This may well
be the last time I speak on the House Floor. At the end of the year
I’ll leave Congress after 23 years in office over a 36-year period.
My goals in 1976 were the same as they are today: promote peace
and prosperity by a strict adherence to the principles of individual
liberty.
It was my opinion,
that the course the U.S. embarked on in the latter part of the 20th
Century would bring us a major financial crisis and engulf us in
a foreign policy that would overextend us and undermine our national
security.
To achieve
the goals I sought, government would have had to shrink in size
and scope, reduce spending, change the monetary system, and reject
the unsustainable costs of policing the world and expanding the
American Empire.
The problems
seemed to be overwhelming and impossible to solve, yet from my view
point, just following the constraints placed on the federal government
by the Constitution would have been a good place to start.
How Much
Did I Accomplish?
In many ways,
according to conventional wisdom, my off-and-on career in Congress,
from 1976 to 2012, accomplished very little. No named legislation,
no named federal buildings or highways – thank goodness. In spite
of my efforts, the government has grown exponentially, taxes remain
excessive, and the prolific increase of incomprehensible regulations
continues. Wars are constant and pursued without Congressional declaration,
deficits rise to the sky, poverty is rampant and dependency on the
federal government is now worse than any time in our history.
All this with
minimal concerns for the deficits and unfunded liabilities that
common sense tells us cannot go on much longer. A grand, but never
mentioned, bipartisan agreement allows for the well-kept secret
that keeps the spending going. One side doesn’t give up one penny
on military spending, the other side doesn’t give up one penny on
welfare spending, while both sides support the bailouts and subsidies
for the banking and corporate elite. And the spending continues
as the economy weakens and the downward spiral continues. As the
government continues fiddling around, our liberties and our wealth
burn in the flames of a foreign policy that makes us less safe.
The major stumbling
block to real change in Washington is the total resistance to admitting
that the country is broke. This has made compromising, just to agree
to increase spending, inevitable since neither side has any intention
of cutting spending.
The country
and the Congress will remain divisive since there’s no "loot
left to divvy up."
Without this
recognition the spenders in Washington will continue the march toward
a fiscal cliff much bigger than the one anticipated this coming
January.
I have thought
a lot about why those of us who believe in liberty, as a solution,
have done so poorly in convincing others of its benefits. If liberty
is what we claim it is- the principle that protects all personal,
social and economic decisions necessary for maximum prosperity and
the best chance for peace- it should be an easy sell. Yet, history
has shown that the masses have been quite receptive to the promises
of authoritarians which are rarely if ever fulfilled.
Authoritarianism
vs. Liberty
If authoritarianism
leads to poverty and war and less freedom for all individuals and
is controlled by rich special interests, the people should be begging
for liberty. There certainly was a strong enough sentiment for more
freedom at the time of our founding that motivated those who were
willing to fight in the revolution against the powerful British
government.
During my time
in Congress the appetite for liberty has been quite weak; the understanding
of its significance negligible. Yet the good news is that compared
to 1976 when I first came to Congress, the desire for more freedom
and less government in 2012 is much greater and growing, especially
in grassroots America. Tens of thousands of teenagers and college
age students are, with great enthusiasm, welcoming the message of
liberty.
I have a few
thoughts as to why the people of a country like ours, once the freest
and most prosperous, allowed the conditions to deteriorate to the
degree that they have.
Freedom, private
property, and enforceable voluntary contracts, generate wealth.
In our early history we were very much aware of this. But in the
early part of the 20th century our politicians promoted
the notion that the tax and monetary systems had to change if we
were to involve ourselves in excessive domestic and military spending.
That is why Congress gave us the Federal Reserve and the income
tax. The majority of Americans and many government officials agreed
that sacrificing some liberty was necessary to carry out what some
claimed to be "progressive" ideas. Pure democracy became
acceptable.
They failed
to recognize that what they were doing was exactly opposite of what
the colonists were seeking when they broke away from the British.
Some complain
that my arguments makes no sense, since great wealth and the standard
of living improved for many Americans over the last 100 years, even
with these new policies.
