“THE COERCIVE FORCE OF GOVERNMENT”
by Michael Gaddy, ©2016, blogging at The Rebel Madman
(Dec. 17, 2016) — “The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of public liberty.” ~Excerpt from the Farewell Address of George Washington, 1796.
There exists among people two distinct philosophies; on one hand, there is the very small minority whose main desire in life is to be left alone to their own devices. They ask not for help or hindrance; they simply wish to be able to succeed or fail on their own abilities, not depending on others for help nor having to defend themselves from those who seek power over them. If they choose to help others along the way they want that idea to arise from their own motives and abilities and not coercion. A very generous attribution would be approximately 8% of the citizens of this country fall into this category.
The other approximately 92% of citizens, whether they find themselves politically on the right or on the left, many times see our Constitution and Bill of Rights as an impediment to their ability to use the coercive force of government to impose their ideas; their values; and their morality on others.
The political left seeks to implement and control a government which will serve as a god-like entity which can be used to forcibly take from those who produce to give to those who don’t. They view this as some divine attribute conferred on them because they have been anointed by some mystical power to confer social justice on the masses. As this purely Marxist belief began to take hold in our country before WWII, basically on the shoulders of the New Deal agenda, even those on the political right saw the attraction to this agenda by the masses and therefore sought to adopt at least part of these socialist policies, not because it fit their political agenda, but because they knew the key to power was the ability to offer more free stuff than the guy in the other party, for to gain the power and coercive forces of government one must convince more of Boobus Americanus to vote for them than vote for their political opponent.
The political right seeks to implement their policies under the guise of national fervor. Perpetual war for perpetual peace provides the platform to grow government exponentially for the purpose of defense—after all—there is a boogie man behind every door—-especially if your beloved government has given that demon tyrant millions of taxpayer dollars to make himself more scary. Since there are demons everywhere, freedoms must be forcibly taken by government just in case somewhere down the road Ignoramus Americanus catches on to the ruse and like our Founders decides a drastic change is needed in the way government is being conducted and decides to exercise the rights to “throw off” such a government as is listed in the Declaration of Independence and replace it with one more attuned to Liberty.
Those on the right also see themselves as the anointed ones, many times referring to their religious beliefs as just cause to dictate to others what they can and cannot do with their own persons and property. The religious beliefs most rejected in history have been those which have been forced on those who do not know what is best for them in the eyes of their elected betters.
Many in our own county cannot see the inconsistency in their belief that government does not have the right to take their private property or close roads to public lands but believe that same government has the right to forcibly dictate what others can or cannot put into their own bodies. Of course most of these folks frequently exercise their right to consume adult beverages but would use government to force their political/religious beliefs onto others. To paraphrase Thomas Jefferson, if you can’t own yourself, you can never be truly free.
Damn that Constitution and Bill of Rights when it gets in the way of what those righteous folks know is best for the guy down the street. There ought to be a law that ignores the unalienable rights of others, they exclaim, when their beliefs or wishes to impose their values on others is challenged. Meanwhile they weep, wail and gnash their teeth because their political base deteriorates, all the while failing to look their own hypocrisy in the eye.
Bottom line is neither party wants our Constitution and Bill of Rights to be strictly enforced because it would limit the powers of their chosen political party or newly elected candidate and their subsequent ability to force their belief system on those they see as somehow inferior.
If you believe I am incorrect in this assertion, just check out social media and read what those who support Donald Trump want him to do once he is in office. The fact the great majority of actions they want Trump to take are not listed in the powers of the executive means nothing to them. Constitution—- “we don’t need no stinkin’ Constitution, we have the Donald.”
Robert Lefevre offered great insight into this wonderful left-right paradigm.
“There is no other way of explaining the phenomenon. Good men do find their way into government. But having gotten there, they must either perform their function or resign. If they perform their function, they use the government, an agency of compulsively gathered coercive force, to accomplish that function. Inevitably, they hurt someone. This is undoubtedly the reason such a furore is maintained over the necessity for a two-party system. Nothing is said in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights about the necessity of a two-party system. Yet most Americans hold that two parties are necessary.
The reason is obvious. The party in power inevitably employs its friends and well-wishers, and passes laws and enforces proceedings against others not of the same political conviction.
Over a period of time these laws and enforcements build up a body of resistance. The oppression mounts. It may become a public scandal. Finally, the “ins” are ousted and the other party assumes power.
Immediately the process repeats but with alternate emphasis. Those who are “ins” become “outs.” And the newly hired “ins” go to work to cut their friends free from oppression and to visit their vengeance upon those who subscribed to the beliefs of the former “ins.” Then the same iniquities come to pass all over again. Those persecuted change places with the persecutors. And around and around goes the political wheel of chance, with the voting public spinning the wheel.”
As long as the left can blame the problems of the country on the Bushes, Grahams and Romneys of the Republican Party and the right can do the same with the Obamas, Clintons and the Democrats, our Constitution and Bill of Rights will continue to disappear into the sinkhole of history, because freedom and liberty must always take a back seat to two-party politics in the eyes of the two-party power structure.
The problems we face in this country are because we are not following our founding principles, not because a right-wing tyrant or a left-wing tyrant is nesting in the White House or the halls of Congress. Both political parties see a strict adherence to our Constitution as a reduction to their power and ability to coerce. Supporting either party is a death-blow delivered against a small, constitutional, limited government.
IN RIGHTFUL REBEL LIBERTY