trying to make a point that freedom is the most valuable commodity of all. I love that bumper sticker, Think Freedom First. I sense most of you do the same. Am I an idealist? Perhaps. But, individual freedom and liberty to me is really all that matters insofar as it relates to the juxtoposition of me and the government. In short, the fundamental notion that it is the individual who is soveriegn, not the government or its agents. Whether it is in support of the Second Amendment, exercising the First, or in arguing against the further growth and ingrainment of the government monopoly over education (in effect, demanding the Tenth), to me it is all the same fight. The Founding Fathers knew what tyranny looked like, they lived under it and so declared their independence from King George by pledging their Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor - not to just anyone, but to each other. We don't and cannot know what it must have been like, we can only take their word for it. But frankly, I would argue we are getting closer by the day to tyranny as the size and scope of government grows. The vision of Thomas Paine as he sat in a rotting jail cell in Paris penning The Age of Reason, or the vision of Patrick Henry as he stood to speak at St Johns Church in Richmond; it's all the same, their vision has been lost in the conciousness of the here and now. I would argue that the statists and interventionists are winning at the compromise game. Once you get to the compromise table, all too often you have already surrendered too much.
Not everyone is cut out to handle the backlash that comes with challenging the statists, they will come after those who speak out. Their livelihood, family incomes, mortgage payments, college tuitions, car payments, groceries, vacations, big screen tv's, trips to Disneyland, etc., are all based on maintaining and increasing the statist status quo. No one will fault those who remove themselves from the fray, but the words of Sam Adams allways keep me motivated: "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude more than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen."
I believe to my core that the unique original vision of America is long lost and must somehow once again be discovered. I don't subscribe to the idea that "if we don't do something, our liberty and freedom will be at risk." It has already been compromised and usurped. The best we can do are small steps, hard arguments, challenging the status quo at every turn. It's a long hard road, in fact a lifetime of intellectual labor, but one I see as the only road - all others lead in support of the wrong cause. I think these thoughts, write, and argue not for your sake but for mine. Because in the end if we do not take care of ourselves first, we will have nothing to call our own and the collective will have won. Respect others unalienable rights, pursue your own vision - that is the America I seek.
(For a quick primer on classical liberalism, please check this link Amy did a fine job...)
posted by Anonymous @ 10:13 AM
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