I wrote this partially inspired by the blog post The Fight is Never Over, Ever and partially out of my own ruminations as of late.
I share some in a terrible sensation of depression that has ensued much of the right since November 4th and much of the nation since our fiscal meltdown began. Even many who believe government is the solution for almost all of this nation’s ails can feel the queasy stomach pangs that set in when you consider what is transpiring across our nation. In my lifetime I have witnessed the end of the Soviet Power, the rise of terrorism, a terrible attack upon our nation, massive corruption, massive innovation, new peace, and the revival of old divides. Still little has worried me more than the chaos now taking hold across the Western World. Add to this the reality that a terrorist attack within our borders could at any moment set our economy and our security truly asunder and you see the toxic cocktail that is being mixed by shadowy figures, possibly with the intention of destroying our future.
But I am also soothed by an understanding, that it is always darkest before the dawn and our nation has faced much darker era’s than this.
To believe that terrorism has no equal in our history is to forget the brutal destruction laid upon the world by Nazi Germany. To believe we have never been so divided as we are today is to forget about our bloody Civil War. The present, when not placed in its proper historic context, presents a formidable but unfounded fear.
We should not forget that in the 1770′s there were many men and women who were content with living under British rule. Representation in exchange for taxation was not a belief that was shared by all and the masses could hardly contemplate rising up against the mighty machinery of an empire, let alone take the first steps toward removing the chains binding the liberation that was given to them by the architecture of the divine.
It is easy for a conservative to wonder why anyone would wish to give up their liberty for a fleeting mirage of security. Why anyone would demand from the government endless handouts and expect to be coddled by powerful government force. Our very sense of America is quite the opposite, a nation of survivors intent on keeping the intoxicating but ultimately brutal power of the government our of our lives. There were, however, many early colonists who were just as willing to accept life as a subject to a King as there are Americans today looking to be coddled by a Czar.
Back then the task at hand for the Sons of Liberty was to educate a people that had been shackled for so long by the oppression of government. Life without a ruling hand can be chaotic, complex, and dangerous, not a wonderful prospect for colonists who were already working hard just to survive. Without a ruling hand there is no guarantee of collective survival, no net of safety large enough to ensconce all. The price of self determination is the possibility of self destruction. Without prodding, those not enlightened with a sense of liberty will always chose the comfort of oppressive security.
It took Samual Adams to prod John Adams who in turn prodded a Continental Congress that charged Thomas Jefferson to declare the colonists independence and eventually he would return the favor by creating dissension against the very government his own self determination would help create. The road they walked was dangerous, full of pitfalls and predators; but they fought with many others so that liberty could be restored to all and the spirit of their endeavor has been found in every revolution since.
Two hundred plus years later Ronald Reagan announced it was “morning in America” at a time when the world was wondering if our nation was at its dying end. Since that time our people helped give birth to a communications revolution, decoded DNA, helped broker peace between nations like Ireland & England who were locked in seemingly eternal struggle, tossed aside racial and gender limitations on achieving the highest of offices, made peace with many former enemies and placed mankind’s reach far beyond our solar system.
Our government, made of, by, and for the people, shares in the wealth of these experiences; when government is kept in its proper role the citizenry can use it as a force of good while placing as few restrictions or limitations on liberty or self direction as possible. When government is allowed to expand beyond its natural boundaries, to act not as a device of our collective will but as our parent, our subverter, our King, then it must be stopped and the people educated in its demise.
While it is understandable to embrace depression it is counter productive in our quest to take ownership once again over our self determination. Today the Internet affords the people a voice they did not have when big media ruled our lives. Just as the printing press was utilized by our founders, we now have a marketplace of ideas where those of us who oppose the expansion of government can educate the masses about both the beauty and responsibility that come with liberty. While I have shared for a time in this nagging onslaught of depression, I cannot give into the apathy that has already done so much to cripple our sense of liberty. With the damage now done, it is time to move forward and reclaim our government; ousting those both Democrat, Republican or indifferent who would seek to destroy the American way of life and put restrictions on our prosperity.
Despite so many years spent in the pursuit of liberty before us, we have only just begun in our defense of our divine rights and our exploration of self rule. With many battles ahead we must also believe wholly that the best of our years lye still ahead as well.
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Tags: Living Conservative
