The Purpose of Government

It's at once both funny and appalling that Americans have the shortest history of all the developed nations and the least appreciation for the significance and importance of that history. America has existed for not even three hundred years and yet I would contend that more American citizens know more about and deify the histories of Rome or Egypt as opposed to those of Washington and Madison. I suppose the goal of this particular post would be a brief review of the history of America and the ideas and ideals that went into it's incubation and execution. And it goes a little something like this..

Revolution:
A lot of people while studying the American Revolution correctly identify unreasonable taxes as the match that lit the powder keg but then discard the issue as irrelevant even though the issue remained important through the founding and clear on until today. The American Revolution was in truth an economic revolution, in that the citizens of the colonies affirmed the right to keep the fruits of their labors and their GOD given right to self govern and fund through their taxes a government that would protect those rights. I think Thomas Jefferson put it best, and while almost anyone would be familiar with this quote from the Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

But what about the following sentences? I think not so much..

"That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

From this we can easily see for what purpose the American democratic republic was formed and the spirit with which it was given life and longevity. And yet today in the modern incarnation of American politics, people often cry out for the separation of church and state; Senator Biden claims that it's patriotic to pay more taxes; and it's become common belief that the government exists not to "secure" the rights and happiness of the electorate but to PROVIDE all that and more in the guise of any number of entitlement programs that are too numerous to name.

It would be obvious to anyone who bothered to do some actual research in even a cursory manner that American politics and goverment are closely intertwined with a deeply spiritual and pious people. The "separation of church and state" that is often popularized and attributed to the first ammendment is what could most closley be likened to a myth. The policy as it is currently represented and enforced came from an interpretation by the Supreme Court, not by any mention in the Constitution, by any early President or by any early incarnation of Congress and yet it is held as one of the long standing traditions in American politics. On it's face, it's foolish to stipulate that any man should abandon or rebuke the religious teachings that provide the moral compass by which that man was raised, had lived and eventually would govern.. But I digress..

I ended up going off on a bit of a tangent there, but theres a lot of ground to cover and this will by no means be the last blog that discusses popular lies, myths and misunderstandings about politics and political discourse in this very heated political season. I know I had previously said I wasn't going to copy and paste previous work but I do think it's just too good and too precient not to include it..

Human Rights vs. Moral Obligations:
I think the mess in the debate on Health Care has confused the basic principles on which a people or indeed a country act. One could put them into two categories: Human Rights and Moral Obligations. In the argument for Universal Health Care, it is assumed that it is the a right of a person to have the responsibility of their welfare be assumed by their neighbors. Just on the face of it, we should know that it is not true, nor should it be the case. It is the individual's responsibility to provide a lifestyle for himself to which he can be satisfied, and indeed in a free society and a capitalist one at that, the sky is indeed the limit. In the case of the indigent or otherwise incapacitated, thats where Moral Obligations take over. We as a nation are a good and moral nation, and as part and parcel of this we have programs to take care of the those who can not take care of themselves. That being said, this should not be extended to those who choose a plasma tv over health care simply because they believe that it is their right to health care and so can afford luxuries that would be ordinarily outside of their range. The same goes for planning for retirement, the supposition that the government and therefore your neighbor will take care of you in your old age should not replace personal responsibility for your own welfare. Live within your means and continually strive for better, letting the limits of your ambition be the only limits on your success. Now back to the idea of a Moral Obligation, I would submit that moral obligations take precedent over human rights because it is not a persons right to be afforded health care even if he is indigent, but it is our moral obligation to help and in that pursuit we must not fail. So in the final analysis, it is not human rights that determine moral obligations but in fact it is the other way around; it is our moral obligations that confer rights to people and it should always be in this order. We are a moral and compassionate country and that is manifest in our actions and a desire to do more for our people and indeed the world, but that desire should be tempered by the knowledge that we should not allow people to opt out of their responsibilities as an adult simply because of a misguided feeling of entitlement to a right that was never really theirs to begin with.

Once again, I hope that whomever comes across this blog finds it to be informative and helpfull and most of all a good read. I'll be attempting to update daily, partly because theres a lot to discuss but also partly because i'm often bored and have little else to do as of late. There's a lot at stake in this election beyond that of just the presidency, indeed it will, for the most part, determine the tone and tenor of America for the rest of this century; in this the greatest nation on God's green Earth.

Random Thoughts:
Another summer day has come
And gone away,
And even Paris and Rome,
And I wanna go home..
Let me go home..

And I’m surrounded by,
A million people I,
Still feel alone..
Oh, let go home,
Oh, I miss you, you know..

Let me go home..
I’ve had my run,
Baby, I’m done,
I gotta go home..
Let me go home..
It will all right,
I’ll be home tonight,
I’m coming back home...

Quote of the Entry: "He who promises more than he is able to perform, is false to himself; and he who does not perform what he has promised, is a traitor to his friend."
- George Ernest Shelley (1840-1910) English Geologist and Orinthologist