It seems every day in the 224 years since our Constitution was written, we, as a nation, have moved further away from the "more perfect union" it brought into being.
Right from the beginning, governments, both state and federal, were fighting to break free from the clearly laid out box this beautifully crafted document imposed on them. At various times those governments did break free – moments such as the Alien and Sedition Act and the actions of President Jackson come to mind – but overall, it remained contained and kept our individual liberty secure. Sadly, this is no longer the case.
When the states created the federal government, it was not to indenture themselves to it. It was expressly to handle those things they couldn't easily do individually. It was to defend the nation as a whole, to manage affairs between them, but never to rule over them. After all, the states created the federal government, not the other way around.
And that was the way power was supposed to flow - from the individual to the local, local to the state, from the state to the federal government – with each getting less as it progressed down the chain. But somewhere along the line, like the Chicago River, that flow was reversed. We went from a nation of rugged individualists who helped our neighbors when they need it to a nation teeming with more and more people looking to the federal government to provide an ever-increasing list of desires for them.
It seems almost quaint now that we were a nation where parents took care of their children, fed them, clothed them and made sure they stayed out of trouble and attended school. That when times were tough we turned to churches and civic organizations that were only too happy to help. Government took care of the "big stuff" and we took care of ourselves. Not anymore.
Life is much easier now. Many diseases have been wiped out or relegated to chronic from terminal. Tending the fields to feed one’s family is now a choice, not a necessity. Our nation went from not existing to being the richest in the world in an incredibly short time not because our government directed people what to do, but because it got out of their way and empowered them to do what they could. CONTINUE READING
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