forgottenliberty.com

What do we celebrate on the 4th of July?  If you ask this question to the average person on the street, you will likely get a response similar to “It’s America’s birthday” or “It’s Independence Day”.  This seems to be the extent of most Americans knowledge of the 4th of July.  This saddens me because the 4th of July is not only America’s birthday or Independence Day, but is so much more than that.  What we are really celebrating on the 4th of July is how 56 men, representing the citizens of the United States, changed the course of human history by declaring that men are and should be free and that they have been given rights by their Creator that no king or government can take away.

This was a fairly radical concept in 1776.  Up until this point in history (with only a few exceptions) rights were granted to a citizenry by their rulers.  Those same rulers could also take away rights.  The idea of men being free and having God given rights was totally foreign.  This new concept meant that there were limits to government power and control.  It meant that a man could shape his own destiny without worrying about the government or a king.  A man no longer lived at the service of his king but at the service of himself and his Creator.  Man was free.

It was a cold April morning.  The sun was still below the horizon.  A man had just raced through the sleepy little town yelling a warning to anyone who could hear him,  “They’re coming! They’re coming now!”  This was a shock to the people in the town.  Many thought this day would never come, yet here it was. They had tried to prepare for this while at the same time hoping it would never happen. They were ready. They had to be ready.  The townspeople began waking each other up and spreading the news.  “They’re coming!  Everyone is meeting at the tavern to decide what we are going to do”.  The young men and boys were excited.  The older men, however, were a little nervous.  Mothers, daughters, and sisters timidly waved goodbye as the men in their lives left to meet with the others at the tavern.

The people in the town had been regularly meeting to discuss the current political situation. The government had been trampling on the rights of the people for years and the anger was growing.  The situation was becoming more tense by the day.  The people were angry that their rights were being ignored.  Many in the nearby city had become rowdy, and at times had destroyed property in venting their frustration at the government.   The government had recently lashed out at the people for protesting and a some citizens were no longer alive because of it.  The townspeople had begun to fear for their safety and started to make plans with the other towns in the area.  They began stockpiling supplies, such as rifles and ammunition.  Most thought this was unnecessary, “The government will eventually come around,” they said… but on this April morning, rifles were being passed out at the town tavern.

While watching the C-span coverage of the House of Representatives and their vote on the Senate health care bill, I became more and more depressed as the debate went on.   It is clear to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear that the majority of Americans do not want this bill.  All the polls have shown this. T he bill just passed by the House (219 to 212) still includes the Corn-Husker Kickback, the Louisiana Purchase, and federal funding of abortion.  Americans do not want these things to become law, but the Democrats have rejected the will of the American people.

With our government firmly rejecting the will of the people and seizing power that we the people have not given them via the Constitution, we are left with the question, “What can we do?”  What can we the people do when our representative government no longer represents us?  What can we the people do when our politicians have rejected the American ideal of self governance?  What can we the people do when our own hard earned tax money is used to buy votes?  What can we the people do when our government mandates what we must buy and which doctors we must see?  What can we the people do when our government rejects us?

This is a sad day for our country.  Our forefathers, who were mostly farmers and shopkeepers, fought a war against one of the largest and most powerful empires in history to create a representative republic focused on limited government and liberty.  My fellow Americans, we are no longer a representative republic.  We now have an oligarchy of Democrats ruling over us who reject our American idea of self governance.  This oligarchy does not care what we the people want because they have rejected the will of the people.  They have forgotten that all power rests in the people. They have forgotten that they work for us.  I think it’s time we jog their memory.

Our republic has been dealt a painful blow, but we cannot give up the fight.  We cannot give up the fight to reclaim our founding principles of self government and liberty. We cannot and we will not give up. I truly believe we can win and “that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

Jason Mattera gave a speech at CPAC slamming President Obama and liberalism in general.  This video is a must see.  He speaks about the left’s hold on academia and the “liberalizing” of our young people on college campuses.  At first I thought he was being a little coarse in his references to liberals, but then he said he was from Brooklyn and I realized he was just being a New Yorker!  I can’t wait to see more of this guy.  Not only does he quote the late Milton Freedman, who happens to be one of my favorite conservatives, but near the end of his speech he gave this line, “Hey Jackass!  Get your government off my freedom!”  Amen Mr. Mattera!

I’ve watched a lot of C-span in the last couple of weeks while the Senate was debating their health care bill.  I noticed a reoccurring theme from almost every Democrat Senator who spoke on the floor.  The theme was that health care is a right.  Sen. Harkin (D-Iowa) even went as far as saying health care is an unalienable right!  When did this happen?  When did a service or product become a right?  How is it even possible?  Health care can not be a right and I will explain why.

Reason 1

First, we must identify what a right is, or more specifically, an unalienable right.  Historically, Americans believed an unalienable right is one that is not given to us by our government but is inherent and given to us by our Creator.  In other words, we were born with unalienable rights and these rights can not be taken away.  This is illustrated in the Declaration of Independence,

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men…

According to the Declaration of Independence, the government’s job is to secure (meaning to protect) our rights, not grant them!

So we now know that an unalienable right is not given to us by a government but is something we are born with because it is given to us by our Creator.  This begs the question, “Are we born with a right to health care?” 

I just returned from my local polling station here in the great state of Virginia.  It felt great to cast my vote for some real conservatives: Bob McDonnell, Bill Bolling, and Ken Cuccinelli.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I vote, I get a little emotional.  I cherish the ability to have a say in the leadership and direction of my locality, state and country.

I believe most Americans have forgotten the price that was paid for them to walk into a polling station and cast their vote.  They have taken their gift of self government for granted.  Voting is an awesome, rare, and coveted responsibility that is taken too lightly by most of us.  Many American’s don’t even take the time to vote!  Countless generations of people throughout history would have given anything (and some gave all) to have the opportunity to vote, but many Americans stay home on election day and don’t even think twice about it.  If given the opportunity to have a say in your own government, how can you pass that up?