"Five Year Plans and New Deals,
Wrapped in golden chains,
And I wonder, still I wonder
Who'll stop the rain?"
- John Fogerty, Creedence Clearwater Revival
This song sparked a political awakening in me at a rather tender age. When I first heard it, I asked my dad what five year plans and new deals were. He laughed. I bought the record and played the song for him. He smiled that wise smile of his and said "let me tell you how the world works..." Which he did. It fascinated me that people could be fooled over and over again like that.
This was the conversation that sparked my interest in history and my eventual passion for limited government. It occurs to me that most if not all thinking people must have an "a-ha" moment like this regarding government power at some point in their youth. The difference between folks like me and folks like our politicians is that upon figuring out what that power is I was repelled by it, whereas they changed course to pursue it.
Morality (or amorality) is something God must hardwire in us, because I was able to make the moral choice long before I really understood the other path. Morally, of course, such power shouldn't be available to anyone at all. That was the beauty of America back when it was a free country. History proves that mere mistrust of politicians isn't enough, either - fear is the healthy response!
It's obvious that we've come full circle in this country. We have a government that is disrespectful of the people in every way, and is now pursuing only further expansions of it's own power. If the Founders were alive today, George Washington would pick up his rifle and solve this problem (again) as Benjamin Franklin chided us about the Republic we couldn't keep.
The French Revolution
1 day ago
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