The Fourth of July: Its Relevance to Today

The Fourth of July commemorates the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Amongst a sophisticated and admirable set of political ideas held by the signers of the Declaration was a disdain for despotic or tyrannical government--in modern terms: an over-reaching or overly powerful government. Today, on an almost daily basis, one cannot escape seeing a news story in which the federal government isn't trying to pass some new law to regulate some industry, or to issue some new threat against some business or businessman, or to bestow some new benefit on some new group of people--a benefit forced, by law, from others who must either produce it or pay for it.

“Of what relevance is this today?—in 21st century American? to my life?” one might ask. Although the Founding Fathers did not go out of their way to formulate treatises on the relationship between freedom (i.e., the protection of individual rights) and economic prosperity, one need only read some of their writings to see that they were, however, well aware of the relationship. Specifically, they took for granted that political freedom included and necessitated economic freedom, and they knew that the result of such conditions was economic prosperity. Come back to today: ever more stringent laws on individuals and their private enterprises; ever more regulations and “oversight” on “big business,” on banking, and on industries in general; ever more financial giveaways (bailouts to businesses and benefits and programs to individuals and categories of people); in short, ever more government—ever more government interference into the economy and into our lives, ever more government regulation and “public welfare.”

The result? Is our economy getting better or worse? Reliance on the opinions of economic experts and forecasters is not needed at this point. Ask yourself: Is your financial situation getting better or worse? Is the value of your house going up or down? Are your salary and benefits going up or are they getting cut? Are your prospects for jobs growing or diminishing? Is your earning potential going up, or do you feel lucky if it merely stays the same? Are things getting less expensive or more so? Do you find your savings going up or down? Are you finding that you have more money left over at the end of the tax year or less? Is it getting easier to make ends meet or more difficult? Is your debt getting paid down, or are you struggling while your debt just sits there unchanging or worse yet is mounting? Are your hopes for your economic future getting brighter or dimmer? Financially, is your life getting easier or harder? better or worse?

I would make a case in answer to these questions, but I don’t think I need to.

Are our elected officials—our President and our Congress—in recent decades (and even moreso today) on the right track? It depends on the standard. If the standard is government as a regulatory and welfare state, then, yes, they are indeed performing, as they continue to increase the size and scope of the government in this role. As Ayn Rand said, however: “Check your premises.” Check the basic ideas or assumptions underlying our ideas. Is this the proper standard? Should the role of government be that of a regulatory and welfare state—or should it be that of protector of individual rights, with the political and economic freedom that this entails and the economic prosperity that ensues? The full answer is not one that can be bestowed upon or ascertained by a person in a blog, or in any short article for that matter. It is in fact one that requires a thoughtful study and consideration over time. As an indication, however, one should consider the relationship between our current political leanings and our economic condition. One should not divorce the fact that as government increases in size and scope, our economy seems to be grinding to a standstill and our personal economic conditions worsen. (If this indication gives you pause to think and a desire to begin investigating further, I would recommend, as a place to start, a book called Atlas Shrugged.)

For me, the Fourth of July has always (as an adult) been about the revolutionary ideas of the Founding Fathers and how such ideas changed the world in terms of freedom and the resulting economic prosperity that such freedom created. I always assumed (or perhaps more likely hoped) that it meant the same thing for many others as well. Given the state of politics today and the political ideas and candidates that people are willing to support, however, I realize that this is not the case. Given our country’s current state, the Fourth of July is not and cannot be about recognizing this event’s political and historical significance; but I do hope that it can become about rediscovering it.

The Obituary of The United States of America

The United States of America, died Sunday, March 21, 2010, at the age of 233, after an almost century-long bout with welfare statism, stretching at least as far back as the 1930’s. America was found dead in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday from a vote for a government takeover of its healthcare system—despite repeated warnings from other countries which have suffered similar fates. The details behind the murder are still unclear, but it seems that a handful of ideologically driven political leaders, hell-bent on statism, through a series of arm-twisting, backroom deals, buying of votes, payoffs, and bribes, corrupted the political process to thwart the will of the American people and forced passage of the lethal bill. Although no suspects have officially been named, American people are focusing their investigation around a Mr. Barry Hussein Obama, a certain Mrs. Pelosi, and someone by the name of Reid.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1776, to the Founding Fathers, the United States of America became the greatest country in the history of man. In 1776, it declared that the purpose of government is to protect individual rights. In 1788, via the Constitution, it created a constitutionally limited republic which secured these rights. Peace and prosperity in this new country flourished, and its ideas captivated and inspired the nations of Europe. As a result of this influence, the Industrial Revolution took off not only in America but across Europe as well. The ensuing century, therefore, saw mankind’s progress take off in the Western world in general and skyrocket in America in particular. Because of the tremendous practical consequences of freedom (not to mention the moral necessity of it for man’s life and happiness), the United States continued to smash through barrier after barrier scientifically and technologically throughout the 20th century, elevating human life to a level undreamed of in previous eras.

America is survived by it’s intellectual heirs—Ayn Rand, John Galt, and the Objectivists; by those amongst the Tea Party movement who have a healthy respect for reason, rational self-interest, freedom, and individual rights; by millions of Americans who still retain the original American sense of life; and by those who are just plain pissed off at the way in which a relatively small group of power lusting politicians are cannibalizing the productive and the able on the behalf of those who are not productive or able.

Memorial services will be held for the United States of America throughout the country on April 15th, on July 4th, on November 2, 2010, and again in November, 2012.

Per the wishes of freedom loving Americans, the United States of America will be cryogenically frozen in the hopes that one day reason, individualism, and freedom will be rediscovered, that rational self-interest will become understood and embraced, and that the United States of America can therefore be brought back to life.

In the meanwhile, Americans are looking for any leads in bringing to justice those involved in the slaying. Freedom loving Americans are calling on anyone who can be of assistance in this matter: the American electorate, state attorneys general, state legislatures, future U.S. Congresses, the Supreme Court of the United States, and, if need be, members of the armed services and law enforcement who have taken an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic.