Liberty and Morality

I have always considered myself a Conservative.  I’m a person that believes in the Bible, and the moral code contained in it.  I know that disobeying the truths found in it will result in judgement.  Just like economics, government and the seasons, there is a cycle of morality at work, in which a country that chooses its own way will be judged.

I believe it’s clear based on Romans 1.

So, it’s odd that I find myself being more comfortable with those that are Libertarian than Conservative.

The Problem with All Government

I believe the Founders were wise in the government they created.  They made sure that liberty was at the core, that the Federal government had limited, delinated powers, and they built in great balance.  They also knew that it was the cycle of government that regimes rise and fall, so they accounted for that in their design with elections.

Little did they know that future generations would twist their plans because they were not as wise, that they would widen every loophole they could find, that we’d be run by lawyers, and that when it was convenient the whole founding document would be ignored.

But had they studied Romans 1, they would have known– for it is human nature to seek to promote oneself, and to gain as much power as possible.

Honest Abe

It started with Abraham Lincoln.  Yes, he freed the slaves– as part of a tactic to win a war that he started.  Until that point in our nation’s history we were a collection of states that joined together for a function that benefited all of them.  When the South seceeded because of the question of who had the right to tell states what to do (among other things), Lincoln had a choice.  He could choose to attempt to preserve the nation as a whole, or he could let them leave.  We know which choice he made.

The problem is that, with doing that, he essentially changed the nation.  He took power from the states– the power to decide their fate, the power to leave– away from them.  It was truly one of the great leverages that they had.  And from that point on, the federal government has taken more and more power away from the states, and applied it to themselves.

And the ultimate blow was when they changed the way that U.S. Senators were selected.  Previously they had been selected by state legislatures– giving those people sent to the Senate incentive to retain power in the states.  With direct election, the power was enhanced in the federal government.

Taxation

If it had stopped there, it would still be a problem, but it got worse.  Government decided that it needed funds, and figured out a way to tax citizens directl.  And the rest is history from there– taxation rates climbed as money was taken from one set of people and spent in all sorts of ways, including giving it to people that hadn’t worked for it.

It reached its apex during the New Deal period, where America ceased to be free, and was increasingly regulated.  Government that had before left business alone now sought to reglate everything about it.  This is absurd, and yet (just like today) is billed as the “only way to fix this mess.”  The problem was it just created more.

The Great Society

And then, the icing on the cake was the Great Society, where we told Americans that they weren’t entitled to equal opportunity, but equal outcome.  The showed its fruit in class warfare, in welfare, and all sorts of programs aimed at levelling the playing field.

The Foundation

The reason that we have gotten here is that we’ve systematically forgotten who we are, what we are about, and we simply aren’t as bright as we used to be.  We don’t care, we’re lazy and apathetic, and for the most part we’re happy with talking about how things have gone wrong, but few of us know what to do or are willing to do something about it.

And those that are willing to do something realize that the problem may be bigger than any solution that we can come up with.  When a majority of your populace is upset that some people got bonuses they’re contractually due, the public’s response is to get upset and want the money back.  They don’t understand freedom, and they think that’s what they’re protecting.

So, Why Do You Like Libertarians?

I’m beginning to side with the Libertarians– not because I’m now pro-drugs and homosexual sex, but because the way the government is headed is toward more control of our lives instead of less.  It’s way too important who is the President and who is in Congress.  These people were never meant to have this effect on our lives.

We were meant to be able to have more say– more decisions were to be made locally, and if you didn’t like a decision you could easily go elsewhere.  Instead, every decision is being centralized, new regulations are made every day– it’s going to be a nightmare.

So, I’d rather push to get rid of new laws than to make new ones.  I’d rather punch the reset button and divest the federal government of power than to pursue getting a moral agenda through.

I understand that life begins at conception, but if I had to choose reseting the federal law to get it back in control of the states (which many pro-lifers do want), then I’d support that.  Then at least some babies would be saved.

I believe that morality has to be be pushed through spreading the gospel and individual choices, not from the top down, and that the only way we will not see ourselves on the receiving end of persecution in our lifetime is if we push for freedom.

But perhaps persecution would purify us and start a new revival.  Only He knows.