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I typically enjoy writing the Independence Day note to you, but I have to admit this one is written under a cloud. It is interesting to be celebrating our freedom from tyranny in the midst of our own government shutting many of the celebration activities down. The irony should give all of us pause.
There are quite a few quotes from our nation’s founders on this subject, but I think the most meaningful one to me is when Ben Franklin said “Those who give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” The context of the quote may have been a bit different but the meaning behind it is striking.
The reality of unprecedented government intervention in our lives right now is undisputed by most. Some feel it necessary while others find it dangerous.
I continue to go back in my thinking on what the “American Dream” is about, which I have shared many times in my e-update. It is a foundational concept that is what makes our system of government the greatest in history: in your pursuits of life, liberty and happiness you have the ability to both succeed and fail. Interestingly enough, failure is such a critical part to the success because it is one of the main ways we learn how to not do something the next time around.
When government steps in to ensure success, which is the belief system of socialism, Marxism, and communism, failure has proven to be the guaranteed outcome because lessons are never learned. The result is that there has never been a successful nation under any of these types of systems in the history of civilization.
We all, no matter what our personal leanings around the various issues impacting our nation right now, should ensure we keep this in mind as we consider the actions being taken, or lack thereof, by our elected officials. These actions do matter because they will shape our future as a state and nation in either a positive or negative way.
I will end this with a paragraph that Dr. Richard Beeman wrote in an article published on the National Constitution Center’s website called “Perspectives on the Constitution: A Republic if You Can Keep It”. Note it was not related to what I spoke on above, but it resonated with me in light of it:
If there is a lesson in all of this it is that our Constitution is neither a self-actuating nor a self-correcting document. It requires the constant attention and devotion of all citizens. There is a story, often told, that upon exiting the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin was approached by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had created. His answer was: "A republic, if you can keep it." The brevity of that response should not cause us to under-value its essential meaning: democratic republics are not merely founded upon the consent of the people, they are also absolutely dependent upon the active and informed involvement of the people for their continued good health.
Let’s not take the freedom we enjoy for granted, for it has proven to slip away when we do so.
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