According to the declaration of Independence, “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers FROM the consent of the governed,” and that if that power “becomes destructive” it is the right of the people governed to bring it back in line with it’s intended role.
So what is government’s intended role? Is it not to provide a safe and healthy environment for each citizen to be able to enjoy their God-given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, while leaving the specifics of what that means up to the individual?
The government is meant to serve its citizens. It should provide a safe framework within which its citizens freely pursue their life interests. It is not meant to be the source of all we need – only to promote an environment where each individual has opportunity to grow and work and live and thrive.
The US government is not there to micromanage its population. Today, it seems that politicians are involving themselves more and more in the more intimate details of our lives. They are interfering more and more in decisions that we should be making for ourselves. I am talking about decisions like where your kids go to school and what they are taught. Who your doctor is or if you can go to church on Sunday morning or what time you have to be home at night?
All of these decisions have, in many instances, been taken away from people and made by the government, especially in recent covid times. To me, the important thing is NOT whether the government is doing something good or something bad. It is WHO is making the decision. Let me give you an example of what I mean.
As a physician, I try to have a healthy diet. It is healthy to eat a lot of vegetables. So, because it is a good thing for my health, I eat a lot of vegetables. It would be a GOOD thing for everyone’s health if everyone ate a lot of vegetables. Perhaps the government should mandate that every citizen eat 5 helpings of vegetables a day. After all, it would benefit society as a whole.
Why would it be wrong for a government to mandate something that is in everyone’s best interest? Because that is NOT the government’s job! The government that mandates good things can also mandate bad things. Every time we cede power to our government to make another decision in our life, even if it is a good decision, we must consider what will happen when the government is not so wise.
It is best that individual citizens retain as much power as possible over their own lives. Sometimes we will make good decisions, and sometimes we may not. The point is that WE make the decisions. If you value your freedoms…then it is not just a matter of whether the government is doing something good or doing something bad….it is a matter of whether the government is making the decision in the first place.
Freedom in America includes the ability to make personal decisions. Therefore, by definition, freedom means having the ability to make a wrong decision! That can make freedom messy! But I would rather be free and make a wrong decision, than have my government make my decisions for me, even if they are right.
No person or institution will ever always make the right decision. If you are hurt by an incorrect decision, let it at least be YOUR OWN!
