It's Time for Another Revolution

Text of the Declaration of Independence


Thomas Jefferson was a legal and historical scholar with an ideal.  He, along with the founding fathers, believed that history could be used as a predictor of the future.  His dream was to break away from history's cycles of oppression by creating a system of government that would limit government power.

Government is important.  Our original system, under the Articles of Confederation, showed us that a strong central government is essential for a nation to succeed.  To help keep the strength of the central government from leading to oppression of the people, the framers studied history and political philosophy to discover a method of checks and balances to limit the power of government.

In 1788, the US Constitution was ratified, going into effect in 1789.  Since then, the members of government have tried to break from the original intent of limiting government power.

Today, we are failing our history test.  History clearly tells us not to trust government.  It tells us not to become dependent on government to provide for us.  It warns against deficit spending, except during times of war.  It informs us of the danger of generational debt.  History clearly shows us the pain and suffering caused by government oppression and the subjugation of the people.

We are warned, but we are ignoring the warning.  Most Americans are remarkably ignorant of history and political philosophy.  As a result, we are making the exact mistakes history warns us against.  We cherry-pick history to support our pet ideologies.  We quote fools to push selfish agendas.  We give up personal liberty to promote our own laziness and irresponsibility in the name of compassion and generosity.

Pure capitalism works best in an environment of anarchy.  Non-government allows the greed of capitalism to flourish in a Darwinistic manner.  Pure communism also works best in anarchy, but only when practiced by non-humans, since it requires the complete absence of greed and laziness.  Government is necessary, in part, to regulate the economic system.  It's a necessary evil used to counter the evil of an unregulated economy.

Government and economic systems are like the balance of microbes in the the human body.  Bacteria and yeast, for instance, both live in the human host.  They both serve their individual purposes, keeping the host healthy.  They keep each other in balance by constantly competing.  If one microbe gains an advantage over the other, the host will become ill.  It's only through balance that health is maintained.

In the 19th century, our government was a bit too weak, allowing capitalism to cause economic oppression of certain segments of society.  As government increased in strength, the resulting balance made our nation healthier, eventually resulting in the greatest nation the world had ever seen.  In the latter half of the 20th century, however, we allowed the government to become too strong.  By the mid 1970's, we started to see that imbalance affect the health of the host.  Now our nation is beginning to suffer the oppression of a government that has become too strong.

As it gains strength, our government will continue to grab more power for itself.  The recent Supreme Court decision has opened the door to remarkable oppression.  To get a real feel for the slow change occurring in our country, imagine bringing someone from 1920 forward in time.  Think of their likely reaction to airport security, smoking laws, DUI checkpoints, modern social security, gun regulation, drug regulation, modern tax laws, the Patriot Act, etc.  Yes there are changes that have improved society (i.e. racism and child abuse), but the changes in government power are alarming.

It may not be too late.  It's time for another revolution.  A bloodless one this time, working within the system, but a revolution none the less.