tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post886691817625178353..comments2023-09-11T08:58:24.710-06:00Comments on Reach Upward: Who Is Your Master?Scott Hinrichshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-66011743991315091502009-10-05T11:48:29.943-06:002009-10-05T11:48:29.943-06:00Our Founders did discover that a weak central gove...Our Founders did discover that a weak central government was inadequate to meet the demands imposed by competing external interests. But their combined wisdom produced a system that recognized that only certain factors should be centrally controlled, while others were to be reserved to more local jurisdictions.<br /><br />The battle over what was to be controlled centrally and locally remained a hotly debated issue that was overwhelmingly answered by the Civil War, which determined that the matter of individual bondage was too great an issue to be determined below the federal level.<br /><br />Subsequent to this, there has been a continual push by various groups to bring increasing matters under the purview of the federal government. They all have their list of matters that should be excluded from federal control. There is a variety of disagreements between these groups various lists.<br /><br />There seems to be little comprehension that the Civil War was intended to be an exceptional and extraordinary answer to a singular issue. If federal control was good for the abolition of slavery, seems to be the thinking, it is good for pretty much everything else --- except those matters that I personally think the government ought to stay out of.<br /><br />Regardless of whether these types of ideas come from the right or the left (or some other direction), the fact is that they presume that we always have a moral right to force our neighbors to behave in any way we want as long as we get most of our neighbors to vote along with us. It presumes that we always have a moral right to own as much of our neighbors' lives as we wish. Might makes right.<br /><br />This is no more right than the might-makes-right of the corporate control of government.Scott Hinrichshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11831447472339880148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-57984043535848312082009-10-02T11:01:42.060-06:002009-10-02T11:01:42.060-06:00Yes we are all individuals responsible for our own...Yes we are all individuals responsible for our own behavior. But most of us do not remain isolated. We meet someone and marry, and if we willingly give up some of our independence because we would prefer to live with someone else rather than live alone. We have children, usually these days because we choose to do so and we certainly give up a lot of our independence and accept a great deal of responsibility toward those children even though the benefits to us are not material.<br /><br />Many of us join churches or other community organizations where we give up some of our time and money in order to have a community of like-minded people with whom to interact. <br /><br />Our forefathers did something similar. They realized they could not achieve what they wished for themselves and their posterity by acting as individuals with no commitment to one another. Their first attempt at a confederation demonstrated that without a strong federal government, it would not be possible to prosper and secure the blessing of liberty for themselves and their posterity. <br /><br />A strong federal government was the solution, not the problem. Without that government to keep the peace, protect them from invaders, protect their industry with tariffs, and pay for the infrastructure needed to grow their businesses, the nation we know and love would not exist. <br /><br />Government, ideally, is one of a number of associations and commitments people make that is designed to help them achieve a better life. We have strayed far from that ideal, but government itself is not the culprit. The culprit is the lack of democracy. The problem is that we no longer control our government, it is no longer representative of our desires nor does it meet our needs. <br /><br />It has devolved into a wholly-owned subsidiary of the largest financial and corporate institutions devoted to maximizing their profits, often at the expense of the majority. Time and time again we find ourselves in a situation where the government acts in direct contradiction to the popular will. The health care debacle is one of these. Polls taken before the media conflagration of the last several months showed an overwhelming majority of the American people favored a single-payer system guaranteeing universal care. But our government, allegedly dominated now by "liberals", did not even consider that idea and has refused to endorse anything even mildly resembling it. Why? Because the moneyed interests stand to lose if the people get what they want. This is not the government our Founders intended.Charles Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02975241234146573609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-32178946808521625882009-09-25T12:56:08.378-06:002009-09-25T12:56:08.378-06:00This is a fantastic post. I think it's one of ...This is a fantastic post. I think it's one of the most succinct break downs of our differing views of government that I've ever read. Thanks.Tanner Guzyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08024114822259047328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10424035.post-86430875594269533042009-09-25T08:05:09.602-06:002009-09-25T08:05:09.602-06:00Do we even know what liberty means anymore?
As a ...<strong>Do we even know what liberty means anymore?</strong><br /><br />As a society? No. (Some individuals do, but society as a whole has forgotten.) That is why our family and community structures are dying.<br /><br />Patrick Henry made his statement as a demand, in some ways it is really a statement of fact - without understanding and claiming liberty the only alternative left to receive is death.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06354910302047518783noreply@blogger.com