From Republic to Nanny State

Folks, it has been over 600 posts and nearly 50,000 viewers world wide later. In that time I went from making this an educational blog about Conservatism, as defined today, to a more in depth discussion of Political Philosophy, aimed mainly I confess, at 'policy wonks.' Then as a result of changes in life we went to a 'news aggregator' approach with my sarcastic comments preceding the links.

Well, if it were up to me I would discuss political philosophy and how it plays out in society today, everyday, however, due to circumstances beyond my control that is not always possible. Today however, we have the time. The topic today is to remind people what principles this nation was founded upon and how that has been perverted by the Left/Socialists/Commies/Pinkos/Democrats-WHATEVER you want to call them, they're pretty much all the same. First of all, know your history. The Constitutional Convention was between May 14 to September 17, 1787. The Constitution was adopted on September 17, 1787, but was then sent to the states where it was ratified by the states and went into effect on March 4, 1789. The First 10 Amendments, the Bill of Rights, were ratified by 3/4ths of the states in 1791.

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The Founding Fathers drew heavily from Locke's 2nd Treatise. Locke understood that man, in his natural state and according to Natures Law given to us by God allows individuals (not 'the masses') to pursue their self interests, self protection, the rights to life, liberty and labor, to improve and possess property as we saw fit as individuals, and the right to equal justice under the law. The Founders realized that in this state of things man was free to promote industriousness, civility (which is sorely lacking in society today partially as a result of wandering so far from the Nature of things), economic prosperity and charity of one man toward another. You see, no where in there does it dictate that the state shall tell a man what he can do with his property, nor does it tell mankind that the state grants Rights, that we live under the 'privilege' of the state. Nowhere does it say that the state shall provide solely for our protection, but that we are entitled to protect ourselves. This inextricable link between man and God, his rights, liberty, property, self-preservation, labor, charity, are all the founding lineage of these United States. From the earliest settlers who sought refuge from religious persecution to those today seeking the same refuge, the will of the individual American to be independent, rather than dependent, has been the cornerstone of what this nation is all about, what it has stood for, what it has represented to the world. The question was never one of individual liberty, that is what the Revolution was fought for and won. The question was of how to limit the Federal Government so that it did not become too intrusive into the lives of Americans; man, have we ever taken a detour! Borrowing heavily from Montesquieu to form the checks and balances of the three branches of Government, there were still some anti-Federalist that were concerned the Constitution did not go far enough to secure individuals from the potential tyranny of the Federal Government. It was to this end that an additional 10 Amendments were added to the Constitution, the Bill of Rights. The detour we have taken from that original concept led by Progressives (a.k.a. Commie, Pinko, Socialist, Liberal, etc.) seeking Utopia, masked behind phrases as the 'common good', to give to the masses, 'equality of outcome', to seek 'economic and social justice' has unhinged government, all in the name of 'fairness.' We are no longer a Representative Republic nor are we a Federal Republic, we are now a post Republic Democracy. A democracy always feared because of mob rule, activist courts that bypass the Constitutional Amendment process and Government Administrations, Regulations and Policies that have effectively strangle the life out of a Republic.