Progressivism

Dear Liberty;

You and I both know that Socialism is built on a whole host of “good ideas” that just aren’t realistic. It’s based on the ideology of promising to provide the necessities of life and promoting prosperity and then holding the people hostage to exact control from them. This is a fact, not a theory and it just doesn’t work…I know, I know someone’s thinking “Then why is it working in Sweden?!” My answer? It ISN’T working in Sweden…it’s been an overt failure and I will debate ANYONE on the issue but that’s a topic for another letter.

Let’s be realistic, I don’t think that there is an American in their right mind who wants an unemployed, hungry and homeless populace. I truly believe that everyone wants every single man, woman and child to go to bed every single night in a warm bed with a full belly…but we need to be asking ourselves a very important question: Whose job is it to make sure that it happens? How you answer that question will expose your political philosophy.

The strong Christian nature of the American People, during the early stages of our development as a country, dictated the answer to the above question. They operated on the premise that they were their brother’s keeper. They believed in assisting in the safety, well-being, and condition of their neighbor. It would have been an insult to anyone of them if a direct neighbor was forced to go to someone else for assistance because of one’s failure to notice and provide a need…most of the time a neighbor’s needs were met long before they had to ask for help. A simple study of Colonial American values will confirm this fact. That’s the reason why these programs were not written into our Constitution; it wasn’t because there weren’t people in need in 1787 but rather it was the common belief that it was clearly NOT the emerging Federal Government’s responsibility.

So Liberty, have we come so far away from our historic values that we truly believe that it is someone else’s responsibility to help our neighbor? Have we been somehow so “separated” from one another that we no longer care if a neighbor is in need? I have observed that no matter what party you are affiliated with, no matter how far left or how far right…we ALL preach a fondness for charity and goodwill. So what is separating us?….WHO is separating us? And why do we continue to give control to our federal government by looking to them for this kind of help?

We’ve said this before Liberty; just because its a good idea it does NOT mean that it’s Constitutional. Just because someone says that it’s common sense, does not mean that it shouldn’t be debated. Who is responsible for fooling us into believing that the concepts of “common sense legislation” and “Constitutional legislation” are interchangeable? The answer is easy…it would be someone who is trying to confuse us; someone who is attempting to mix principles that are un-mixable in an effort to build a platform from which they could stand upon and shout “This American experiment just isn’t working!”

I truly do not believe that we, as Americans, have “abandoned” our principles more than I believe that we have been taught to forget them; or perhaps at least we have been led to misunderstand them. A simple reuniting of The People with our Forefather’s founding principles should quickly tell us who should be in office and who should not. It would show us who is willing to protect these principles and who is trying to change them under the pretense of “Progressive” thinking. By the way, Progressivism has NOTHING to do with progress, it is a regressive ideology which has recently failed Greece, Italy, the FORMER Soviet Union…the list goes on…Let’s not be fooled by those who are trying to divide us.

A simple litmus test to see if a legislation is Constitutional or not is to check it against Article 1, Section 8 of our Constitution. That section lists 18 very specific powers that the people and the states gave (enumerated) to the federal government. After reading that section, read the oft forgotten Tenth Amendment; this amendment states that any power not specifically given to the federal government will remain in the hands of the states and the people. This should clear up a lot for people who TRULY accept the United States Constitution as the “law of the land”.

Don’t let legislators fool you with the commerce clause either; that’s what they did with Obamacare….the Commerce Clause’s stated intent is to REGULATE commerce between the states not CREATE it or FORCE it. Don’t let them fool you with “promoting the general welfare” either; legislators who cling to these “catch-all” statements are either ignorant, Socialists or both.

Liberty, I am still shocked that a President of the United States of America had the lack of respect for Congress AND the American People to stand up in a State of the Union Address and pledge to break a pledge that he made when he took office…to support and uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. I am also shocked that members of Congress, who took that same oath, applauded his dictatorial motive. I am also sorely disappointed that the media, whose duty is to inform, did not take the time to point out his intended and blatant breach of law.

In a conversation with a dear friend today, I stated that our values needed to change. The informed should be feeling an obligation to take care of the uninformed in a compassionate and respectful manner. Is there any difference in taking advantage of someone who doesn’t know their rights than there is in taking advantage of someone with a physical limitation? We pass laws that require ramps to be provided for people in wheelchairs, elevators for people who can’t climb stairs and provide convenient parking spaces for those who need them. Why then don’t we provide similar assistance for those who need help making INFORMED decisions before they enter the voting booth?
Now, before anyone accuses me of suggesting that we tell people how to vote, let me just say that this is what the Progressives have done by lying and misinforming the people. I’m talking about reintroducing the people to their Constitution so they can make decisions that better their lives, expand their freedoms and secure the blessings of liberty to themselves and their posterity.