Countdown to Independence Day: #10 Vote Responsibly

Over the next several days leading up to Independence Day I will be posting the 10 steps that must be taken to preserve our great nation and the principles it was established on.  Each day will cover one of the steps as they appear in my book Liberty Inherited.  It is my hope that, in some small way, I can get Americans to start thinking of what they are on the verge of throwing away.  Today's posting covers the 10th and final step.  I recommend reading the previous posts for step #1 through 9.  Please note that any additional comments that I add to the original text will be in italics.

10.   Vote responsibly

As individuals in a representative democracy the biggest weapon we have is our right to vote. But this right does not guarantee preservation of our freedoms unless it is exercised wisely. Too often it is tempting to take the easy way and allow political parties or special interest groups to decide who we are going to vote for. At this point in time in our country's history we cannot afford to take the lazy approach to voting. It is also not enough to make sure you are voting for the correct political candidate. Nowadays with judges having so much power and ability to shape our country it is essential to understand who is asking for you to confirm or reconfirm him as a judge. 

Unfortunately, most of these people do not even have enough respect for the voter to supply a brief statement of why you should vote for them.  Therefore, it has been nearly impossible to determine whether they deserve your vote or not. Now with the Internet this is no longer the case and in most states you can at least get a bio of the person. This bio will often provide you information about a person’s experience on the bench, his career path to become a judge, and if he was appointed, by whom. You will be amazed how easy it is to discern a person’s political views from this information.

Since 2008 it has become painfully clear that relying on political parties has done nothing but jeopardized our liberties and freedoms.  It is no longer sufficient to vote for the candidate with the right initial (D or R as the case maybe).  It is also no longer sufficient to vote for who is going to be in the White House.  Now more than ever we must give equal consideration to all offices, including those at state and local levels.  As the recent Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare illustrates, judges need to be properly vetted.  This should be the role of local news media but, like the national media, they are negligent of their responsibilities.  So it falls on the individual voter to discern who deserves his vote.  

The problem is, as I state in the book, many of those seeking judgeship and/or local office have so little respect for the voter that they do not even bother to provide any details for the voter guides.  In my opinion, this contempt for the voter should automatically disqualify anyone asking for your vote.  If, while trying to get your vote, he does not have enough respect for the voter to provide some basic information  how much respect will he have once in office?  

Unfortunately, voters cannot rely on the parties nor the media to assist us.  Therefore, we must do the work ourselves.  We can no longer put into office politicians whose idea of sacrifice is turning their backs on the people and undermining the nation while lining up funding and support for their next campaign.  The nation deserve better and we the people deserve better.  Voting is not only a right but also a weapon to be used by the people against an unresponsive government.  If we want to preserve our liberty and America's exceptionalism,  then being lazy and careless is not an option.  

Countdown to Independence Day: #8 Understand America's Classical Liberal philosophy

Over the next several days leading up to Independence Day I will be posting the 10 steps that must be taken to preserve our great nation and the principles it was established on.  Each day will cover one of the steps as they appear in my book Liberty Inherited.  It is my hope that, in some small way, I can get Americans to start thinking of what they are on the verge of throwing away.  Today's posting covers step number #8.  I recommend reading the previous posts for step #1 through 7.  Please note that any additional comments that I add to the original text will be in italics.

8. Understand America’s classical liberal philosophy

As mentioned previously, classical liberalism was the basic philosophy of this country until the turn of the 20th century when progressivism started to pervert the term “liberal” for its own agenda. It is essential that every American understand what true classical liberalism is and why it was so important in the development of the United States of America. The truth is that classical liberalism has been completely removed from modern America’s political discourse. Most people have never heard of it and are unfamiliar with how it led to America’s exceptionalism. As a result of this ignorance and unfamiliarity, most Americans  continue to allow themselves to have to choose between faux liberalism or conservatism, neither one of which truly fits the American character.

This is a topic that I discuss throughout Liberty Inherited and, as I explain in the introduction to these posts, the above is copied directly from the book.  Thus, being taken out of context, I feel it helpful to explain its meaning.   

It is clear from its founding documents that America is based on a philosophy and principles that evolved in England.  That philosophy is called Classical Liberalism and I believe it to be the apex of the enlightenment that started with the Renaissance.  Lacking an aristocracy, the United States was able to take this philosophy and its principles of limited government, individual rights, private property, and free-market economics to a level not possible in 18th century Britain.  

It may come as a surprise to many Americans that Classical Liberalism not only guided the founding of this incredible nation, but was the the nation's basic political philosophy up to the late 1800s/early 1900s.  Since then it has slowly been erased from America's political conscientiousness to the point that most Americans are completely ignorant of it and its significance for the country.  But I believe that, at heart, the majority of Americans are still Classical Liberals.  After all, it is in their political genes and remains part of America's psyche.  This is why so many are not comfortable with what both political parties have been doing over the last 100 years.

