When ‘Principles’ Become Polemic

When ‘Principles’ Become Polemic

The adventure is in "the Pursuit of Happiness," not in empty promises and guarantees.

July 11, 2017 at 10:26am

We attended a small town festival last weekend, enjoying the typical parade of classic cars, tractors, a marching band, mounted deputies, small-business floats, fire engines, kids on bikes, kids on horses, the whole Americana deal. It was great.

At one of the booths my daughter found a flier titled “You Might Be A Democrat.” It posed the question: “Do you agree with Democratic principles?” Here are the listed principles, with my analysis, principles that aren’t so Americana.

Everybody deserves equal treatment, not just people with lots of money.

Now, that sounds good, doesn’t it, the equal treatment part? But notice, right out of the gate, they demonize the rich or anyone with “lots of money,” implying that those people get special treatment, undermining trust in the justice system and implying some kind of privilege economically, as in “white privilege.” Identity politics right out of the gate, promoting division, fear, envy and suspicion. Are those principles you embrace? Furthermore, we enjoy equal protection under the law, thanks to the Constitution and the rule of law it promotes. THE CONSTITUTION IS NOT MENTIONED ONCE ON THE FLIER.

Money should not be able to buy an election.

Money is not in and of itself capable. People buy things using money and people on both sides of the aisle play games around election time. This “principle” suggests Democrats always play by the rules, Republicans don’t, that Democrats don’t have enough money and Republicans have more than their “fair” share, you know, all those people with “lots of money,” the evil ones who get special treatment. Interestingly, Democrats have outspent Republicans routinely during the last several cycles, losing almost every time. So much for the claim Republicans buy elections. Let’s revise the “principle” to read: Try as they might, Democrats can’t buy an election even with a vast fortune from San Francisco and Santa Monica!

Democracy means the majority wins the election.

This is true for the most part, but our system is not a democracy, it is a constitutional republic. As the Founders pointed out, pure democracies always commit suicide because majorities tend to trample the rights of minorities. Majority rule tends to morph into mob rule and the law of the jungle. So to protect the rights of minorities, and those living in less populated areas, the Founders crafted a representative republic where majority rule is tempered by state representation, three branches of government, and the Electoral College to determine presidential races. Now the Democrats want to abolish the Electoral College and they insist on pure democracy. The Founders warned against this because it leads to the concentration of power, dictatorship, and the loss of liberty. Think things through, especially when Democrats start preaching about what should and should not be allowed.

Women have the right to choose.

Abortion. That unborn baby is human. Not a glob. A person. According to our Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Would you deny anyone Life? Why do we presume to deny Life when it comes to a baby in the womb? That baby has a right to Life. Remember, Democrats also say they believe in equal treatment under the law, except when it comes to unborn persons. Their thinking is not only illogical, it is immoral.

Undocumented residents should have a path to citizenship.

Indeed. They already have that path. It’s called legal citizenship. When Democrats start fiddling with the meaning of words, it always means they are trying to hide something. “Undocumented residents” means “illegal aliens,” people who cross our borders illegally, broke the law and took up residence here. We allowed it, so we bear much of the responsibility, but the solution is not to ignore our law further and encourage lawlessness. Remember, Democrats want Equal Treatment, except in the case of unborn persons or in the case of “undocumented residents.” Illegal residents should become legal citizens by going through the same process legal residents go through. Equal treatment is the only fair way to address the situation.

Education spending is more important than military spending.

This is an arbitrary judgment. Democrats usually hate military spending until we have a 9/11 or Pearl Harbor, and then the tune changes pretty quickly. But ask yourself, if we don’t have adequate military defenses to preserve the country that provides the schools, what good is education spending? Priorities matter, but we cannot have one without the other, because good schools produce good citizens and many of them volunteer for military service. Therefore, it’s not a matter of one being superior to another; they are interdependent. Finally, much of the anti-military sentiment in this country stems from this kind of thinking. It’s not a principle, it’s a position that is divisive by design.

We should always be militarily strong but we’ll be safer when we are diplomatically smart.

Any diplomat will tell you diplomacy is only as smart as the military is strong; they work hand in hand. Without a strong military, diplomacy is largely ineffective. We are safest when a strong military enables diplomacy to be effective. That’s the definition of smart.

Health care is a right.

This is not true. Do you have a “right” to clothing, to food, to housing, to a car? If these things are “rights,” then government must make sure you have them, and government can purchase these things for you only by taking money from others. This is called communism, the exact opposite of our founding principles. The Founders condemned the idea that a strong central government should be given the power to take from one group to finance another group. This puts government in such a powerful position, liberty is destroyed. If states and counties wish to help with health care costs, so be it, but the Founders would still object. Certainly, allowing the government to dictate to doctors how they can or cannot provide you with care is a terrible idea, like allowing a butcher to perform heart surgery. If we have learned anything from the disaster called Obamacare, it should be this: Government is entirely ill-suited to the task of running national health care, and therefore national health care is a terrible idea, forever bound to fail.

The business of America is fairness.

President Coolidge once said, “The business of America is business.” I don’t think either statement is altogether true. I think the business of America is “liberty and justice for all.” Think about what makes America unique. Certainly we seek to treat one another fairly; that goes without saying. What really makes us unique is liberty rooted in self-government. We govern ourselves — unless we give too much power to the politicians and the bureaucrats! The business of America is liberty! And opportunity! We have established a free society, allowing people to follow their dreams and make the most of life. We don’t guarantee outcomes but we strive to provide the conditions allowing for optimal opportunity and success. Democrats want government to pick winners and losers. That not only limits freedom and opportunity, it stunts the adventure, promising guarantees than never materialize. Better to be free and take your chances than to be penned up living on oatmeal and second-hand clothes. The adventure is in “the Pursuit of Happiness,” not in empty promises and guarantees.

Conclusion: if you want liberty, opportunity, true equal protection, security, self-government and the adventure of making your own way, then YOU ARE A CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN (like the Founding Fathers)!

http://www.westernjournalism.com/pri...ecome-polemic/