But the damage
to the market economy, and the currency, has been insidious and
steady. It took a long time to consume our wealth, destroy the currency
and undermine productivity and get our financial obligations to
a point of no return. Confidence sometimes lasts longer than deserved.
Most of our wealth today depends on debt.
The wealth
that we enjoyed and seemed to be endless, allowed concern for the
principle of a free society to be neglected. As long as most people
believed the material abundance would last forever, worrying about
protecting a competitive productive economy and individual liberty
seemed unnecessary.
The Age
of Redistribution
This neglect
ushered in an age of redistribution of wealth by government kowtowing
to any and all special interests, except for those who just wanted
to left alone. That is why today money in politics far surpasses
money currently going into research and development and productive
entrepreneurial efforts.
The material
benefits became more important than the understanding and promoting
the principles of liberty and a free market. It is good that material
abundance is a result of liberty but if materialism is all that
we care about, problems are guaranteed.
The crisis
arrived because the illusion that wealth and prosperity would last
forever has ended. Since it was based on debt and a pretense that
debt can be papered over by an out-of-control fiat monetary system,
it was doomed to fail. We have ended up with a system that doesn’t
produce enough even to finance the debt and no fundamental understanding
of why a free society is crucial to reversing these trends.
If this is
not recognized, the recovery will linger for a long time. Bigger
government, more spending, more debt, more poverty for the middle
class, and a more intense scramble by the elite special interests
will continue.
We Need
an Intellectual Awakening
Without an
intellectual awakening, the turning point will be driven by economic
law. A dollar crisis will bring the current out-of-control system
to its knees.
If it’s not
accepted that big government, fiat money, ignoring liberty, central
economic planning, welfarism, and warfarism caused our crisis we
can expect a continuous and dangerous march toward corporatism and
even fascism with even more loss of our liberties. Prosperity for
a large middle class though will become an abstract dream.
This continuous
move is no different than what we have seen in how our financial
crisis of 2008 was handled. Congress first directed, with bipartisan
support, bailouts for the wealthy. Then it was the Federal Reserve
with its endless quantitative easing. If at first it doesn’t succeed
try again; QE1, QE2, and QE3 and with no results we try QE indefinitely
– that is until it too fails. There’s a cost to all of this and
let me assure you delaying the payment is no longer an option. The
rules of the market will extract its pound of flesh and it won’t
be pretty.
The current
crisis elicits a lot of pessimism. And the pessimism adds to less
confidence in the future. The two feed on themselves, making our
situation worse.
If the underlying
cause of the crisis is not understood we cannot solve our problems.
The issues of warfare, welfare, deficits, inflationism, corporatism,
bailouts and authoritarianism cannot be ignored. By only expanding
these policies we cannot expect good results.
Everyone claims
support for freedom. But too often it’s for one’s own freedom and
not for others. Too many believe that there must be limits on freedom.
They argue that freedom must be directed and managed to achieve
fairness and equality thus making it acceptable to curtail, through
force, certain liberties.
Some decide
what and whose freedoms are to be limited. These are the politicians
whose goal in life is power. Their success depends on gaining support
from special interests.
No More
‘isms’
The great news
is the answer is not to be found in more "isms." The answers
are to be found in more liberty which cost so much less. Under these
circumstances spending goes down, wealth production goes up, and
the quality of life improves.
Just this recognition
– especially if we move in this direction – increases optimism which
in itself is beneficial. The follow through with sound policies
are required which must be understood and supported by the people.
But there is
good evidence that the generation coming of age at the present time
is supportive of moving in the direction of more liberty and self-reliance.
The more this change in direction and the solutions become known,
the quicker will be the return of optimism.
Our job, for
those of us who believe that a different system than the one that
we have had for the last 100 years, has driven us to this unsustainable
crisis, is to be more convincing that there is a wonderful, uncomplicated,
and moral system that provides the answers. We had a taste of it
in our early history. We need not give up on the notion of advancing
this cause.
It worked,
but we allowed our leaders to concentrate on the material abundance
that freedom generates, while ignoring freedom itself. Now we have
neither, but the door is open, out of necessity, for an answer.
The answer available is based on the Constitution, individual liberty
and prohibiting the use of government force to provide privileges
and benefits to all special interests.
