Freedom in America

Something is wrong in America. The voices of millions of people whisper, shout, and tell a lie that Americans believe: “Somebody should do something about that. The government should do something about that.” People have shaken off their personal and familial responsibility and shifted it to the government. American’s physical safety, their retirement, the care of their children is increasingly placed in the hands of the government. In general, Americans have sold their birthright for a mess of pottage. They have allowed fear, complacency, and a desire for personal wealth to overcome their judgment and have willingly surrendered many of their rights. America is heading for disaster. The time has come for Americans to take responsibility for themselves and their families. If they don’t do it now, they will soon find it is too late.

What is wrong with the government providing financially for its citizens?

The United States provides many benefits for its citizens. We can receive money and health care when we are too old to work, we can receive living expenses when we’re out of work, and we can send our children to school without paying out of our own pockets. What’s wrong with the government making sure its citizens are cared for and educated? The problem is that it is first each person’s individual responsibility to make sure that they and their family are cared for, not the government’s.

Allowing the government to provide for the people, instead of expecting them to provide for themselves, creates a people who are lazy, short-sighted, and unskilled. Furthermore, it fosters a false sense of security. Most Americans are no longer preparing for retirement. Young people squander their money and acquire excessive debt so they can have all the gismos and gadgets their hearts desire. They don’t worry about the future because they expect the government to be there to take care of them when they are no longer able to provide for themselves.

The government was not created to take care of the people as though they were incapable of providing for themselves. When the founding fathers set up the government, they organized it to allow the greatest responsibility to rest on the citizens. The purpose of the American government, the reason why it is so great, is because it allows people to govern themselves while protecting their liberties. When people govern themselves, they usually choose what’s best for everyone. The common good is the common concern. This system only fails when the people become complacent, give up the right to govern themselves, and allow themselves to be dictated by others.

Why is personal responsibility so important?

We suffer the consequences of our own choices. Allowing the government to make choices for us does not insulate us from the consequences of those choices. In the end, each individual will have to make an accounting of their own life before God. The successes or failures of the government will not save its citizens from individual judgment. Nor can it continually spare a person difficulties in this life because of unwise actions. Every person is subject to the law of reciprocation, just as they are subject to the law of gravity. The government can delay the consequences of unwise decisions, but that just makes the problem worse. Attempting to hold back the consequences of choice only adds to the problem, just as holding back water with a dam results in a pool behind the barrier. When the dam breaks, the surge of debris-filled water causes much more damage than the river ever would.

Furthermore, the greater good is put at risk when responsibility shifts from the individual to the government. It is human nature for a person who is given a little authority to abuse their position. Strong leaders resist the urge to take complete power and give as much responsibility to the governed as possible. The more power a person gains, the more susceptible they are to putting personal gain over common welfare. When a small percentage of people are allowed unrestrained government of a large body, the risk for corruption increases. Disaster results. Personal liberties are restricted, taxes are excessive, and the governing minority enjoys gluttonous living while the majority lives in squalor and poverty. In short, the common good is defeated and the extravagance of the few triumphs.

What evidence is there that the United States government has too much power?

When government policies begin to become burdensome for its citizens to bear, then the government has overstepped its bounds and become too powerful. We are beginning to see this happen in America. Many laws no longer allow Americans to decide what is best for themselves or their families. Taxes are so burdensome that they are harming people. Government officials receive remuneration far above the standard living wages of the average American.

As an American, you do not have the right to decide how your child is educated. Even if you decide to teach your child at home you have to agree to teach them the curriculum approved by the government in order to allow them to be released from public school. You cannot decide how you will use your property. Laws tell you where on your property your house must be located, how your yard must be landscaped, and what animals you are allowed to keep. You can’t even decide whether you will protect yourself by wearing your seat belt. The government has taken it upon itself to dictate many aspects of your life. This is all done in the name of public good, but detailed restrictions never were the greatest good for society. People benefit much more from being allowed to work out their own problems and learn from mistakes.

Taxes are supposed to be used for the benefit of the citizens, but they have become so excessive that many people have suffered misfortune because of their inability to pay them. Consider the situation of Chris Gardner, whose story was made famous by the movie “The Pursuit of Happiness.” He suffered months of homelessness because the government withdrew his taxes from his checking account. Additionally, many people now face danger of losing their homes because they cannot pay the property taxes since the market value has risen so dramatically in the past few years. A government that truly has the welfare of the people as their first priority, will not tax them so excessively that they are denied even the basic necessity of a roof over their heads.

Even more repulsive is the fact that a large amount of the taxes go into the personal pockets of the governing officials. In Hitler’s time, the rulers had luxurious houses, fine food, and the nicest things while the people made do with rotting food and the ever present threat of loosing their homes. While Americans don’t see such a great distinction, the parallels are obvious. When rulers accept luxury at the expense of citizen’s necessities, they are no longer putting the welfare of the people first.

What do Americans need to do?

It is time for Americans to stop looking around for a scapegoat and start taking full responsibility for their lives. They need to stop looking to the government when difficulties arise, and find ways to deal with problems themselves. Being a good citizen is more than voting for the right person; it’s being the right person. It’s about doing what is right, not what is easy, and then standing up for the right. The constitution was created to limit the power of the government and increase the power of the individual. America can only remain a good country if its people are good people.

Public education, Medicare, social security, and welfare have all led Americans to believe that they no longer have a responsibility for the care of their family members. In times and places where the government doesn’t try to promise complete financial security for everyone, family members swarm around each other to help out when difficulties arise. Parents see it as their responsibility to teach their children or provide them with a good education. People think less of themselves and more about the people around them, because they have to depend on each other for help. That’s the way it should be. Loving family members and friends have always been much better providers than faceless entities like the government.

American’s need not reject all welfare programs, but they do need to start changing their perspective. If American’s were to plan for their own retirements and take care of their aged parents’ unmet needs, if they saw their children’s education as their responsibility first and other sources as nothing more than helps, if they stopped looking around for the person to blame when trouble occurred and simply did their best to cope, then the need for public education, welfare, and social security would greatly diminish. Only those who were deprived of family relations would need to consider government aid. The elderly would no longer be in danger of losing their homes because not only would taxes be less excessive, but family members would be ready to jump in and help when financial needs weren’t met.

For thousands of years the world functioned with the family as its basic unit. The idea that family members can and should support each other is not a rosy ideal, but a natural fact of life. Anytime other priorities trumped the family, civilization has fallen apart. It happened in Germany, it happened in Sodom and Gomorrah, it is happening in America, and it will result in devastation unless Americans change.

America is a great country because its people are great. Capital gains, comfortable living conditions, numerous opportunities, and so forth, are all the result of good people working hard. If we relax our ideals and decide it is no longer necessary to be moral, hard-working, and selfless, then we will soon lose the comforts we enjoy. American’s need to fight for their freedoms now, just as the founding fathers did-now, before it’s too late.