by DAVID BROWN | CLEARNFO.com | April 14, 2016

Ground Zero

Everyone seems to have their pet peeves or core issues when it comes to politics: race, jobs, abortion, education, ‘fill in the blank’. I’m mostly a libertarian since I just want to be left alone and I leave almost everyone else alone to do as they please. Everyone else’s rights end where my nose begins and of course this goes both ways. Live and let live, etc. And over the years, I’ve looked at government spending and abuse. I’ve noted that the more money you give to the government, the less money and freedom for everyone else. This is always the case despite your politics. But it’s more than money, since government has a monopoly on force and violence and can do many other things that would be illegal for the average citizen. Government has set itself up with special powers, but it is really not that special since it is just a collection of people much like any corporate body. But without the special powers of violence, force and without the discipline of a balance sheet or income statement, it is not constrained by the laws of economics as are all those subject to its control. Thus, we have a powerful and potentially evil group of men riding herd over the rest of us. Without the constraint of law or our constitution, there would be nothing to slow down or stop its natural growth in power, scope and size until one day –like a tumor– it consumes the body that feeds it; and it too will die.

So my basic political formula goes like this: More power and money to the government = less power and freedom for the individual.

This is the prism I use to view my politics. Many disagree with this assessment. They feel that government is here to take care of the poor, the needy, to build roads and bridges and to make sure we all behave. The government in a real sense for these folks, is like the big Daddy or Father of the family of humanity and many in government see this as their job too. But without constraints on government the men who control government will naturally be turned over to their own delusions and desires and we all suffer. This is always the case. So what to do? Well, you could have a set of fundamental laws and principles that are immutable; designed to constrain this beast we call a government, and we have such a thing called the US Constitution. While not perfect, it has mechanisms built in for change. All laws in this country by definition must therefore be based on this founding document or they are by definition illegal. In fact, all our government officials are required to swear an oath to defend and protect this document as a requirement of their employment. So there is no one in this country who can legally take away the rights, liberties and freedoms guaranteed by this document and we are thus said to be a ‘Nation of Laws’. The laws are there to protect us all. This includes the majority and the minorities. The majority for example cannot vote to take away the rights, freedoms or the property of the minority, or even those of a single individual, no matter how popular it might be. So it is a surprise for many to discover that this country is not a democracy and never has been a democracy; because in a democracy two wolves and a sheep could vote on what to have for dinner, and the sheep likely wouldn’t fare so well. In a republic –like we have– the sheep’s rights as an individual would be protected.

But even with all these protections in law, if you have a nation of people without morals or character, you will find you have created a government in your image who likewise has no morals or character, but unlike you, this government has a monopoly on power and force and so, is no longer constrained by anything but its own selfish desires.

This is where we find ourselves today.

Part of being a moral person with character is to hold yourself and your government accountable.

• This means when your government lies you into wars that kill millions of innocent people, you must take a stand and hold this government accountable.
• This means when your government murders in cold blood, in broad daylight one of your presidents, you must hold this government accountable.
• This means when your government spies illegally on its citizens, you must hold the government accountable.
• This means when your government lies to you about the attacks on 9/11, you must hold those responsible accountable; otherwise they will conclude they can do the same thing again.