After over
100 years we face a society quite different from the one that was
intended by the Founders. In many ways their efforts to protect
future generations with the Constitution from this danger has failed.
Skeptics, at the time the Constitution was written in 1787, warned
us of today’s possible outcome. The insidious nature of the erosion
of our liberties and the reassurance our great abundance gave us,
allowed the process to evolve into the dangerous period in which
we now live.
Dependency
on Government Largesse
Today we face
a dependency on government largesse for almost every need. Our liberties
are restricted and government operates outside the rule of law,
protecting and rewarding those who buy or coerce government into
satisfying their demands. Here are a few examples:
Undeclared
wars are commonplace.
Welfare
for the rich and poor is considered an entitlement.
The economy
is overregulated, overtaxed and grossly distorted by a deeply
flawed monetary system.
Debt is
growing exponentially.
The Patriot
Act and FISA legislation passed without much debate have resulted
in a steady erosion of our 4th Amendment rights.
Tragically
our government engages in preemptive war, otherwise known as aggression,
with no complaints from the American people.
The drone
warfare we are pursuing worldwide is destined to end badly for
us as the hatred builds for innocent lives lost and the international
laws flaunted. Once we are financially weakened and militarily
challenged, there will be a lot resentment thrown our way.
It’s now
the law of the land that the military can arrest American citizens,
hold them indefinitely, without charges or a trial.
Rampant
hostility toward free trade is supported by a large number in
Washington.
Supporters
of sanctions, currency manipulation and WTO trade retaliation,
call the true free traders "isolationists."
Sanctions
are used to punish countries that don’t follow our orders.
Bailouts
and guarantees for all kinds of misbehavior are routine.
Central
economic planning through monetary policy, regulations and legislative
mandates has been an acceptable policy.
Questions
Excessive government
has created such a mess it prompts many questions:
Why are
sick people who use medical marijuana put in prison?
Why does
the federal government restrict the drinking of raw milk?
Why can’t
Americans manufacturer rope and other products from hemp?
Why are
Americans not allowed to use gold and silver as legal tender as
mandated by the Constitution?
Why is Germany
concerned enough to consider repatriating their gold held by the
FED for her in New York? Is it that the trust in the U.S. and
dollar supremacy beginning to wane?
Why do our
political leaders believe it’s unnecessary to thoroughly audit
our own gold?
Why can’t
Americans decide which type of light bulbs they can buy?
Why is the
TSA permitted to abuse the rights of any American traveling by
air?
Why should
there be mandatory sentences – even up to life for crimes without
victims – as our drug laws require?
Why have
we allowed the federal government to regulate commodes in our
homes?
Why is it
political suicide for anyone to criticize AIPAC ?
Why haven’t
we given up on the drug war since it’s an obvious failure and
violates the people’s rights? Has nobody noticed that the authorities
can’t even keep drugs out of the prisons? How can making our entire
society a prison solve the problem?
Why do we
sacrifice so much getting needlessly involved in border disputes
and civil strife around the world and ignore the root cause of
the most deadly border in the world-the one between Mexico and
the US?
Why does
Congress willingly give up its prerogatives to the Executive Branch?
Why does
changing the party in power never change policy? Could it be that
the views of both parties are essentially the same?
Why did
the big banks, the large corporations, and foreign banks and foreign
central banks get bailed out in 2008 and the middle class lost
their jobs and their homes?
Why do so
many in the government and the federal officials believe that
creating money out of thin air creates wealth?
Why do so
many accept the deeply flawed principle that government bureaucrats
and politicians can protect us from ourselves without totally
destroying the principle of liberty?
Why can’t
people understand that war always destroys wealth and liberty?
Why is there
so little concern for the Executive Order that gives the President
authority to establish a "kill list," including American
citizens, of those targeted for assassination?
Why is patriotism
thought to be blind loyalty to the government and the politicians
who run it, rather than loyalty to the principles of liberty and
support for the people? Real patriotism is a willingness to challenge
the government when it’s wrong.
Why is it
is claimed that if people won’t or can’t take care of their own
needs, that people in government can do it for them?
Why did
we ever give the government a safe haven for initiating violence
against the people?
Why do some
members defend free markets, but not civil liberties?
