To my moderate and liberal friends:
I was not the biggest fan of George W. Bush when he was elected. I voted for him because, in my opinion, he was a better candidate than Al Gore.
When terrorists attacked our country and President Bush, supported by virtually all of Congress and most of Americans at the time, invaded the sovereign nation of Afghanistan I had concerns. I wasn't opposed to the war, but I wasn't for it either. I hadn't had enough time to recover from the emotional blow of 9/11 to make a rational assessment of starting a war.
When the Patriot Act was rushed through Congress I was largely unaware of its content or implication. I'm naturally skeptical of the effectiveness of any government program, and anticipated that this would be a bandaid that would quickly fall off and be forgotten. After all, it had a sunset clause that forced its periodic review and renewal.
When the country was whipped into a frenzy over the perceived threat of an attack from Iraq, I really had to pause. I did not support our invasion of Iraq, but I was not vocally opposed to it, either. For the second time in just a few years, my country had gone on the offense in an overseas war. This time it was not a hunt for justice, but rather an action with the stated goal of preempting a possible attack.
And toward the end of President Bush's second term, as he claimed that he had to "abandon free market principles to save the free market" by bailing out large banks, I realized something.
I realized that George Bush, the man I'd trusted enough to vote for twice, was betraying many of the core principles that I valued most as an American.
1. Our national sovereignty is the first barrier we have protecting America from becoming subject to the will and whim of foreign nations. We'd been willing to violate that of another nation. Twice. Something didn't feel right.
2. Our natural rights as individuals are what make us sovereign in ourselves. Unique in the world is the American Constitution which guarantees those rights to every citizen and asserts them for every person on earth. The Patriot Act was probably the greatest breach of that Constitutional protection since the Alien and Sedition Acts early in our nation's history. Under the Patriot Act, my First, Second, Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights were eviscerated. We all took a giant leap away from being Citizens and toward becoming Subjects of America.
3. I am a firm believer that free people are the most productive and happy people. I am a firm believer, too, that free markets are the most productive and efficient markets. I won't believe that everyone gets rich in a free market economy, but I am convinced that they provide more good to more people than the enforced equal poverty that results from socialistic or communistic economies. When George Bush walked away from the free market and allowed the government to choose winners and losers in the financial crisis of 2008 I was very disappointed.
I was awakened. And I realized that I'd been betrayed not only by the President, but by John McCain and Jon Kyl, my Senators; by Ann Kirkpatrick, my Representative. Virtually every person I'd supported to represent me in government - from the city council to the White House - was either ignoring or fighting against principles that I believed were key and core to my identity as an American and as a human being.
And I revolted. I started writing and calling. I let my elected government officials know what I felt, thought and believed and why. I told them what was important to me and what I thought was important to the nation.
Did anything change? I don't know. Ann Kirkpatrick was replaced in the US House of Representatives by Paul Gosar. Dr. Gosar and I don't agree on everything, but we have a civil discourse and I'm convinced of his conservative core. (And when I say "conservative" I don't mean "neo-con" or "Republican". I mean "conservative" in the sense of "conservation" of our national sovereignty and my natural rights as an individual.)
But, as they say, enough about me!
Even the most ardent liberal philosopher (and I'll make a distinction between "liberal" and "statist" or "progressive") should be appalled at what has happened.
The Bill of Rights - the first ten amendments to the US Constitution - is arguably THE thing that makes America unique in the world.
In the name of the Bill of Rights we've ended slavery in America, we've extended voting rights to women, we've advanced the cause of blacks in America, we've ensured that abortions may be had at virtually any time and for any reason, we've defended and even funded hate, degradation and pornography in artwork, we've allowed criminals who are known beyond doubt to be guilty to walk free, we've forced workers to pay union dues simply for the privilege of having a job, we've forced the Christian religion off the public square and out of text books while promoting humanism as the new religion of the state, we've enshrined principles of the theocratic and exceptionally brutal Islamic law called Shariah in our courts.
And in the name of the "General Welfare" clause of the Constitution we've provided a modest pension for our senior citizens, we've provided medical care for our poor, we've ensured that children have good food to eat, we've integrated schools, we've declared and fought a costly war against drugs, crime and terrorism, we've restricted travel and property rights for certain among us, we've developed a central bank that has caused a century of economic instability while feeding its cabal of owners with obscene and illicit profit, we've turned doctors, counselors and clergy into watchdogs for the State.
What began ostensibly with good intentions has grown out of control. Now we entertain a national discussion - a serious and deliberate discussion - on how we should (not "IF", but "HOW") restrict the natural rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment.
Some have said that this assault on the Second Amendment is the camel's nose under the tent. I would argue that it is not his nose at all. His nose was probably the Federal Income Tax passed early in the last century. The camel's head was probably the abrogation of the Fourth Amendment protections by the passage (under President Bush) and the renewal (under President Obama) of the Patriot Act. We are now at the camel's forelegs.
