Big Government Philosophy Erodes Freedom

President Ford once said that “a government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have.”

It then follows that as we stand ready to witness a catastrophic explosion in the size of our government with this “spendulus” bill that we are also about to experience government taking more from us. And what does it take from us? Liberty.

Freedom dies at the same rate and in equal proportion to the expansion of government.

The more the federal government controls the purse strings of States, businesses, and individuals, the more compliance it can and will demand from them. When we allow the government to hold our purse strings, we find our selves as puppets controlled by those same strings.

With growth in the federal largess, Americans are increasingly encumbered with burdensome taxes, regulations, and nanny-state laws. The more government grows, the more it tells us exactly what we can and can not do.

And now with this President, Congress and stimulus bill, we’re about to exacerbate the infringements upon freedom with government growth at an unprecedented level. Just a few examples:

The legislation targets our freedom of religion by disqualifying educational institutions that allow any religious function to take place on its campus from receiving any stimulus funds, whether that function is school sponsored or not. By use of federal funds, liberals in Washington are trying to scare universities into banning all student participation in religious activities.

The stimulus bill provides additional funding to those government environmental agencies which already place ridiculous restrictions on the lives of individuals, producers, and businesses. It can be expected that the level of intrusion will increase proportionally to the level of their increased funding.

The bill provides heavy doses of funding to secondary schools. As history has proven, this will decrease the freedom we have to determine how our schools will operate and the curriculum that will be taught. The government will be more inclined and more empowered to dictate the terms of our children’s education.

We’re already seeing the federal government dictate to recipients of previous bailout funds how they will and will not conduct business. The precedent is set.

What’s additionally troubling is the manner in which this legislation is being forced upon us.

It was written in the House behind closed doors by a few leftists. It was rushed to the Senate and Obama demanded an immediate vote. He has chastised and belittled all who wanted a responsible review of the bill. He has demeaned everyone who has questioned the bill and his haste to have it passed.

Additionally, Obama trying to dictate who we should and should not listen to with regard to political commentary and Senator Stabenow’s recent comments that she’s sure the Fairness Doctrine will be imposed to squash dissenting viewpoints are both troubling events.

A triad of unprecedented government expansion and intervention, bullying demands by a few leaders, and silencing of dissent are not the foundational principles of this country. They are foundational principles of socialist and even communist governments. The similarities being seen in Washington right now are eerie.

For those who are cheering Obama and the leftists in Congress, be careful what you wish for. One morning you’ll wake up to find your liberties have also disappeared. The scythe of tyranny is not selective.