At some point in the life of every American, every citizen across this nation must ask themselves this question:
“Am I free?”
This is the question being asked and answered at every school board and city council meeting across this nation.
You may think this is about kids in masks or the teaching of a racist curriculum, but it is not.
It is bigger than that.
It is about freedom. Freedom to choose, freedom of speech, freedom of self-determination, freedom for our children. This is a fight over the very basic principles of American life, the same principles that were cast in American stone on July 4th, 1776, and have been, at once, twisted, tested, and attacked ever since.
While the battle is joined at the most visceral of levels, the immediate point of contact being the health and minds of our children, this fight has many fronts, all focused on that one question:
“Am I free?”
Defining freedom is simple, keeping it is hard - and for country to have been built on a cornerstone of individual freedom, forces within our nation have done a remarkable job of chipping away at that cornerstone.
Freedom boils down to one thing – choice. If you can make choices for yourself, you are free. If you cannot, you are not.
Over the past decade and a half, we have been told that government can force us to buy a product and get penalized if we do not, we have been told that public health laws suspend the Constitution and now we are being told we have no choice but to do what the government tells us to do because only the “sophisticated” can make their own decisions.
We are witness to the Judge Smails administration telling us, “You’ll get nothing and like it.”
No choice?
I beg to differ.
There is a singular and motivating concept that animates progressives into action. That is the concept of “positive” rights, liberty and powers, this meaning that these rights, liberties, and powers require (or demand) action from the government, are open to definition and can be withdrawn at a whim. This is a thought process that is a basic denial that natural rights or natural law exist.
This concept states that the Constitution is incomplete, that it states what the state may not do (the negative) but since it does not explicitly define what the state can do on your behalf, it is therefore not restrictive in areas where the state chooses to act (positive). The history of our Constitution, the philosophers who inspired it and the men who wrote it indicate that these positive rights were the responsibility of the people, not the government, and that is the very reason that they spend time defining exactly what the federal state cannot do.
This concept flies directly in the face of the 10th Amendment, which states:
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."
Seems clear to me. There are few declarative statements in politics and government that are as clear as this one.
The Constitution rests on the negative, constraining the government while providing for the maximum in individual liberty. In a natural state, man has the maximum in freedom. The increase in government produces less freedom; therefore, governments are subtractive of freedom, not additive.
The production of laws and regulation do not serve to increase freedom any more than they can increase individual rights The Founders were clear in stating that which is not specifically delegated to the federal government is the province of the states and the people and the federal government shall not interfere.
Period.
We choose to cede some of our natural freedom as we seek to live in harmony with each other, to create societies and cultures. That is a conscious choice we make to provide stability and consistency for the conduct of commerce and order our societies.
But we should never give up choice.
It is entirely conceivable people are asking themselves if they are free and not liking the answer.
All this has a “Tea Party” flavor, but with a hell of a lot more anger this time. While the Tea Party largely fizzled as the allegedly “conservative” Republicans stood by and watched (some aiding in the demise), this time we may be witnessing the beginning of a sustainable popular revolt. These are not lawyers, professors, politicians or government officials stepping to the podium, these are moms and dads, these are teachers, plumbers, carpenters of every race, creed and color.
While adults will take just about every blow aimed at them and what the punches from the Obama and Biden administrations have been devastating. It is unbelievable how much destruction has been wrought in the last few months - at this rate, Obama will be a footnote to Biden and his “fundamental transformation” - and yet, in the words of Missouri reprehensive, Cori Bush, the adults “Suck it up”.
But it is being proven they will not stand for the purposeful harming of their children.
Progressivism has a habit of taking it to the line and then stepping over. Perhaps this time, they stepped too far.