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Should small government believers care about D.C.?
By: Steve Adcock | Submitted on: 03/13/07EDITORIAL - As the Republican and Democratic parties dive into the electoral process with their eyes closed and minds firmly set on neutral, should true believers in a limited government, from any political party, care one way or another about the result? Does it matter whether Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani gets to call the White House “home” in 2009? Does it make any difference?
For our government, not especially.
Neither political party seems interested or the least bit focused on reducing the size of the federal government back to what is strictly and resolutely constitutional. The sheer power that our politicians enjoy grows significantly with the size of the government. As the federal government expands in its size, scope and influence, so does the unstoppable authority and ego of our politicians that the American people keep electing.
A politician's ego is quite the rebel force to be reckoned with, and both major political parties are equally guilty. Most politicians voted in favor of the war in Iraq because it was politically advantageous. Most oppose it now for the same reason. Most won't dare touch our immigration debacle because of their sense of political correctness, and the ability to get re-elected, supersedes all else. Politics is a career for them.
Career politicians exist because of an acutely developed ability to tell the American people precisely what they want to hear, then blame the other party once they fail to produce. While the Republicans and Democrats in Washington D.C. bicker like school children, the American people sit waiting – waiting for something to change. Sadly, it never does.
To many believers in a limited and strictly constitutional federal government, the question of whether the Republicans and Democrats are even worth fixing often comes to mind. Where do our priorities lie? Do they lie in Washington D.C., or with the American people? Do we blame a politician's natural desire to consolidate and abuse expanding government power and influence, or do we blame the American people who continue to vote for them?
Perhaps if small government political candidates worked their way onto television programs like American Idol or 24, the American people would start paying attention. Scratch that – forced to pay attention. Until the American people begin to realize that the decisions they make at the voting booths directly effect everyone's life, our priority remains the same: educate the population. The people can change.
Maybe politicians are a lost cause, but the American people are not. We are too important to leave by the curbside as we drive to the voting booths. We may vote for a politician who truly believes in the Constitution, but the 25 people you left behind could not care less. They most likely vote down party lines without any sense of what the candidate believes in and the consequences of the actions they take.
The decisions that politicians make are an important part of our lives. From the laws we follow driving to the grocery store, to the papers we sign when buying a home, we are confronted with laws that our politicians pass every day. Many of them are so obscure that we break them, unknowingly, on a daily basis. In Arizona, for example, it is illegal to refuse a person a glass of water. In Louisiana, fans at a boxing match cannot legally mock one of the contestants. In New York, it is against the law to smoke within 100 feet of a public building. And in Texas, it is unlawful to take more than three sips of beer while standing.
Believers in a limited government can best serve their nation by starting locally. Getting involved in community and city governments where people live can dramatically increase awareness of how issues effect our everyday lives. Fighting against local ordinances that unduly effect people's freedoms and working to ease the bureaucratic mess that understandably intimidates many Americans is a positive step towards opening the eyes of our fellow man to the importance of keeping our government small, protective and efficient.
Complacency is the root cause of our out-of-control federal government. Our social entitlement programs, unconstitutionally formed departments and agencies and our government's utter disregard to the importance of border security directly results from our mistaken debauchery in the “government knows best” kind of society. The electoral process provides the means and opportunity for change. Let us stop hoping for the best and start taking advantage of it.
For our government, not especially.
Neither political party seems interested or the least bit focused on reducing the size of the federal government back to what is strictly and resolutely constitutional. The sheer power that our politicians enjoy grows significantly with the size of the government. As the federal government expands in its size, scope and influence, so does the unstoppable authority and ego of our politicians that the American people keep electing.
A politician's ego is quite the rebel force to be reckoned with, and both major political parties are equally guilty. Most politicians voted in favor of the war in Iraq because it was politically advantageous. Most oppose it now for the same reason. Most won't dare touch our immigration debacle because of their sense of political correctness, and the ability to get re-elected, supersedes all else. Politics is a career for them.
Career politicians exist because of an acutely developed ability to tell the American people precisely what they want to hear, then blame the other party once they fail to produce. While the Republicans and Democrats in Washington D.C. bicker like school children, the American people sit waiting – waiting for something to change. Sadly, it never does.
To many believers in a limited and strictly constitutional federal government, the question of whether the Republicans and Democrats are even worth fixing often comes to mind. Where do our priorities lie? Do they lie in Washington D.C., or with the American people? Do we blame a politician's natural desire to consolidate and abuse expanding government power and influence, or do we blame the American people who continue to vote for them?
Perhaps if small government political candidates worked their way onto television programs like American Idol or 24, the American people would start paying attention. Scratch that – forced to pay attention. Until the American people begin to realize that the decisions they make at the voting booths directly effect everyone's life, our priority remains the same: educate the population. The people can change.
Maybe politicians are a lost cause, but the American people are not. We are too important to leave by the curbside as we drive to the voting booths. We may vote for a politician who truly believes in the Constitution, but the 25 people you left behind could not care less. They most likely vote down party lines without any sense of what the candidate believes in and the consequences of the actions they take.
The decisions that politicians make are an important part of our lives. From the laws we follow driving to the grocery store, to the papers we sign when buying a home, we are confronted with laws that our politicians pass every day. Many of them are so obscure that we break them, unknowingly, on a daily basis. In Arizona, for example, it is illegal to refuse a person a glass of water. In Louisiana, fans at a boxing match cannot legally mock one of the contestants. In New York, it is against the law to smoke within 100 feet of a public building. And in Texas, it is unlawful to take more than three sips of beer while standing.
Believers in a limited government can best serve their nation by starting locally. Getting involved in community and city governments where people live can dramatically increase awareness of how issues effect our everyday lives. Fighting against local ordinances that unduly effect people's freedoms and working to ease the bureaucratic mess that understandably intimidates many Americans is a positive step towards opening the eyes of our fellow man to the importance of keeping our government small, protective and efficient.
Complacency is the root cause of our out-of-control federal government. Our social entitlement programs, unconstitutionally formed departments and agencies and our government's utter disregard to the importance of border security directly results from our mistaken debauchery in the “government knows best” kind of society. The electoral process provides the means and opportunity for change. Let us stop hoping for the best and start taking advantage of it.
Steve Adcock is the founder and developer of SmallGovTimes.com.
