Every year on the Fourth of July
we remember our founding fathers
and the precious inheritance of
freedom that they secured for
us. Every year it seems we get
further and further away from
that birthright, but we still
have much to celebrate.
This country was founded on
principles of freedom from
overbearing rulers, onerous
taxation, and the right to live
our lives as we see fit. Our
independence was won after
decades, and even centuries of
abuses that unscrupulous,
corrupted leaders and big
governments visited upon their
subjects. The Founders knew
there was a better way, and they
forged it here on this soil.
In the new United States of
America, the rights of the
individual were enshrined in the
Bill of Rights. Today,
government encroaches on those
rights through countless
provisions in numerous laws.
However, how much worse off
might we be had the Founders not
enumerated these rights in the
highest law of the land? While
it is true that many aspects of
those rights have been redefined
and watered down, and will
likely continue to be eroded, we
can celebrate the wisdom of the
Founders and that at our very
core we, as Americans, still
hold these rights dear.
The American tradition of
individual liberty and
self-reliance still runs deep,
in spite of the increasing nanny
state tendencies that government
has been gradually shoving down
our throats. It is sad to see
government seeking to completely
replace the voluntary
protections through families and
charities that we have relied on
throughout our history.
Especially disturbing is the
rhetoric of community and
interdependence being employed
by the administration to
institute government as the
great middle man for all
healthcare and charity for which
all citizens must dutifully
sacrifice. This trend is not
improving quality of life for
Americans, but instead is
greatly enriching the government
bureaucracies that take a
generous cut of all transactions
in the welfare state. There
still remains much resistance to
cradle to grave government
dependence and control. This
spirit of fierce independence is
a tribute to our founders and is
cause to celebrate.
The majority of our Founders
believed in sound money, in part
because they knew it kept
government in check.
Governments that are unable to
expand the money supply and
manipulate credit at will are
unable to fund frivolous wars of
conquest. Instead of
adventurism abroad, seeking
monsters to destroy, governments
restrained by sound money are
restricted to truly defensive
wars that the people are willing
to fight and to fund. Today, in
spite of all the economic
turmoil that fiat currency and
military interventionism has
caused, there is cause to
celebrate. The demand to audit
the Federal Reserve is quite
encouraging. The truth about
the fed will put us one step
closer to sound money, and
peace.
Public outcry against the bank
bailouts and the government
power grab known as
cap-and-trade proves that the
spirit of liberty still lives.
Part of our celebration of
Independence Day should include
a renewed determination to keep
fighting the good fight for
freedom. As long as government
continually seeks to take
liberties away, patriots need to
keep fighting this ongoing war
for sustained independence.
Posted by
Ron Paul (07-06-2009, 12:15 PM)
filed under
Civil Liberties