Wednesday, January 18, 2006

We should listen to the founding fathers.

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

Benjamin Franklin

***I am adding this picture to this blog post on 01-24-06 since it seems appropiate***




I sometimes wonder what the founding fathers would make of our country if they were alive today. I wonder if they would nod their heads and say, "See. Told you we had to put that in the Constitution, so that our descendants will not have to live through the same mistakes we did." Maybe they would be surprised at how things turned out. Maybe they would just grin at the explosive growth and influence of the press. I know one thing that would have them turning in their graves though; the gradual erosion of freedom that government has seized in the name of security. Did you know that when Social Security was first envisioned there was concern that a national social system would be abused and the government would use Social Security numbers to track citizens and we would slip into the style of facist governments and track our people's every move. Remind you of George Orwell and Big Brother? Maybe some people rest easy at night, safe in the knowledge that the government is only doing this to protect them from the big bad terrorists. Maybe we should just give the selfless people in Washington DC the ability to do whatever they want to protect us from the bad guys. Lets throw up cameras on every street corner and monitor the comings and goings of everyone. Lets create a national database with everybody's names in it so that we will know when a terrorist slips into the country. While we are at it lets outlaw the ability for everyone to make their own choices. Heaven knows the majority of the country is next to illiterate and shouldn't be trusted with the decision making ability of whether or not to have an abortion, or when they should be able to end their own life. I know I want the concerned bureaucracy in Washington to keep out all those darn foreigners who are stealing hard working American's jobs. I mean come on those illegal immigrant Mexican workers in California are worse than the Irish were in New York in the 19th century...

Ok maybe someone out there didn't realize that I had slipped into sarcasm and started to think that I am an outright bigot. What I really wanted to do is write a controversial blog, maybe to get some of the people who read this thinking about what we are giving up lately in our quest for safety. Maybe they will tell their friends, who will tell their friends... I have gotten extremely nervous about what is happening around the country lately, the Big Brother knows best attitude of the Federal Government, the feeling that it is right for the President or Congress to decide how everyone lives their lives. Its easy to give in a little bit and then wonder what happened when the inch you gave up has become a foot then a yard. Maybe someone out there reading this will become motivated to vote or to let their elected leaders know that we are not going to take their bullying any longer. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions...

11 Comments:

Blogger RT said...

I've been preaching about this for years... But no one ever listens to me.

9:42 PM  
Blogger Ken said...

Very well stated. Usually when I get on one of my rants about this, people look at me like I'm crazy. My brother in law sends a lot of mail about stuff like this.

I do worry about where this country is going. I'm not sure that any party is better than the other, no wonder voter apathy is increasing. Not that it's right, it's understandable.

On a side note, if all politics are local, why can almost everyone mention the president of the US, but they don't know who their Assemblyman is?

7:33 AM  
Blogger RT said...

Have you noticed that every time they try passing these laws, or if someone starts protesting them too much, we suddenly start getting all kinds of threats?

6:04 PM  
Blogger Martin said...

I'm a firm believer in state's rights and limited central government but I also believe there are times that the central government needs to step in. These times are few and far between (although Hurricane Katrina would have been a great time to exercise it.)

I do worry about the treadmarks as liberty gets thrown under the bus but I don't believe anything is absolute.

6:25 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

RT -- I listen to you...sometimes ;)

Ken -- I used to know all the names of the Assemblymen and Senators in my area and followed city politics, but now days you have so many no name people and retreads jumping from race to race that I admit I don't pay as much attention.

Martin -- The wheels on the bus go 'round and 'round

10:33 AM  
Blogger Martin said...

And it's heading to Detroit, I believe.

2:00 AM  
Blogger Jenn Doll said...

Okay, you all know I don't do politics, but this was a great read and yes, I read it all!

4:21 AM  
Blogger Ken said...

You must have started something here. A bunch of protestors at Georgetown stood with their backs to AG Gonzalez with that same quote. Copycats.

3:06 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Jenn -- Thanks I am glad you enjoyed it...I tend to rant a little but its good to hear people listen.

Ken -- You mean the one I just added? :)

5:39 PM  
Blogger RT said...

"I have gotten extremely nervous about what is happening around the country lately"

... Lately? Sweetie, they've been doing this for years! Our government's ability to subtly take away our liberties by turning us against each other instead of them is nothing short or ingenious.

One defense we may have had was the militia, but they found an effective way to turn people against that, didn't they? Now, we could do the Libertarian thing, but too many abandon it because they think it's too difficult to make it mainstream. And even if we did try to make it mainstream, there will always be those that label it for something it's not, turning the goodhearted people against that, also.

The pipe dreams our govt. have been selling us are just that, and until we actually stop to think about what we're giving up in exchange for what we think will be the laws for the perfect world, they will succeed in taking away everything our constitution stands for.

You want controversy? Here it is!

12:11 AM  
Blogger Ken said...

Um. Yeah.

1:07 PM  

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