This is what the Progressives understood when, after years of failed policies, the Progressive title became unpopular and they rebranded themselves as 'Liberals.'  But, as I explain in the book, their policies had and still have nothing to do with the principles of Classical Liberalism.  In fact, they envision the opposite.  They are, in reality, wolves in sheep's clothing.  That is why I call their version of  Liberalism 'FAUX LIBERALISM.'  It is nothing but a fraud....a very dangerous fraud.

Now, 236 years after the Declaration of Independence, America is on the verge of losing its political identity, its political soul.  I strongly believe that only by reconnecting to our political roots can this country be saved and that is why I wrote "Liberty Inherited: The untold story of America's exceptionalism."  It is my attempt to play my part in saving this great, and ,yes, exceptional country.

Countdown to Independence Day: #3 English must be the official language of the USA

Over the next several days leading up to Independence Day I will be posting the 10 steps that must be taken to preserve our great nation and the principles it was established on.  Each day will cover one of the steps as they appear in my book Liberty Inherited.  It is my hope that, in some small way, I can get Americans to start thinking of what they are on the verge of throwing away.  Today's posting covers step number #3.  I recommend reading the previous posts for step #1 and 2.  Please note that any additional comments that I add to the original text will be in italics.

3. English must be the language of the United States

I have always thought interesting that Winston Churchill would name one of his greatest works The History of the English-Speaking Peoples. The book could have easily been called "The History of the English Peoples" or even "The History the English Race," which would have been perfectly acceptable when it was written in the 1930s. But Churchill, who was a famed orator and had won a Nobel peace prize for literature, understood the power of words. 

I believe that he chose the term “English-speaking peoples” because he understood that principles, values, and ideas must be communicated for them to have any significance. For Churchill the English language was the media by which English principles have been spread around the world. He understood that this goes beyond skin color and bloodline and directly into the hearts and minds of the recipients. Recent history proves him to be correct as countries such as India, Singapore, and Hong Kong, all of which have retained English as their language, have prospered even though the British no longer govern them.

This does not mean that speaking another language, especially of one’s heritage, should be discouraged. On the contrary it should be encouraged but not at the expense of learning to effectively communicate in the English language. This will not only be beneficial to America but also to the individual. In regards to the Turkish population in Germany Turkish President Abdullah Gul commented, “When one doesn’t speak the language of the country in which one lives it doesn’t serve anyone, neither the person concerned, the country, nor the society.” 

This is especially true in for a country that is based on an idea. By not learning English individuals are limiting their ability to become Americans in their hearts and minds. This can lead to a crisis of identity in which the body is physically in one country while the heart and mind are in another. Interestingly, this identity crisis often afflicts the children of immigrants who have had difficulty adjusting to living in the new country.  As a result as these children grow up they become susceptible to the philosophies of radicalism or extremism. Yes, it would be difficult for some of them and a few of them will never become competent in the language. But for those who do the reward of becoming an American in body and soul will be well worth the struggle.

Countdown to Independence Day: Saving our Liberty #1

Over the next several days leading up to Independence Day I will be posting the 10 steps that must be taken to preserve our great nation and the principles it was established on.  Each day will cover one of the steps as they appear in my book Liberty Inherited.  It is my hope that, in some small way, I can get Americans to start thinking of what they are on the verge of throwing away.  Please note that any additional comments that I add to the original text will be in italics.  

1. Do not take the way things are for granted

“It is,” as Daniel Hannan says, “human nature to take for granted institutions that you have known throughout your life.” Growing up in a world where constitutional democracy is the norm it is incomprehensible to imagine mankind returning to a state of servitude. But it must be remembered that the classical liberal principles that the United States was built on and which has now spread around the world is not the norm. Until the end of World War II the world was dominated by tyrannical, autocratic, and absolutist rulers. The result of this was that the life of the average man was one of poverty, servitude, and desperation. When we consider that men have been forming civilizations as long ago as 4500 BC it becomes clear that 60 years of liberty and freedom does not guarantee the world will continue to embrace those principles.

In Europe there is already a move away from constitutional democracy. As explained in previous chapters liberal democracy is fairly new to the countries of Europe. As we can see from the chart, they have relatively little experience with it at all.

 

With the majority of them having less than 60 years of experience it is uncertain if their democratic institutions can resist a serious crises or challenge. History and current trends indicate that the answer is no. The first attempt with widespread democracy in Europe occurred after World War I. Except for Russia, which turned to communism, all of the large countries and many of the smaller ones attempted to establish a democratic form of government. These newly formed democracies were tested by the depression of the 1930s and most of them failed miserably. By the start of World War II, totalitarianism had replaced democracy in almost all of Europe. Even today, with the European Union, the IMF, the World Bank, and United Nations, we are seeing democratically established governments subordinating themselves to transnational and international organizations governed by bureaucratic elites. This does not bode well for a country founded and developed on classical liberal principles. 

Since the publishing of Liberty Inherited, the Euro crisis has deepened and as a result, representative democracy has suffered.  In both Greece and Italy popularly elected leaders have been replaced by those who will serve the best interest of the European Union even if it is at the expense of their nation and its citizens.  As the crisis deepens, it will be interesting to watch how quickly continental Europe sacrifices democracy and liberty for order and security.