Self-Governance

You know, as I read Thomas Payne's "Common Sense" and David McCullough's "John Adams" and the Declaration of Independence I see a common thread.

The Colonies wanted autonomy, or the opportunity - and the responsibility - of self-governance.  Further, the idea that Nature had endowed all men with equality and with the right to detemine their own destiny was put forth clearly.

The premise of self-governance, both of states and of men, was one of the foundational notions of our country's beginning.  And at the root of it all, it was the right of man that was unalienable. 

As we know, and as members of the spectrum politic agree, where much is given much is required. 

Where much is given to individuals in the way of Natural Rights much is required in the way of self-governance.

We see what freedom of conscience can lead to if it is unchecked by individual morality.  White supremacism and Black nationalism are simple philosophies, or ways of looking at life.  In the absence of a moral compass, these belief systems can - and often do - lead to violence.  This violates the Natural Rights of others.

The right to keep and bear arms in the absence of moral restraint can facilitate violence on a shocking scale.

Dishonesty will lead one to bend the protections of the 4th and 5th amendments to avoid responsibility for crimes.  We see criminals escape justice on "technicalities" almost every day.

Now "government" seeks to regulate behavior.  To govern something can mean to control the speed at which a process happens or to limit the bounds within which a process occurs.  Let's think about limiting bounds for a moment.

Picture the local bowling alley.  There are 20, 30, or more lanes.  Bowlers roll a ball at a set of ten pins standing at the end of their lane.  For young or otherwise desirous bowlers some lanes have bumpers or rails that can be raised to keep the balls on the lane and out of the gutter.

Professional bowlers, league bowlers, and even frequent casual bowlers don't use the bumpers.  They have developed enough control to rarely if ever have a ball leave the lane.  But young, handicapped, or inexperienced bowlers frequently find their ball in the gutter.  They have not learned sufficient control to bowl successfully, so the bumpers are raised.

Government is the bowling alley manager.  The gutters in the bowling alley are natural consequences.  The bumpers are the legal consequences. 

For citizens who have control of themselves via a moral compass, governmental restraint is irrelevant because they will almost never bump up against societal limits of behavior.  Citizens (and illegal aliens) who cannot operate within the "lane" of acceptable behavior will find themselves in the "gutter" and running into "the Law". 

Imagine if a well-meaning bowling alley manager decided that he wanted to help all bowlers score better, so he permanently raised the bumpers on all lanes at the alley.  That would probably amuse the better bowlers, but they wouldn't be too put out.  But think about what it would do for the "out of control" bowlers.  It would take away the incentive to do better.  Because of the bumpers they would not have to learn to control their own ball, the alley manager would do it for them.

We see things like this as government - from local to federal - seeks to enact "moral" laws.  It is not enough that unwarranted violent acts against others are illegal, now we must make a special class of unwarranted violent acts called "hate crimes".  We do not need to look far to find other examples of "legislated behavior".

Government has put up the bumpers.  For years those of us who lived our lives down the "center of the lane" were amused that we "had to" make rules like that.  But those rules removed the responsibility of personal restraint from the deviant in our society.  I remember even as a kid, we would call to each other, "You don't have the right to" do this or that....  We had the bumpers up in our pre-adolescent minds already.

Now imagine the bowling alley manager moving the bumpers into the lane so that the ball is funneled into the same spot on the pins - you know the one you aim for to get a strike.  The good bowlers are irritated now because there are actually a number of places you can aim for and a number of routes to take within the lane to get a strike.  The bowlers' individual leeway has been squeezed out of the game and everyone who plays at that bowling alley is getting the same score now.  300 has become meaningless.

As Statism expands in our governments and as citizens become the proverbial sheeple the bumpers are being moved in.  We are being funneled to the same mediocre point where even success becomes meaningless.  Our moral compass, we are told, is irrelevant because the State will tell us what behavior is acceptable and what is taboo.  Our individual leeway to achieve a desired outcome is being taken away.

Now picture the team that practices at our imaginary bowling alley going across town to compete in a different alley with another team in the league.  Because their skills have atrophied and their ability to control their ball has deteriorated in the artificially supportive environment of their home alley, they will fail.  They will have become weak and dependent and, because they are strangers to failure, they will not know success.

If we allow governments to infringe on our Natural Rights and obligations to self-governance we, too, will see our skills of self control atrophy.  Our abilities to succeed will deteriorate and, when we are out of the artificial constructs of governmental control - for example in our own homes - we will fail.  We will have become weak and dependent and, when faced with a choice for which there is no hard and fast rule we will not know success because we have never been allowed to see failure.