Why do some
members defend civil liberties but not free markets? Aren’t they
the same?
Why don’t
more defend both economic liberty and personal liberty?
Why are
there not more individuals who seek to intellectually influence
others to bring about positive changes than those who seek power
to force others to obey their commands?
Why does
the use of religion to support a social gospel and preemptive
wars, both of which requires authoritarians to use violence, or
the threat of violence, go unchallenged? Aggression and forced
redistribution of wealth has nothing to do with the teachings
of the world great religions.
Why do we
allow the government and the Federal Reserve to disseminate false
information dealing with both economic and foreign policy?
Why is democracy
held in such high esteem when it’s the enemy of the minority and
makes all rights relative to the dictates of the majority?
Why should
anyone be surprised that Congress has no credibility, since there’s
such a disconnect between what politicians say and what they do?
Is there
any explanation for all the deception, the unhappiness, the fear
of the future, the loss of confidence in our leaders, the distrust,
the anger and frustration? Yes there is, and there’s a way to
reverse these attitudes. The negative perceptions are logical
and a consequence of bad policies bringing about our problems.
Identification of the problems and recognizing the cause allow
the proper changes to come easy.
Trust Yourself,
Not the Government
Too many people
have for too long placed too much confidence and trust in government
and not enough in themselves. Fortunately, many are now becoming
aware of the seriousness of the gross mistakes of the past several
decades. The blame is shared by both political parties. Many Americans
now are demanding to hear the plain truth of things and want the
demagoguing to stop. Without this first step, solutions are impossible.
Seeking the
truth and finding the answers in liberty and self-reliance promotes
the optimism necessary for restoring prosperity. The task is not
that difficult if politics doesn’t get in the way.
We have allowed
ourselves to get into such a mess for various reasons.
Politicians
deceive themselves as to how wealth is produced. Excessive confidence
is placed in the judgment of politicians and bureaucrats. This replaces
the confidence in a free society. Too many in high places of authority
became convinced that only they, armed with arbitrary government
power, can bring about fairness, while facilitating wealth production.
This always proves to be a utopian dream and destroys wealth and
liberty. It impoverishes the people and rewards the special interests
who end up controlling both political parties.
It’s no surprise
then that much of what goes on in Washington is driven by aggressive
partisanship and power seeking, with philosophic differences being
minor.
Economic
Ignorance
Economic ignorance
is commonplace. Keynesianism continues to thrive, although today
it is facing healthy and enthusiastic rebuttals. Believers in military
Keynesianism and domestic Keynesianism continue to desperately promote
their failed policies, as the economy languishes in a deep slumber.
Supporters
of all government edicts use humanitarian arguments to justify them.
Humanitarian
arguments are always used to justify government mandates related
to the economy, monetary policy, foreign policy, and personal liberty.
This is on purpose to make it more difficult to challenge. But,
initiating violence for humanitarian reasons is still violence.
Good intentions are no excuse and are just as harmful as when people
use force with bad intentions. The results are always negative.
The immoral
use of force is the source of man’s political problems. Sadly, many
religious groups, secular organizations, and psychopathic authoritarians
endorse government initiated force to change the world. Even when
the desired goals are well-intentioned – or especially when well-intentioned
– the results are dismal. The good results sought never materialize.
The new problems created require even more government force as a
solution. The net result is institutionalizing government initiated
violence and morally justifying it on humanitarian grounds.
This is the
same fundamental reason our government uses force for invading other
countries at will, central economic planning at home, and the regulation
of personal liberty and habits of our citizens.
It is rather
strange, that unless one has a criminal mind and no respect for
other people and their property, no one claims it’s permissible
to go into one’s neighbor’s house and tell them how to behave, what
they can eat, smoke and drink or how to spend their money.
Yet, rarely
is it asked why it is morally acceptable that a stranger with a
badge and a gun can do the same thing in the name of law and order.
Any resistance is met with brute force, fines, taxes, arrests, and
even imprisonment. This is done more frequently every day without
a proper search warrant.
