Reading through the Constitution, I discovered that it’s not as clear about how the government will fulfill its role as I once thought. The Constitution really serves as guidelines and is therefore open to interpretation on many issues. Our elected officials in the Federal government are primarily responsible for interpreting the Constitution. Since most individuals align themselves with a particular party it is important to know the platforms of the major parties when voting in order to ensure the election of officials who will uphold the Constitution.
America currently operates under a largely 2 party system with a few would-be 3rd party candidates. The 2 major parties existing today are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. While the top 3rd party candidates are the Constitution Party, Green Party, and the Libertarian Party.
The Democratic Agenda
universal healthcare, energy independence, combat global warming, more gun control, unrestricted abortion rights, same-sex marriage, progressive tax system, economic regulation, social entitlement programs, and more government.
The Republican Agenda
free market healthcare, energy independence, gun law enforcement, maintaining the sanctity and dignity of human life, preserve traditional marriage, lower taxes, free market powers with reasonable regulation, and less government.
The Constitution Party Agenda
free market healthcare, energy independence, upholds the right to bear arms, maintaining the sanctity and dignity of human life, preserve traditional marriage, abolish income, payroll, and estate taxes, less government and more of the power back in the hands of the States.
The Green Party Agenda
universal healthcare, unrestricted abortion rights, combat global warming, same-sex marriage, progressive taxation, and economic regulation by the government.
The Libertarian Party Agenda
smaller government, lower taxes, and more freedom. The libertarian Party stresses individual rights. Therefore their stance on many of the above mentioned agenda items would be as follows: free market healthcare, free market solutions to protect the environment, abortion and same-sex marriages are the decisions for the individual to make and not for the government to control. It would also be up to the individual to plan for retirement the government should not get involved in social welfare programs. Individuals and businesses are best suited at addressing social concerns.
These lists include stances on some specific issues as well as more general philosophies. Also, I realize that these lists are not exhaustive or representative of all members of a party, but they provide a good basis of understanding for each party.
It seems to me that we only have two viable parties because the other parties either echo the stances of either the Democratic or Republican parties or only wish to emphasize one particular topic concerning the nation today. For instance the Green party seems to closely resemble the Democratic Party with the exception of emphasizing the grass roots development of its agenda. The Libertarian and Constitution parties would fall within the Republican Party with the Libertarians stressing the importance of the individual and the Constitution party stresses the importance of a strict interpretation of the Constitution.
I myself would most closely align with the Republicans. Unfortunately I have to add that I am a conservative Republican since the broader Republican Party is not sticking to its conservative roots. The 4 tenants of conservatism, which were recently stated very clearly by Jonathan Crone (age 14) at the 2009 CPAC Convention, are:
1. Respect for the Constitution
2. Respect for Life
3. Less Government
4. Personal Responsibility
Before hearing Jonathan lay out the principles of conservatism, I knew what they were I just wasn’t able to articulate them as clearly. I think these four principles are should be the foundation for all decisions made within government.
Respect for life doesn’t come from dealing in politics, but rather from a faith in God. As a Catholic I hold the sanctity of life in the utmost regard and find it hard to believe that this universal and fundamental truth is not held by all.
I’ve always felt a need for less government. Government serves a limited purpose and therefore should be limited. The way our Government is set up it is incredibly difficult to get things done and therefore inefficient. This is necessary so as to limit its interference in what should be the State’s or our personal responsibility. However our Government currently has its hands in too much and the price we pay for its inefficiencies is enormous.
As for personal responsibility, I’ve had this engrained in my head all my life. My Dad is a strong advocate of personal responsibility and my wife will tell you that the apple does not fall far from the tree. Without responsibility we can’t expect to have a well functioning society. Everyone has a responsibility to themselves and to their fellow citizens.
If I were to make an attempt at stating the principles of the Democratic Party or liberal movement it might look something like this.
1. The Constitution is outdated
2. Personal Choice
3. More Government
The Constitution is under attack by the liberal left because they believe it has inherent biases and is outdated for the 21st century.
Respect for life wouldn’t be mentioned because that is left to personal choice.
Personal choice might be the cornerstone of the liberal movement. This basically states that you are not beholden to anyone and everyone should be left to their own devices as long as they aren’t detrimental to the greater society. I would compare this to moral relativism which states there are no universal truths and what is true for you may not be true for me. This kind of thinking leads to the changing of the Constitution because that document may have been fine for early Americans but it no longer works today.
Finally they seek to expand government at all levels. The Government exists to protect and provide for its citizens. Without Government, people left to their own devices would cheat and generally take advantage of each other. Therefore the Government will step in to protect and provide for all who need it.
In the end I doubt the Liberals’ motives, but rather view their outward appearance as something meant to garner public favor. As Rush Limbaugh put it the Democrats want to be judged by the “sweetness of their intentions”. So for me the Republicans offer the best hope for protecting our individuals rights and liberties, but even they could use a kick in the can.
Republican Sites
http://www.gop.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)
Democratic Sites
http://www.democrats.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_Party_(United_States)
Constitution Party Sites
http://www.constitutionparty.com/
Green Party Sites
http://www.gp.org/platform.shtml
Libertarian Party Sites
http://www.lp.org/platform
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
The Role of Government
What is the role of the Government? With today's ever expanding Government, I decided to take a look at what I felt government's role was, compare it to the what was laid out in the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution, and possibly explore what it has become.
