I WANTED CHANGE, TOO.
by: Brent De Leo, Pennsylvania
I was never too involved in politics; never really thought political battles affected my life too much. I basically thought that the system of checks and balances that our government was based on would take care of things and that even if someone got into office that I didn’t agree with, it would all be corrected 4-8 years later as the country ping-ponged between democratic and republican leaders. What I didn’t realize until later is that the reason we ping-pong between parties is because neither party actually satisfies us and gives us what we want. They entice us with “good” and then we find that our liberties are taken in order to architect the “good” their way.
I had watched George W. Bush trample on the Constitution with the Patriot Act, spend far too much money on an endless war of occupation rather than defeat, and I watched him grow the size of government, the control of government, and our country’s debt by leaps and bounds. I, too, wanted change. But, I wasn’t sure what change I was looking for and during the 2008 election cycle, no one really ever talked about what the change was going to be, just that we needed some change.
I wanted a change in politics, but I didn’t want to fundamentally change America. This country is great – the only country with real freedom and a system of government that is based on the notion that the people are in charge. Any unhappiness I have about my country is about the leaders that overstep their bounds, not the governmental structure that our founders put into motion. In order to understand what a government “by the people” means, we must ask ourselves a question. Where do our freedoms come from? If the answer is that our government gives them to us by laws, then that means that our freedoms can be taken away by our government with new laws. Or, do we believe that our freedom comes from our Maker, whomever you believe your Maker is? Do we believe that humans were placed on this earth with a purpose and that the mere fact that we are human gives us the freedom of expression, the freedom of thought, and the right to be ourselves and control our own destinies? A set of laws cannot provide for our freedom – liberty is part of who we are, not who we are allowed to be.
So, America voted for change. Did we get it? If you are anything like me, the main grievances with George W. Bush were the unconstitutionality of the Patriot Act, the endless spending on an endless war “on terror”, the increasing power of the federal government, and an out of control debt. So, what has changed? President Obama has renewed the Patriot Act, has continued the war with no noticeable decrease in spending, has increased the size of the federal government, and has dramatically increased our debt. Somehow, amidst the cheering, balloons, and chants for change, we ended up with more of the same.
On the surface you might be tempted to say that we have voted in another George W. Bush and can expect 4 years of the same Bush-like policies. But, that is only true if those four things I mentioned are the things that “change” is being measured against. Obviously, those are not the things that Barrack Obama was speaking of when he promised us “change we could believe in”. Therefore, it should be no surprise that those four things didn’t change – the Patriot Act continues, the endless war continues, the federal government control is increasing (even faster now), and our national debt is spiraling out of control.
So, what was the change that our new president was speaking of? I’ll be honest, I’m not quite sure yet. We see glimpses of what he was talking about by watching the political moves that his administration makes, but we can’t quite see the whole picture of what he is trying to accomplish. I’m not going to speculate on where we are headed, for I am not qualified to make that assessment. But, I’m not sure that the destination is as important as what we can see in HOW we are getting there – the methods. Our forefathers recognized that the freedoms of the individual outweighed any goal of the government. Thomas Jefferson once said, “I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.”. Go back and read it again – the Constitution and Bill of Rights spell out what the federal government cannot do to the citizens of this country and the small number of things that the federal government was established for. It was written this way on purpose so that it was clear that the government was not to control our lives, to take care of us, or to tell us how to live.
Some may disagree with me that the destination itself is less important than the methods, so let me explain. We all strive for peace and want people to get along, right? So, what if we placed armed militia in every neighborhood and public square and if anyone disagreed with the official sanctioned opinion adopted by the government (on any issue) they were immediately jailed? This would certainly create peace, would it not? There would be no disagreements, no passionate marches, and no arguments in the public square – so, yes, we’d have peace. Does the destination of peace justify the methods of obtaining the peace? No, it does not. Individual liberties are more precious than obtaining any end result – ever! My point? Even if President Obama’s destination is good – healthcare for all Americans, reduction of greenhouse gases, social justice for minorities and disadvantaged groups, bailouts to reduce layoffs, etc. – that doesn’t mean that the methods are always justified. The good of the “collective” does not outweigh the rights of the individual. If we accomplish these goals, but lose democracy, liberty, and individual rights, what have we gained? But, this isn’t about the difference between Democratic policies and Republican policies. Democrats want policies and laws that dictate their ideals. Republicans want policies and laws that dictate their ideals. I, and likely most of you, want policies and laws to be removed so that liberties are given back to the individual; so that we can once again be a nation of the people and for the people. Our federal government was formed to protect the people of this great Nation, not to implement laws that tell us how we should live. Have we forgotten about the 10th amendment? “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.”