No Government
Monopoly over Initiating Violence
Restraining
aggressive behavior is one thing, but legalizing a government monopoly
for initiating aggression can only lead to exhausting liberty associated
with chaos, anger and the breakdown of civil society. Permitting
such authority and expecting saintly behavior from the bureaucrats
and the politicians is a pipe dream. We now have a standing army
of armed bureaucrats in the TSA, CIA, FBI, Fish and Wildlife, FEMA,
IRS, Corp of Engineers, etc. numbering over 100,000. Citizens are
guilty until proven innocent in the unconstitutional administrative
courts.
Government
in a free society should have no authority to meddle in social activities
or the economic transactions of individuals. Nor should government
meddle in the affairs of other nations. All things peaceful, even
when controversial, should be permitted.
We must reject
the notion of prior restraint in economic activity just we do in
the area of free speech and religious liberty. But even in these
areas government is starting to use a backdoor approach of political
correctness to regulate speech-a dangerous trend. Since 9/11 monitoring
speech on the internet is now a problem since warrants are no longer
required.
The Proliferation
of Federal Crimes
The Constitution
established four federal crimes. Today the experts can’t even agree
on how many federal crimes are now on the books – they number into
the thousands. No one person can comprehend the enormity of the
legal system – especially the tax code. Due to the ill-advised drug
war and the endless federal expansion of the criminal code we have
over 6 million people under correctional suspension, more than the
Soviets ever had, and more than any other nation today, including
China. I don’t understand the complacency of the Congress and the
willingness to continue their obsession with passing more Federal
laws. Mandatory sentencing laws associated with drug laws have compounded
our prison problems.
The federal
register is now 75,000 pages long and the tax code has 72,000 pages,
and expands every year. When will the people start shouting, "enough
is enough," and demand Congress cease and desist.
Achieving
Liberty
Liberty can
only be achieved when government is denied the aggressive use of
force. If one seeks liberty, a precise type of government is needed.
To achieve it, more than lip service is required.
Two choices
are available.
A government
designed to protect liberty – a natural right – as its sole objective.
The people are expected to care for themselves and reject the
use of any force for interfering with another person’s liberty.
Government is given a strictly limited authority to enforce contracts,
property ownership, settle disputes, and defend against foreign
aggression.
A government
that pretends to protect liberty but is granted power to arbitrarily
use force over the people and foreign nations. Though the grant
of power many times is meant to be small and limited, it inevitably
metastasizes into an omnipotent political cancer. This is the
problem for which the world has suffered throughout the ages.
Though meant to be limited it nevertheless is a 100% sacrifice
of a principle that would-be-tyrants find irresistible. It is
used vigorously – though incrementally and insidiously. Granting
power to government officials always proves the adage that: "power
corrupts."
Once government
gets a limited concession for the use of force to mold people habits
and plan the economy, it causes a steady move toward tyrannical
government. Only a revolutionary spirit can reverse the process
and deny to the government this arbitrary use of aggression. There’s
no in-between. Sacrificing a little liberty for imaginary safety
always ends badly.
Today’s mess
is a result of Americans accepting option #2, even though the Founders
attempted to give us Option #1.
The results
are not good. As our liberties have been eroded our wealth has been
consumed. The wealth we see today is based on debt and a foolish
willingness on the part of foreigners to take our dollars for goods
and services. They then loan them back to us to perpetuate our debt
system. It’s amazing that it has worked for this long but the impasse
in Washington, in solving our problems indicate that many are starting
to understand the seriousness of the world -wide debt crisis and
the dangers we face. The longer this process continues the harsher
the outcome will be.
The Financial
Crisis Is a Moral Crisis
Many are now
acknowledging that a financial crisis looms but few understand it’s,
in reality, a moral crisis. It’s the moral crisis that has allowed
our liberties to be undermined and permits the exponential growth
of illegal government power. Without a clear understanding of the
nature of the crisis it will be difficult to prevent a steady march
toward tyranny and the poverty that will accompany it.
Ultimately,
the people have to decide which form of government they want; option
#1 or option #2. There is no other choice. Claiming there is a choice
of a "little" tyranny is like describing pregnancy as
a "touch of pregnancy." It is a myth to believe that a
mixture of free markets and government central economic planning
is a worthy compromise. What we see today is a result of that type
of thinking. And the results speak for themselves.