We need "common sense" reforms to save "even one life" from "gun violence". Look, the reasoning goes, who needs guns like that for hunting or target practice? No one needs those things! And what are you getting so worked up about? No one is going to come and take away your freedoms.
What freedoms are you not going to take? You've already told me what I may or may not say in the context of political correctness. You've already limited how, when and where I may defend myself using any means I feel apropriate. You are already able to listen to my phone conversations, read my email and search my person and property whenever you like. You've already told my doctor that he must report "dangerous" things to "authorities". You've already taken away any expectation I had for a fair and speedy public trial by providing for indefinite preemptive detention. You've already forced my state into submitting to the will of the federal government and complying with all of its laws with the threat of withholding funds. You've already told me that if it's not in the Constitution then I don't have a right to do it.
So, my friends.
I want you to know that it is not disloyal, unpatriotic, hateful or racist to admit that President Obama is continuing to drive our nation down a road that Woodrow Wilson started us on, and that almost every president since has continued on, toward a future where the State is supreme and the individual exists only to serve the State.
Please, take an honest look around. See what has been happening. See what is happening. Draw a trend line through your observation points. Is it trending toward more personal liberty? Or is it trending toward less?
Throw out your Che Guevara tee shirt. Take down your Mao Tse Dong poster. See those "progressives" for what they were. They were people who killed other people who disagreed with them. Listen to President Obama and realize that he's a bully. He's willing to bully people until they do what he tells them - not have a conversation with them until they see things his way. He threatens, he mocks, he sets up straw man after straw man. He paints his ideological opponents as vilainous cartoon characters.
That's not the liberal ideal! It may work for progressives, statists and demagogues, but a true LIBERAL recoils at the thought.
Stop letting government officials talk about restricting or taking away things they think others don't "need". One day someone will (not might) decide that YOU don't "need" something you love.
Our nation wasn't built on "needs". It was built on Natural Rights. It was built on opportunity. It was built on big, audacious ideals. Ideals much bigger than "looking out for each other", or "having skin in the game", or "fair shares and shots".
We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
No president, no legislator, no king or tyrant is placed by Nature above another human being. And the God of Nature will hold those accountable for what they do while they are entrusted with leading others.
I hope that you can find in your hearts the will to examine really what our president, Barack Obama, is doing.
I was not the biggest fan of George W. Bush when he was elected. I voted for him because, in my opinion, he was a better candidate than Al Gore.
When terrorists attacked our country and President Bush, supported by virtually all of Congress and most of Americans at the time, invaded the sovereign nation of Afghanistan I had concerns. I wasn't opposed to the war, but I wasn't for it either. I hadn't had enough time to recover from the emotional blow of 9/11 to make a rational assessment of starting a war.
When the Patriot Act was rushed through Congress I was largely unaware of its content or implication. I'm naturally skeptical of the effectiveness of any government program, and anticipated that this would be a bandaid that would quickly fall off and be forgotten. After all, it had a sunset clause that forced its periodic review and renewal.
When the country was whipped into a frenzy over the perceived threat of an attack from Iraq, I really had to pause. I did not support our invasion of Iraq, but I was not vocally opposed to it, either. For the second time in just a few years, my country had gone on the offense in an overseas war. This time it was not a hunt for justice, but rather an action with the stated goal of preempting a possible attack.
And toward the end of President Bush's second term, as he claimed that he had to "abandon free market principles to save the free market" by bailing out large banks, I realized something.
I realized that George Bush, the man I'd trusted enough to vote for twice, was betraying many of the core principles that I valued most as an American.
1. Our national sovereignty is the first barrier we have protecting America from becoming subject to the will and whim of foreign nations. We'd been willing to violate that of another nation. Twice. Something didn't feel right.
2. Our natural rights as individuals are what make us sovereign in ourselves. Unique in the world is the American Constitution which guarantees those rights to every citizen and asserts them for every person on earth. The Patriot Act was probably the greatest breach of that Constitutional protection since the Alien and Sedition Acts early in our nation's history. Under the Patriot Act, my First, Second, Fourth and Sixth Amendment rights were eviscerated. We all took a giant leap away from being Citizens and toward becoming Subjects of America.
3. I am a firm believer that free people are the most productive and happy people. I am a firm believer, too, that free markets are the most productive and efficient markets. I won't believe that everyone gets rich in a free market economy, but I am convinced that they provide more good to more people than the enforced equal poverty that results from socialistic or communistic economies. When George Bush walked away from the free market and allowed the government to choose winners and losers in the financial crisis of 2008 I was very disappointed.
