What Every American Should Know
Teach your children, teach yourself, remind others… These are principles and facts that our country was built upon. We all have the freedom to agree or disagree with America’s Founding Fathers, but we don’t have the right to hide or suppress the reasons for and the results of the governmental system they gave us.
These are principles and facts that every American citizen should know…
The United States is a great country. We are still one of the youngest countries on the planet yet we have grown to lead the world economically, militarily, technologically and in almost every other measurable way. There are reasons for this meteoric rise and they should be studied. We should never forget that our success is envied and that envy many times creates jealousy and hatred.
America’s dominance on the world stage is not what makes us exceptional. It is how we achieved that power and what we have done with it that created the concept of American Exceptionalism.
Our country, like thousands of countries and civilizations before us, allowed slavery. We were not the first to abolish it nor the last, but when our society reached the tipping point of declaring the practice evil close to 400,000 Americans gave their lives to end it.
Slavery in America didn’t end because of a slave revolt: it ended because enough of the citizenry wanted it ended.
Since that time, Americans have willingly spilt their blood on every continent defending the freedoms of individuals regardless of race, creed or color. We have liberated more people than any other civilization in history. We have led the world in this and we should be proud of it.
Capitalism and the concept of laissez faire are the engines of the great American economy and have lifted more people out of poverty than any other economic system. This is indisputable and anyone claiming differently should be viewed with suspicion.
Laissez faire is a doctrine opposing governmental interference in economic affairs beyond the minimum necessary for the maintenance of peace and property rights.
Every time politicians grant the government more control over our economic freedoms (via taxes and regulation) our economy slows. Every time politicians reduce governmental controls (lifting taxes and repealing regulations) our economy grows.
Government is the least efficient, most wasteful way to accomplish anything. Government should be a solution of last resort when solving social and economic problems.
Taxes are a necessary evil – but they are evil and should be kept to a minimum.
Government is a necessary evil – it should be restricted and kept as small as possible.
Power corrupts – absolute power corrupts absolutely
The system that made America an economic giant (capitalism and the concept of laissez faire) places the emphasis on individual freedom. All other forms of economic policy (socialism, communism, and any other form of planned economy) value authoritarianism over individual freedom.
More human misery, slaughter, and enslavement have occurred under the guise of socialism and communism than any other form of government – and it’s not even close.
The least amount of human misery, slaughter, and enslavement has occurred under democratic capitalism and the concept of laissez faire than any other form of government – and it’s not even close.
Democracy equates to freedom while socialism equates to authoritarianism. The term Democratic Socialism is an oxymoron.
Enforcing and abiding by laws unequally is the definition of corruption.
A corrupt society cannot be free.
The United States Constitution founded the first nation in the modern world where the government was answerable to the people, not the other way around. This was such a profound and novel concept that other nations labeled the United States as the Grand Experiment.
The Founding Fathers repeatedly warned us that others, both foreign and domestic, would try to usurp the people’s control… that we must constantly be on guard against those that would wrest power away from We the People and set themselves above us.
Defending and protecting the United States Constitution as written – the Rule of Law – is the single most important societal responsibility each of us carries.
Equality of opportunity can only happen when individual freedoms are protected.
Equality of outcome can only happen under an authoritarian regime.
In the political arena, good intentions do not matter. Rhetoric does not matter. Only actions are important because behavior never lies. Why an individual (i.e. politician) or group behaves a certain way does not matter; if their actions are detrimental to our freedoms and the constitution that protects them they are enemies of us all. We should never shy away from explaining this.
Life isn’t fair – and trying to make it so leads to misery, repression and disaster. We should concentrate on making society just – this leads to freedom of expression, creativity, security and prosperity.
When the government censors an individual’s speech, it is unconstitutional. When a social media company does it, it is immoral, irresponsible and authoritarian. ‘Hate speech’ is free speech; we have no right to be protected from another’s opinion. We used to teach our children, “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me…” We need to start doing so again.
The United States Constitution does not promote atheism. The Founding Fathers did not seek to remove religion from government or protect us from being exposed to it. It was written to prevent our government from becoming a defacto theocracy where everyone was forced to practice a particular religion and worship a particular God. Our constitution is predicated on the fact that certain human rights are unalienable and God-given. The idea that religious symbols, wisdoms and morality could not be referred to or displayed in government offices or by office holders would have been anathema to them.
Under the United States Constitution, you are not required to believe in God or practice religion; You are required to respect other’s religious beliefs by allowing them to practice their religion unimpeded.
The glue that has allowed our representative democracy to flourish, and what has thus far separated us from every other country in human civilization, has been our history regarding the peaceful transfer of power after elections. Those that would obstruct this transition, those that refuse to accept the transfer of power, those that ‘resist’ the new government from exercising their constitutionally granted authority are subverting the Rule of Law and attempting to destroy the very fabric of our society. It is happening today and it will happen again in the future. This subversive anti-American behavior should always be called out and prosecuted.
Whether having been naively duped into opposing this fundamental foundation of our free society or purposely manipulating others to diabolically preserve political power, these practitioners of subversion are by definition the enemies of freedom, liberty, and a just society. Every political party, every ideology on the political spectrum should always oppose these people and their malicious anti-American activities.
In the final sentence of the Declaration of Independence our Founding Fathers mutually pledged to each other “our Lives, our Fortunes, and our Sacred Honor,” and many of them paid that price. We are not called upon to sacrifice so much… but we all must be willing to do something. This is the legacy we have been given. This is our duty, our responsibility. Standing up for what is right is part and parcel of being an American.