My description of Government's role would be an organized body that protects the rights and liberties of its citizens while providing services that the private sector is unable or unwilling to provide on its own. I know it’s a very simplified description, but I believe it gets to the heart of the matter.
The Declaration of Independence also has a brief but very powerful description of a government’s purpose.
“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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
“Declaration of Independence”, para. 2
In two sentences Thomas Jefferson clearly stated that a government is created by consent from the governed to protect the rights of its citizens.
Once the purpose of government was agreed upon, a framework was needed. The Constitution of the United States established the necessary framework which laid out how the purpose of government would be fulfilled. Most of the specific duties of the government are laid out in Sections 8-10 of the Constitution, while the Amendments enumerate many of the Citizens rights. However even The Constitution doesn’t explain everything. Many of the duties are rather general and the actual execution can vary based on philosophy. It’s up to our established legislative bodies to come to an agreement as to how these duties are best executed.
It’s at this point where it becomes very difficult to say if our current administration is following the principles of The Constitution or moving in an entirely new direction. It would be up to the courts to make a definitive ruling on the subject, but I do believe that much of what has recently takes place violates the principles that our country was founded upon.
America is a country of opportunity not entitlement. The great draw to immigrants is that you can come to America to avoid persecution or just to have the opportunity to be successful on your own terms. The key word is opportunity. Nothing is guaranteed. Failure is possible. That is part of what makes America great. The possibility of failure motivates people to work hard, be creative, take risks that they are comfortable with, and makes success all the more enjoyable. The direction we seem to be moving is one of entitlement where we the Government will guarantee that you don’t fail. You’ll always have success. That is a promise that the Government could never hope to uphold. Even if it were possible removing the possibility of negative outcomes is detrimental to society. People will take on more risk than they can handle or they won’t be motivated to do better. Our country makes progress through American ingenuity which would be stifled under an entitlement based mentality.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/
My description of Government's role would be an organized body that protects the rights and liberties of its citizens while providing services that the private sector is unable or unwilling to provide on its own. I know it’s a very simplified description, but I believe it gets to the heart of the matter.
The Declaration of Independence also has a brief but very powerful description of a government’s purpose.
“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. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
“Declaration of Independence”, para. 2
In two sentences Thomas Jefferson clearly stated that a government is created by consent from the governed to protect the rights of its citizens.
Once the purpose of government was agreed upon, a framework was needed. The Constitution of the United States established the necessary framework which laid out how the purpose of government would be fulfilled. Most of the specific duties of the government are laid out in Sections 8-10 of the Constitution, while the Amendments enumerate many of the Citizens rights. However even The Constitution doesn’t explain everything. Many of the duties are rather general and the actual execution can vary based on philosophy. It’s up to our established legislative bodies to come to an agreement as to how these duties are best executed.
It’s at this point where it becomes very difficult to say if our current administration is following the principles of The Constitution or moving in an entirely new direction. It would be up to the courts to make a definitive ruling on the subject, but I do believe that much of what has recently takes place violates the principles that our country was founded upon.
America is a country of opportunity not entitlement. The great draw to immigrants is that you can come to America to avoid persecution or just to have the opportunity to be successful on your own terms. The key word is opportunity. Nothing is guaranteed. Failure is possible. That is part of what makes America great. The possibility of failure motivates people to work hard, be creative, take risks that they are comfortable with, and makes success all the more enjoyable. The direction we seem to be moving is one of entitlement where we the Government will guarantee that you don’t fail. You’ll always have success. That is a promise that the Government could never hope to uphold. Even if it were possible removing the possibility of negative outcomes is detrimental to society. People will take on more risk than they can handle or they won’t be motivated to do better. Our country makes progress through American ingenuity which would be stifled under an entitlement based mentality.
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Welcome!
Thanks for meeting me at the Basilica! Here we will discuss politics and the influence public policy has in our daily lives. My hope is that individuals will feel free to express their views with conviction while being respectful to other opinions.
It seems that our society continues to move towards one of isolationism where being politically correct and moral relativism rule the day. Therefore frank discussions on issues of importance are becoming less common. We should be able to engage in serious thought provoking conversation without offending or taking offense to ideas that are expressed if it is conducted in a respectful manner. I believe there is benefit in such conversation even if the goal is not to persuade others to your way of thinking. Serious discussion can lead to further refinement in my positions, expose me to new views, and add understanding for other positions. Failing to discuss the issues could lead to not having strong convictions at all which leaves you at the mercy of the opinions of others.
I look forward to meeting you once a month at the Basilica to engage in some thought provoking conversation to explore the ways our Government is or is not serving our basic needs.
It seems that our society continues to move towards one of isolationism where being politically correct and moral relativism rule the day. Therefore frank discussions on issues of importance are becoming less common. We should be able to engage in serious thought provoking conversation without offending or taking offense to ideas that are expressed if it is conducted in a respectful manner. I believe there is benefit in such conversation even if the goal is not to persuade others to your way of thinking. Serious discussion can lead to further refinement in my positions, expose me to new views, and add understanding for other positions. Failing to discuss the issues could lead to not having strong convictions at all which leaves you at the mercy of the opinions of others.
I look forward to meeting you once a month at the Basilica to engage in some thought provoking conversation to explore the ways our Government is or is not serving our basic needs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