A Culture
of Violence
American now
suffers from a culture of violence. It’s easy to reject the initiation
of violence against one’s neighbor but it’s ironic that the people
arbitrarily and freely anoint government officials with monopoly
power to initiate violence against the American people – practically
at will.
Because it’s
the government that initiates force, most people accept it as being
legitimate. Those who exert the force have no sense of guilt. It
is believed by too many that governments are morally justified in
initiating force supposedly to "do good." They incorrectly
believe that this authority has come from the "consent of the
people." The minority, or victims of government violence never
consented to suffer the abuse of government mandates, even when
dictated by the majority. Victims of TSA excesses never consented
to this abuse.
This attitude
has given us a policy of initiating war to "do good,"
as well. It is claimed that war, to prevent war for noble purposes,
is justified. This is similar to what we were once told that: "destroying
a village to save a village" was justified. It was said by
a US Secretary of State that the loss of 500,000 Iraqis, mostly
children, in the 1990s, as a result of American bombs and sanctions,
was "worth it" to achieve the "good" we brought
to the Iraqi people. And look at the mess that Iraq is in today.
Government
use of force to mold social and economic behavior at home and abroad
has justified individuals using force on their own terms. The fact
that violence by government is seen as morally justified, is the
reason why violence will increase when the big financial crisis
hits and becomes a political crisis as well.
First, we recognize
that individuals shouldn’t initiate violence, then we give the authority
to government. Eventually, the immoral use of government violence,
when things goes badly, will be used to justify an individual’s
"right" to do the same thing. Neither the government nor
individuals have the moral right to initiate violence against another
yet we are moving toward the day when both will claim this authority.
If this cycle is not reversed society will break down.
When needs
are pressing, conditions deteriorate and rights become relative
to the demands and the whims of the majority. It’s then not a great
leap for individuals to take it upon themselves to use violence
to get what they claim is theirs. As the economy deteriorates and
the wealth discrepancies increase – as are already occurring – violence
increases as those in need take it in their own hands to get what
they believe is theirs. They will not wait for a government rescue
program.
When government
officials wield power over others to bail out the special interests,
even with disastrous results to the average citizen, they feel no
guilt for the harm they do. Those who take us into undeclared wars
with many casualties resulting, never lose sleep over the death
and destruction their bad decisions caused. They are convinced that
what they do is morally justified, and the fact that many suffer
just can’t be helped.
When the street
criminals do the same thing, they too have no remorse, believing
they are only taking what is rightfully theirs. All moral standards
become relative. Whether it’s bailouts, privileges, government subsidies
or benefits for some from inflating a currency, it’s all part of
a process justified by a philosophy of forced redistribution of
wealth. Violence, or a threat of such, is the instrument required
and unfortunately is of little concern of most members of Congress.
Some argue
it’s only a matter of "fairness" that those in need are
cared for. There are two problems with this. First, the principle
is used to provide a greater amount of benefits to the rich than
the poor. Second, no one seems to be concerned about whether or
not it’s fair to those who end up paying for the benefits. The costs
are usually placed on the backs of the middle class and are hidden
from the public eye. Too many people believe government handouts
are free, like printing money out of thin air, and there is no cost.
That deception is coming to an end. The bills are coming due and
that’s what the economic slowdown is all about.
Sadly, we have
become accustomed to living with the illegitimate use of force by
government. It is the tool for telling the people how to live, what
to eat and drink, what to read and how to spend their money.
To develop
a truly free society, the issue of initiating force must be understood
and rejected. Granting to government even a small amount of force
is a dangerous concession.
Limiting
Government Excesses vs. a Virtuous Moral People
Our Constitution,
which was intended to limit government power and abuse, has failed.
The Founders warned that a free society depends on a virtuous and
moral people. The current crisis reflects that their concerns were
justified.
Most politicians
and pundits are aware of the problems we face but spend all their
time in trying to reform government. The sad part is that the suggested
reforms almost always lead to less freedom and the importance of
a virtuous and moral people is either ignored, or not understood.
