Is Anybody Listening

When as a youth I went to Bible School, we sang a song which went, "hey, hey, anybody listening, hey, hey, anybody there..".

In the crescendo of health care, stimulus, cap and trade, and the avalanche of other rhetoric, the lyrics seem applicable. Is anybody listening? I think I'm trying. What I think I hear, of course, is tempered by my opinion.

Here is what I'm hearing. I am hearing a confrontation relative to socialism versus capitalism. I am hearing a confrontation of a powerful centralized government versus individual freedom. I'm seeing a battle for power over the individual and collectively, the community. I'm seeing an attack on the Constitution of the United States and the principles of our founding fathers at the creation of this great nation. I'm seeing, in modern form, Cain versus Able.

I can only view this in the light of my knowledge of history and interpretation of the constitution, as written. I search for interpretation from such writings as the Federalist Papers and the anti-federalist rebuttal. I try and temper this with a study of history surrounding the colonies relationship with the crown and the very motivation of the colonists to be here in the first place.

The writings of Edmond Burke and John Locke influenced the founders profoundly. The founders were living in an environment of patriarchal dominance. Mother England posited itself as the "nanny" of the colonies. What the crown wanted was what benefited itself not what was best for the colonies.

Thus what goes around has come around. A limited vision by the founders ignored the possibility of a centralized government which perpetuated itself in office and became a surrogate "nanny" for the crown. John Locke emphasized that freedom was tied to property. When you control a person's property you control a person's freedom. Property included the fruits of ones labor not just material items.

The intent to control you and your property gets more evident with each new bill coming out of congress. The technique of control is intervention, not confiscation. You may still own your home and have the privilege of paying for it, maintaining it and protecting it. The government will tell you how you can use it. How much water for a shower, what temperature to heat or cool it, requirements to sell it, what you can put in your yard, whether you can light a fire in an outdoor grill or not, how many gallons your commode tank may hold, and on and on. So much more efficient than the government owning it. Also, afoot is legislation to control your work as an employee though mandated union membership and your work as an employer by giving up much control over your employees due to the union's presence and increased regulatory controls. Much of your individual liberty has been flushed down that four gallon commode.

If the individual would step back and analyze the control placed upon them by federal, state and local governments, and could possibly itemize and record them, they would be horrified.

We can still over come what is happening. We must not give up. We must continue to resist. We must participate. We must with an open mind learn the facts and resist the propaganda by analyzing what we hear and see in light of them. As the early fathers, we must pledge our lives, our property and our sacred honor toward the redemption and preservation of individual liberty.