Posted by
Ed Lilly on Saturday, July 04, 2009 9:38:21 AM
“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
So begins our nation’s Declaration of Independence, by which the Founding Fathers set forth their intent to create a new and independent nation. And for all the talk about the Constitution and political disputes between the current major parties about what the Constitution means, I think the Declaration of Independence is a potentially much more important document for our current times.
But before we get there, what does any of this have to do with Farrah Fawcett? Well, admittedly it may be a bit of a stretch to invoke her name in the context of the quest for liberty. Still, her unfortunate passing last week was what inspired this minor rambling. And how could a woman known for her swimsuit pinup posters and fabulous hair be at all related to the Declaration of Independence?
Because, while I came of age right as Farrah Fawcett became an iconic figure on Charlie’s Angels, what caught my attention in the biographies chronicling her life was the middle, possibly largely forgotten, portion of her career.
In the early to mid-1980s, Farrah Fawcett did some creditable work as a serious actress. She was hailed for her roles in two movies about domestic violence and violence against women - “The Burning Bed” and “Extremities.” Both movies, as I recall, were well received critically, and Ms. Fawcett was praised for her portrayals of abused women who had been pushed to the point of having to act to protect themselves.
And that’s what made me think about the nation today and the relationship between the local, state and federal governments and the citizens of this country. I understand that a lot of life is like the probably apocryphal story about the woman from The New Yorker who couldn’t understand how Richard Nixon won the 1972 presidential election because she didn’t know anyone who voted for him. So my 25+ year shunning of network television news and disdain for any news story from the New York Times or Washington Post that is in any way relevant to law, politics and government means that I find myself reading what was originally termed the “alternative” media, which now is easily accessible online. As such, I probably find myself isolated, information-wise, in much the same way that the liberals in NYC and the Washington beltway are.
Still, the reports of increasing unrest across the nation in response to the current economic disturbances and the ridiculously out-sized and overly centralized government “plans” to make things right gives me some hope that maybe, just maybe, we’re on the verge of the citizenry waking up and taking a stand against government action, activism, expansion and intrusion into our lives. Hence, maybe we’re on the verge of fighting back the way Farrah Fawcett did in “The Burning Bed” and “Extremities.”
Just this week, with the passage in the House of Representatives of legislation purportedly aimed at addressing “climate change” (f.k.a. “global warming”), it seems the elected officials in Washington are setting the course for more governmental control and higher costs for taxpayers. One particularly disturbing element of the legislation I saw noted this week was a requirement for private homeowners to retrofit their homes to comply with federal environmental and energy-efficiency standards when they put their house on the market. [If you’re interested: http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YjQzNDM0NjVhNDA3ZjM3MjllZDZjNGMyMTU3NzM3OTU=]
This type of stuff (the legislation, not the blog post) is lunacy. And it will only get worse with the current administration and heavy liberal Democrat majorities in both houses of Congress.
And we get no relief from over-reaching government officials and bureaucrats at the state and local levels. We moved to New Jersey over six years ago, and instantly saw our property taxes increase to six times what they had been in Delaware for approximately the same size house and property.
Every year we’re told by the charlatans who run for office, regardless of political party, that they are going to do something to “fix” the outrageous taxes, and especially the property taxes, in New Jersey.
Every year all I see is our property taxes, and taxes in general, going up. And as a taxpayer / consumer of government services, I certainly can’t say that I see how I’m getting additional services and improvements for all the money that keeps pouring into the state’s coffers.
So I find myself on this Independence Day wondering what I can do to help bring about, essentially, a Declaration of Independence on the part of the citizens against the current government agencies and office-holders, and as much as anything, the major political parties.
I have never contributed money to a politician’s campaign, nor have I ever put a candidate’s bumper sticker or magnet on my car, or sign in my yard. Given what I see as both parties’ disregard for the fundamental principles of how our government was designed to work and its role in our nation, I don’t see why I should support them financially, and only occasionally support party candidates with my votes, and even then very begrudgingly and with nose held tightly as I struggle to choose the “least worst” option.
But maybe the current Tea Party movement and online organization and communication will help people who are as frustrated with our country’s government, at all levels, as I am. Certainly I hope that winds up being the case, but I’m still very doubtful. [Again, if you’re interested: http://www.teapartypatriots.org]
Months ago when I was writing more regularly on Townhall, I had some conversations / exchanges with other Townhall bloggers about a fundamental problem that conservatives face - how to fight the expansion of government with the promise to do nothing. Both major parties have fallen into the trap I believe Madison, and likely others, identified - they have decided they can tax one person to promise something to another, and they are getting the votes of those who believe they will “get something.”
No candidate I’ve been aware of has been willing to stand up and say, “Enough! If I’m elected, here are the first X programs I am going to eliminate and costs I am going to cut. After those are eliminated, we’re going to keep going with program eliminations and budget cuts until we’ve pared it back to only those government programs specifically in line with the actual words of the United States Constitution. The government is not a charitable organization - but we recognize the need for those organizations and will do everything we can to help private charities assume as much of the social welfare state programs as possible with X years. But we will not continue these programs indefinitely just because no private charity appears ready, willing or able to take over. There are just some things that government, as set forth in the Constitution, is not empowered or intended to do.”
THAT’S the kind of candidate I could start to listen to. But it’s going to be very difficult for that kind of candidate to compete against the Candy Man candidates put forth by the current parties who promise that government will fix whatever ails you.
I hope that the Tea Party attendees are thinking somewhere along the lines of what I am, but only time will tell. I plan to keep my ear to the ground, my eyes open, and try to stay optimistic that the flame of individual liberty still burns in enough of my fellow citizens that our current course can be reversed.
Heck, Farrah was from Texas. I think she might even have agreed with a little of this.