I was awakened. And I realized that I'd been betrayed not only by the President, but by John McCain and Jon Kyl, my Senators; by Ann Kirkpatrick, my Representative. Virtually every person I'd supported to represent me in government - from the city council to the White House - was either ignoring or fighting against principles that I believed were key and core to my identity as an American and as a human being.
And I revolted. I started writing and calling. I let my elected government officials know what I felt, thought and believed and why. I told them what was important to me and what I thought was important to the nation.
Did anything change? I don't know. Ann Kirkpatrick was replaced in the US House of Representatives by Paul Gosar. Dr. Gosar and I don't agree on everything, but we have a civil discourse and I'm convinced of his conservative core. (And when I say "conservative" I don't mean "neo-con" or "Republican". I mean "conservative" in the sense of "conservation" of our national sovereignty and my natural rights as an individual.)
But, as they say, enough about me!
Even the most ardent liberal philosopher (and I'll make a distinction between "liberal" and "statist" or "progressive") should be appalled at what has happened.
The Bill of Rights - the first ten amendments to the US Constitution - is arguably THE thing that makes America unique in the world.
In the name of the Bill of Rights we've ended slavery in America, we've extended voting rights to women, we've advanced the cause of blacks in America, we've ensured that abortions may be had at virtually any time and for any reason, we've defended and even funded hate, degradation and pornography in artwork, we've allowed criminals who are known beyond doubt to be guilty to walk free, we've forced workers to pay union dues simply for the privilege of having a job, we've forced the Christian religion off the public square and out of text books while promoting humanism as the new religion of the state, we've enshrined principles of the theocratic and exceptionally brutal Islamic law called Shariah in our courts.
And in the name of the "General Welfare" clause of the Constitution we've provided a modest pension for our senior citizens, we've provided medical care for our poor, we've ensured that children have good food to eat, we've integrated schools, we've declared and fought a costly war against drugs, crime and terrorism, we've restricted travel and property rights for certain among us, we've developed a central bank that has caused a century of economic instability while feeding its cabal of owners with obscene and illicit profit, we've turned doctors, counselors and clergy into watchdogs for the State.
What began ostensibly with good intentions has grown out of control. Now we entertain a national discussion - a serious and deliberate discussion - on how we should (not "IF", but "HOW") restrict the natural rights guaranteed under the Second Amendment.
Some have said that this assault on the Second Amendment is the camel's nose under the tent. I would argue that it is not his nose at all. His nose was probably the Federal Income Tax passed early in the last century. The camel's head was probably the abrogation of the Fourth Amendment protections by the passage (under President Bush) and the renewal (under President Obama) of the Patriot Act. We are now at the camel's forelegs.
We need "common sense" reforms to save "even one life" from "gun violence". Look, the reasoning goes, who needs guns like that for hunting or target practice? No one needs those things! And what are you getting so worked up about? No one is going to come and take away your freedoms.
What freedoms are you not going to take? You've already told me what I may or may not say in the context of political correctness. You've already limited how, when and where I may defend myself using any means I feel apropriate. You are already able to listen to my phone conversations, read my email and search my person and property whenever you like. You've already told my doctor that he must report "dangerous" things to "authorities". You've already taken away any expectation I had for a fair and speedy public trial by providing for indefinite preemptive detention. You've already forced my state into submitting to the will of the federal government and complying with all of its laws with the threat of withholding funds. You've already told me that if it's not in the Constitution then I don't have a right to do it.
So, my friends.
I want you to know that it is not disloyal, unpatriotic, hateful or racist to admit that President Obama is continuing to drive our nation down a road that Woodrow Wilson started us on, and that almost every president since has continued on, toward a future where the State is supreme and the individual exists only to serve the State.
Please, take an honest look around. See what has been happening. See what is happening. Draw a trend line through your observation points. Is it trending toward more personal liberty? Or is it trending toward less?
Throw out your Che Guevara tee shirt. Take down your Mao Tse Dong poster. See those "progressives" for what they were. They were people who killed other people who disagreed with them. Listen to President Obama and realize that he's a bully. He's willing to bully people until they do what he tells them - not have a conversation with them until they see things his way. He threatens, he mocks, he sets up straw man after straw man. He paints his ideological opponents as vilainous cartoon characters.
That's not the liberal ideal! It may work for progressives, statists and demagogues, but a true LIBERAL recoils at the thought.
Stop letting government officials talk about restricting or taking away things they think others don't "need". One day someone will (not might) decide that YOU don't "need" something you love.
Our nation wasn't built on "needs". It was built on Natural Rights. It was built on opportunity. It was built on big, audacious ideals. Ideals much bigger than "looking out for each other", or "having skin in the game", or "fair shares and shots".
We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights. Among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
No president, no legislator, no king or tyrant is placed by Nature above another human being. And the God of Nature will hold those accountable for what they do while they are entrusted with leading others.
I hope that you can find in your hearts the will to examine really what our president, Barack Obama, is doing.
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