Government and Freedom

Folks, I’ve said it many times before and it is an absolute tenet of truth: You cannot have the wrong view of government and the correct view of individual liberty.

You see, a government and its leaders must understand and support the facts and the foundations of a government that promotes the rights of individual freedom within the law. Yes, the law must protect everyone.

You cannot have a free country under a system of socialism, where the government is so large and promotes dependency for so many people. Why not?

Because socialism is not sustainable in the long run without taking away much individual liberty from so many.  Oh yes, some may get a free ride from government handouts, but at the loss of much individual freedom.  

There is a great loss of initiative also.

Initiative is defined by a desire and a striving to do better, accomplish more, and to elevate one’s loss of self-worth when depending on a government whose only source of income is punishing taxation and whose only means of survival is lowering the standard of living of everyone to pay for the giveaways.

We, in the USA, have never won a battle with such a system, and we never will.

Show me a poor man who hires thousands of people!! You know it isn’t possible. Then why punish the rich, (or at least the richer people) – who can provide jobs, and in addition to that, dignity and self-fulfillment- and yes, a desire to help others?

Why worry about someone becoming rich, or at least richer than they were, when they, through the taking of risks, can provide decent jobs?

And let me state again – if you have the wrong idea of government, you will automatically have the wrong idea of individual liberty.

If you believe, as you should believe, that our fundamental human rights come from God, you can begin to form a successful form of government and allow people to at least pursue success and happiness.

Our Bill of Rights states this – and this started out to be the correct basis for government and for the human rights of citizens…

“We hold these truths to be self-evident…that all men are created equal…that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unaliaenable rights…that among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

Now, I ask you – has this premise been used and promoted under recent US Governments?

NO!!

And unless and until it is, the ideas of men and not of God will prevail in our society, causing pressure, and lies, and unnatural decisions to be made, and so will cause the loss of freedoms, opportunity, dignity and self-worth for most of us.

For, you see, socialists and worse never intend to live under the same laws they put upon you and me.

Unfortunately, some voters do not trust anyone and they think that nothing can ever change in our government.  I understand that, but I am talking about a system of government that restores freedom, opportunity and hope.  Such a system succeeded under the two-term presidency of Ronald Reagan, which provided smaller government, more jobs, and more freedom for all.  

This system can certainly work again.

It is common sense, or should be, to do certain things.  Yes, within the law, we can do certain things and then expect certain results.  It will happen again if we elect people with the right concept of human government.  

If we don’t, our survival time as a free nation will be very short.

—- Written by William W. Figley, (mid-summer, 2015)

WWII Veteran of the US Navy