In fact, we are much better off as a nation if this last election was stolen. How crazy is that? Consider the alternative – Fetterman won, fair and square. What does this say about the people of Pennsylvania? Forget Fetterman. Instead take a look at any race in this year’s election cycle resulting in a disappointing loss. As far as I’m concerned, none of these races should have been close, much less a loss. At least they shouldn’t be close from the perspective of liberty.
Every single democrat ran and won on a single unifying principle – more government. This, at a time when we are all drowning in government. You just don’t throw water on a drowning person. Ronald Reagan was right – the more government we have, the less liberty we enjoy. (paraphrased) This idea, in and of itself is nuts. Our nation was founded on the principle of a limited government but today’s society all but demands unlimited government and it’s killing us, literally as well as figuratively.
There was reason and logic behind the concept of a limited government. Citizens should be free to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. As long as we respect each other’s rights, rights each of us equally enjoy, our nation will thrive. While in practice, our implementation of these principles have been flawed from day one, our nation has thrived. We’ve risen to be the most productive, influential, and powerful nation the world has ever seen. Imperfect as we are, we remain a shining beacon for the world. Nobody is flooding Haiti’s borders trying to get in. You know why.
Instead of a prosperous and orderly nation, we’ve devolved into a myriad of tribes each vying for prizes from the treasury. Equity has replaced equality and as such, has burdened our most productive citizens by forcing one group to suffer to appease another. Worse, productivity has taken second place to privilege so merit is devalued as a factor for opportunity. Everybody loses. Those with lessor skills no longer need to sharpen them to make the grade and those with better skills languish where their abilities are wasted. The new normal is to settle for mediocrity rather than strive for excellence and it shows.
Our nation is devolving into a third-world county. Already, we’ve lost the respect of nations that once looked up to us. Once the cash flow to them subsides, our influence will drop to zero. Our military will soon be transformed from the envy of the world to a laughingstock. Even Corporal Klinger would bow his head in shame. Once our economy tanks and we can no longer afford all those things we now take for granted, the world will look for more promising markets. Nobody heeds a bum, no matter how fabulously wealthy and successful they were yesterday.
None of this is, or will be the result of this last election cycle. Rather it the result of where our nation has been headed for decades. Some will look back to Woodrow Wilson’s presidency. Others may recognize roots extending beyond that. In some ways, I contend we were doomed from the start because our forefathers failed to properly educate the people about the duties and responsibilities of our republic. In their defense, I suggest that few, if any, really understood many of the nuances themselves as what they accomplished had never been done before.
From a godly perspective, we are likely right where we ought to be in the grand scheme of things. Perhaps the real question should be… where do we go from here? I see two paths. One continues on the way we are going, growing government, limiting liberty until everything crumbles… and crumble it will. Our current situation is unsustainable, as we continue to spend far faster than we can produce. The second path is rugged. It doesn’t even appear to be navigable. Instead of growing government, we need to shrink it… a lot. Instead of suffocating ourselves with endless regulation, we need to simplify. Rather than practice “set it and forget it” citizenship where we only show up occasionally on election days, we need to roll up our sleeves and dig in. We need to hold our representatives, ALL of our representatives accountable. We need to gauge every action, every proposal against the standard of limited government vs liberty. We need to learn to do things for ourselves instead of clamoring for more government to do things for us. Most of all… we need to get right with God. What does God have to do with anything? Everything.
If you cannot see how God fits into the equation then you are part of the problem. I’m sorry if you are an atheist or even a non-Christian. I am particularly sorry if you claim Christ and cannot see my point or worse, take offense. Don’t get me wrong, I am not discounting non-Christians. Nothing in our Constitution requires any citizen to be a Christian or even believe in any god at all to participate. You have just as much say, just as many rights as anyone else. That said, our nation was founded by the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself and blessed by Him in no uncertain terms. Those of us who claim Christ need to accept and acknowledge this. Never mind the rest, they get a free ticket to ride. We Christians, however, must put God first in our lives and in our nation.
There is a deeply spiritual aspect to the state of our nation today. It is war. In the end, God wins. Meanwhile this nation is a battleground. The real war is God vs the god of this world, the devil. If we are to win, it will be with God at our side. Politics will not win this war.