The new reforms serve only to further undermine liberty. The compounding
effect has given us this steady erosion of liberty and the massive
expansion of debt. The real question is: if it is liberty we seek,
should most of the emphasis be placed on government reform or trying
to understand what "a virtuous and moral people" means
and how to promote it. The Constitution has not prevented the people
from demanding handouts for both rich and poor in their efforts
to reform the government, while ignoring the principles of a free
society. All branches of our government today are controlled by
individuals who use their power to undermine liberty and enhance
the welfare/warfare state-and frequently their own wealth and power.
If the people
are unhappy with the government performance it must be recognized
that government is merely a reflection of an immoral society that
rejected a moral government of constitutional limitations of power
and love of freedom.
If this is
the problem all the tinkering with thousands of pages of new laws
and regulations will do nothing to solve the problem.
It is self-evident
that our freedoms have been severely limited and the apparent prosperity
we still have, is nothing more than leftover wealth from a previous
time. This fictitious wealth based on debt and benefits from a false
trust in our currency and credit, will play havoc with our society
when the bills come due. This means that the full consequence of
our lost liberties is yet to be felt.
But that illusion
is now ending. Reversing a downward spiral depends on accepting
a new approach.
Expect the
rapidly expanding homeschooling movement to play a significant role
in the revolutionary reforms needed to build a free society with
Constitutional protections. We cannot expect a Federal government
controlled school system to provide the intellectual ammunition
to combat the dangerous growth of government that threatens our
liberties.
The internet
will provide the alternative to the government/media complex that
controls the news and most political propaganda. This is why it’s
essential that the internet remains free of government regulation.
Many of our
religious institutions and secular organizations support greater
dependency on the state by supporting war, welfare and corporatism
and ignore the need for a virtuous people.
I never believed
that the world or our country could be made more free by politicians,
if the people had no desire for freedom.
Under the current
circumstances the most we can hope to achieve in the political process
is to use it as a podium to reach the people to alert them of the
nature of the crisis and the importance of their need to assume
responsibility for themselves, if it is liberty that they truly
seek. Without this, a constitutionally protected free society is
impossible.
If this is
true, our individual goal in life ought to be for us to seek virtue
and excellence and recognize that self-esteem and happiness only
comes from using one’s natural ability, in the most productive manner
possible, according to one’s own talents.
Productivity
and creativity are the true source of personal satisfaction. Freedom,
and not dependency, provides the environment needed to achieve these
goals. Government cannot do this for us; it only gets in the way.
When the government gets involved, the goal becomes a bailout or
a subsidy and these cannot provide a sense of personal achievement.
Achieving legislative
power and political influence should not be our goal. Most of the
change, if it is to come, will not come from the politicians, but
rather from individuals, family, friends, intellectual leaders and
our religious institutions. The solution can only come from rejecting
the use of coercion, compulsion, government commands, and aggressive
force, to mold social and economic behavior. Without accepting these
restraints, inevitably the consensus will be to allow the government
to mandate economic equality and obedience to the politicians who
gain power and promote an environment that smothers the freedoms
of everyone. It is then that the responsible individuals who seek
excellence and self-esteem by being self-reliance and productive,
become the true victims.
Conclusion
What are the
greatest dangers that the American people face today and impede
the goal of a free society? There are five.
1. The continuous
attack on our civil liberties which threatens the rule of law and
our ability to resist the onrush of tyranny.
2. Violent
anti-Americanism that has engulfed the world. Because the phenomenon
of "blow-back" is not understood or denied, our foreign
policy is destined to keep us involved in many wars that we have
no business being in. National bankruptcy and a greater threat to
our national security will result.
3. The ease
in which we go to war, without a declaration by Congress, but accepting
international authority from the UN or NATO even for preemptive
wars, otherwise known as aggression.
4. A financial
political crisis as a consequence of excessive debt, unfunded liabilities,
spending, bailouts, and gross discrepancy in wealth distribution
going from the middle class to the rich. The danger of central economic
planning, by the Federal Reserve must be understood.
5. World
government taking over local and US sovereignty by getting involved
in the issues of war, welfare, trade, banking, a world currency,
taxes, property ownership, and private ownership of guns.
Happily, there is an answer for these very dangerous trends.
