When we talk about government, whether it’s local, state or federal, it’s important to remember it’s kinda creepy.
Now let me explain. Legislators do best when they come into the process with a solid set of core Biblical and Constitutional values. These are the 30,000-foot Overarching Principals, things like: All life is precious from conception until natural death; private property means just that, private; the borrower is slave to the lender; free people are not equal and equal people are not free; AND certain rights are inalienable. They’re given by God, not government, and government cannot take them away. And finally, the power to tax is the power to destroy. These are just a few, but they’re examples of the core principles that produce the smallest government and, therefore, the greatest freedom. Legislators who understand these principles are able to more quickly and more easily decide if a bill is a good bill or a bad bill. Bad bills violate foundational principles, good bills do not.
It’s almost that simple. Legislators who have the most trouble are those that see each bill as an “island entire of itself.” Rather than running it through a grid of foundational principles which usually spits out the right answer, they look at each bill as a unique idea and try to decide whether or not it feels good. These legislators spend their entire session, and sometimes their entire legislative careers, being whipsawed by their emotions. Many times they wind up voting “yes” or “no” on a bill based on whether it’s affordable or not. And most of the time, they don’t even get THAT right because they’re far too willing to raise taxes rather than say “no” to irresponsible spending.
So back to government and the fact that it’s creepy. I don’t mean “creepy” in the sense of a scary movie; I mean “creepy” in the sense that it creeps, slowly but surely, in ever expanding ways to strip citizens of their rights, their responsibilities, their freedoms and their money. The military calls it “mission creep.” I think it goes far beyond the military and applies to all of government. We see examples every day right here in Helena. We have a Constitutional right to defend ourselves using a firearm until lawmakers step into the picture. Then you have the right to defend yourself, except when you’re within so many feet of a school, on a college campus, in a bank or in a government building—makes you wonder why we have so many shootings in schools, on college campuses, in banks and in government buildings like courthouses and post offices.
And what about assisted suicide? Sounds reasonable and fair to many people until we look at the Netherlands where they began with assisted suicide and now have allowed government to creep all the way to involuntary euthanasia. This is what happens when government gets involved and we allow foundational Constitutional principles to be violated by baby steps. It’s human nature, and it’s been the case for as long as government has existed. Our Founding Fathers understood this, and it’s time to remind our legislators and members of Congress, as well. When they violate foundational principles, even for seemingly good reasons, freedom is lost and government gets downright creepy.
