Why This is Bad

I haven't written in this blog for a while...because i sometimes find it difficult to reflect upon the politics of the day without getting a little too riled up. So i have avoided speaking, except to my husband and the t.v., of course, about political concerns and responses to the news of the day.

Today, i would like to explain why i believe that what the federal government is involved in is wrong. I have heard or read support for various objectionable federal actions explained by saying that "we shouldn't let people just suffer," or "it's the Christian thing to do." I agree with both statements. Americans, people, Christians, should not sit by and allow the suffering of their neighbors and countrymen if it is within their power to prevent it.

That said, the forefathers of our American heritage were very wise men. The more i learn and read, the more i am impressed with the amazing wisdom and foresight of the passionate men who founded the United States of America. These men were educated and experienced. They were educated on the history of the civilizations of the world, and they were experienced in the effects of an overly powerful government on the citizens of a nation.

In their wisdom, and i believe prayerful forethought, these men composed a document known as the Constitution of the United States. I am ashamed to say that until recently i had never read the constitution all the way through. In fact, i hadn't even considered its actual content for about the last 20 years. I remember having to memorize the preamble as a school assignment in the 8th grade (1988 or 1989). Since then, not a thought of concern. Last 4th of July, someone gave my husband and me a copy of the constitution, along with some other important historical American writings. It was upon reading and considering these writings that a few things became very clear, very simple, not complicated at all.

Today, i will talk about the 10th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This isn't the one you hear about. Most people quote the the right to free speech or the right to bear arms or they "plead the fifth," referring to one small phrase in the 5th amendment which ensures a citizen protection from testifying against their own guilt. The 10th amendment gets much too little attention. I'll quote it for you:

Amendment 10 - Powers of the States and People. Ratified 12/15/1791.

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.

Like it or not, the founders of this nation believed that federal government should have as little involvement in the running of the country as possible. Because of that belief, they set down exactly what the federal government of this country should be allowed to do, and then, as if to say, "we really mean it," clarified: everything else is the responsibility of the state government or the people themselves, period.

And this is why all of the reportedly noble actions that the president and congress are pursuing right now - are wrong. They may or may not be wrong morally. I'll let you evaluate the merits of passing on a couple trillion dollars in debt to our descendants. But before getting to any of the moral ramifications, our constitution does not allow the president, nor any branch of the federal government, the authority to give federal tax dollars to private businesses. I'm sure some of you disagree. See, there is this unfortunate statement in Article I, Section 8, which states as follows:

No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.

I fear that the intent of our forefathers was not fully expressed here, and our contemporaries who wish to carry federal government further than they should, must interpret this sentence with a great deal of liberality. However, i scoff at the notion that our federal government could possibly, at this point in time, produce any "regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money" to anyone's satisfaction.

The point is this. The writers of our constitution put limits on federal government in order that federal government would be limited. This is because unlimited federal government yields.....well it yields the opposite of what they were trying to create.

I hope, in future to posts, to share some inspirational writings of those who planned out the hopeful success of the United States. They are eye-opening. I haven't read nearly as much as i should have, as an American Citizen. But as i read, i'll share.

In conclusion (i know, you should never actually use that phrase), the reason that it's not o.k. for the federal government to show charity to my fellow man, is that it's my responsibility to show charity to my fellow man. And if any government should ever get involved, it should be my state government, after an election on whether to do so. Forced charity by tax dollars is not charity at all. It is, instead, socialism in action.

I'll end with a great quote:

"Society in every state is a blessing, but government even in its best state is but a necessary evil . . . Wherefore, security being the true design and end of government, it unanswerably follows, that whatever form therof appears most likely to ensure it to us, with the least expense and greatest benefit, is preferable to all others." Thomas Paine, 1776, from his publication, "Common Sense"