What a wonderful
world it would be if everyone accepted the simple moral premise
of rejecting all acts of aggression. The retort to such a suggestion
is always: it’s too simplistic, too idealistic, impractical, naïve,
utopian, dangerous, and unrealistic to strive for such an ideal.
The
answer to that is that for thousands of years the acceptance of
government force, to rule over the people, at the sacrifice of liberty,
was considered moral and the only available option for achieving
peace and prosperity.
What could
be more utopian than that myth – considering the results especially
looking at the state sponsored killing, by nearly every government
during the 20th Century, estimated to be in the hundreds
of millions. It’s time to reconsider this grant of authority to
the state.
No good has
ever come from granting monopoly power to the state to use aggression
against the people to arbitrarily mold human behavior. Such power,
when left unchecked, becomes the seed of an ugly tyranny. This method
of governance has been adequately tested, and the results are in:
reality dictates we try liberty.
The idealism
of non-aggression and rejecting all offensive use of force should
be tried. The idealism of government sanctioned violence has been
abused throughout history and is the primary source of poverty and
war. The theory of a society being based on individual freedom has
been around for a long time. It’s time to take a bold step and actually
permit it by advancing this cause, rather than taking a step backwards
as some would like us to do.
Today the principle
of habeas corpus, established when King John signed the Magna Carta
in 1215, is under attack. There’s every reason to believe that a
renewed effort with the use of the internet that we can instead
advance the cause of liberty by spreading an uncensored message
that will serve to rein in government authority and challenge the
obsession with war and welfare.
What I’m talking
about is a system of government guided by the moral principles of
peace and tolerance.
The Founders
were convinced that a free society could not exist without a moral
people. Just writing rules won’t work if the people choose to ignore
them. Today the rule of law written in the Constitution has little
meaning for most Americans, especially those who work in Washington
DC.
Benjamin Franklin
claimed "only a virtuous people are capable of freedom."
John Adams concurred: "Our Constitution was made for a moral
and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government
of any other."
A moral people
must reject all violence in an effort to mold people’s beliefs or
habits.
A society that
boos or ridicules the Golden Rule is not a moral society. All great
religions endorse the Golden Rule. The same moral standards that
individuals are required to follow should apply to all government
officials. They cannot be exempt.
The ultimate
solution is not in the hands of the government.
The solution
falls on each and every individual, with guidance from family, friends
and community.
The #1 responsibility
for each of us is to change ourselves with hope that others will
follow. This is of greater importance than working on changing the
government; that is secondary to promoting a virtuous society. If
we can achieve this, then the government will change.
It doesn’t
mean that political action or holding office has no value. At times
it does nudge policy in the right direction. But what is true is
that when seeking office is done for personal aggrandizement, money
or power, it becomes useless if not harmful. When political action
is taken for the right reasons it’s easy to understand why compromise
should be avoided. It also becomes clear why progress is best achieved
by working with coalitions, which bring people together, without
anyone sacrificing his principles.
Political action,
to be truly beneficial, must be directed toward changing the hearts
and minds of the people, recognizing that it’s the virtue and morality
of the people that allow liberty to flourish.
The
Constitution or more laws per se, have no value if the people’s
attitudes aren’t changed.
To achieve
liberty and peace, two powerful human emotions have to be overcome.
Number one is "envy" which leads to hate and class warfare.
Number two is "intolerance" which leads to bigoted and
judgemental policies. These emotions must be replaced with a much
better understanding of love, compassion, tolerance and free market
economics. Freedom, when understood, brings people together. When
tried, freedom is popular.
The problem
we have faced over the years has been that economic interventionists
are swayed by envy, whereas social interventionists are swayed by
intolerance of habits and lifestyles. The misunderstanding that
tolerance is an endorsement of certain activities, motivates many
to legislate moral standards which should only be set by individuals
making their own choices. Both sides use force to deal with these
misplaced emotions. Both are authoritarians. Neither endorses voluntarism.
Both views ought to be rejected.
I have come
to one firm conviction after these many years of trying to figure
out "the plain truth of things." The best chance for achieving
peace and prosperity, for the maximum number of people world-wide,
is to pursue the cause of LIBERTY.
If you find
this to be a worthwhile message, spread it throughout the land.