My mother always told me to pick my friends carefully, that who I associate with says a lot about who I am. This isn’t a new or obscure notion. George Washington, our first President, once said, “Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company”. So, while we might not be able to make concrete statements about President Obama based on who he associates with, certainly reason would tell us that it indeed tells us something about him, the type of company he enjoys, and something about his belief system. Let’s just look at some of his czar and advisor appointments. Some of them are very radical-thinking people that do not fall into the mainstream of America at all and certainly don’t agree with the core ideals that America was founded on. They are people that have clear socialists ties, want major government power, are admitted communists, think that putting sterilizing agents into the drinking water is a good way to control the population, believe in forced abortions for population control, believe that all capitalism is bad and have a desire to de-develop America, and are part of very radical groups that, under the disguise of “green jobs” want to shake up the American system of capitalism, turn it on its head, and re-shape America. I’ve heard some people explain that the czars and advisors don’t have any real power, so it is all harmless. While they don’t have a vote into legislation, what do we think they are managing and advising about? Do we realize that the Apollo Alliance, a “green job” radical organization, actually wrote the stimulus bill and that several in the White House are connected to them, including admitted communist and founding member of the Apollo Alliance, Van Jones. Have you ever wondered why all the stimulus dollars don’t seem to help you or put money into your pocket and unemployment rates continue to rise? If a radical “green jobs” group wrote it, I wonder where their allegiances are; it doesn’t seem like actually getting unemployment down is part of their plan. These examples are simply to show who President Obama is surrounding himself with. People naturally surround themselves with people they agree with – even if they don’t agree with everything. If the current administration is looking to restore American freedoms, economic position, and jobs, why would he hire people that have socialist, communist, and radical views that seem to directly conflict with what Americans is. It makes me wonder – What is his end game here?
But, we can’t simply blame politicians or the current administration; we’ve been heading down this path for quite some time. Sure, if we don’t agree with the current direction of the country, we have an obligation to stand up, voice our opinions, and change the leaders in Washington. But, we need to reexamine our own priorities. Do we want to be right? Or, do we want individual liberties? Do we want someone in office that will force the country down a path that we agree with? Or, do we want individual liberties so that we can all live our own lives the way we want? Are we satisfied with the ping-pong from left to right as we are continually disappointed with the leaders that we put in charge of our country?
Power, prestige, and ideology have clouded our judgement and perspective. We have long forgotten the sting of tyranny and have enjoyed the comforts of liberty to the point in which we can no longer see the beauty of our republic, yet only the stains. Denying the ability to lose the freedom that our forefathers were willing to die for, we have given in to the harlot’s enticement and allowed new pleasures to be more noble than freedom.
While we venture toward “social justice” in the name of equality, we’ve turned away from the liberty we thought we were in search of all along. While we so quickly embraced wanting what wasn’t ours, we’ve neglected to see that the same tyrant we fought against is the one that is now coordinating our demise and deciding how the people of this nation will divide our labors among us all. In our folly, we looked to our government to give us comfort, to give us meaning, to give us boundaries, and to tell us how to live – fear not, we have gotten for what we asked, with no request denied.
We have come to believe that our desire is not merely the pursuit of happiness, but rather happiness itself. Make no mistake, when we are no longer willing to pursue our own happiness, we have given in, let down our guard, shackled our own feet, and given this experiment of a republic back to the king from which we revolted. For the great and oppressive tyrants in Washington will more than oblige to give us happiness without the tiresome pursuit, yet it will not be a happiness that will easily be recognized and will certainly not satisfy. We have misunderstood the plight of our forefathers and have come to believe that they wanted financial equality for all, forgetting that they simply wanted freedom from oppressive rule and control so that they could be free.
We have turned a blind eye on liberty for the comforts of today, for a hand-out from our leaders, for the luxury of an unearned check, for not having to pay our own rent, for not having to save our own money for retirement, and even to not have to learn from our own mistakes and failures. We are even joyous when we receive a “tax credit” from our leaders; money that was ours in the first place and was taken from us. And, in these concerning economic times, we gladly toss liberty to the wind, hold out our hands, and thank our kind leaders for the job we now believe we deserve even without the pursuit. Yes, we have been given the choice between liberty and comfort – we unabashedly chose comfort. Some may exclaim that liberty was stolen from us!! But, history proves this theory to be but a mirage, one carefully crafted by politicians on both sides of the aisle as they entice us to follow them further down the rabbit hole of complete dependence.
It is now self-evident that liberty was ours! She had been given to us by our Maker, through the blood of our fathers, and we held her firmly in our hands. With eyes wide open, we followed other ideals other than liberty, we decided to rely on our government instead of ourselves, and we gave liberty away. All is not lost, however. She can be repurchased -yes, repurchased. It isn’t too late. But, it will cost us. Make no mistake, it will cost us. We cannot pretend that we didn’t give her away willingly, we cannot pretend that someone stole her from us while we weren’t watching, we cannot pretend that we hadn’t indeed forgotten the sting of tyranny and let down our guard. For, if we make way for new leaders and then beg them to find our liberty for us and bring her back to us, then our dependence on government will continue – have we not learned anything?
We, on our own, let liberty go – only we can get her back. We, on our own, held out our hands in complete dependence on our government and watched liberty disappear into the night. Once again, we must rise up like our forefathers. We, the people, must seek out liberty, fight for her with integrity and peace, and bring her back home safely.
In the words of Benjamin Franklin, “The Constitution only gives people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself.”
Liberty – change I can believe in.