Where are we headed as a country ?

Where are we headed as a country ?
We seem to have a great divide that is evolving and being thrust upon our country….and this divide seems to be centered in the differences between the foundational beliefs that we hold. Those to the right who base their beliefs about our country upon the ideals of our founding fathers (as delineated in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution) as opposed to those on the left who wish to see our country move further towards progressive socialism.

Founding ideals – limited government (powers at both the federal and state level which include limiting the powers of taxation and regulation), adherence to the constitutionally mandated powers of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, serving in government to uphold the ideals of democracy as well as for the benefit of the common good of our country, the sanctity of life, the ability to pursue liberty, strong national sovereignty, strong national security…

Progressive socialism – government leads the way in all facets of our lives, taxation as a way to cure all of societies ills, governmental regulation as a prime directive, judicial activism in the legislative process, the government’s redistribution of wealth, devaluation of life within certain contexts (abortion, euthanasia), weakened sovereignty, weakened national security of our country, open borders, political correctness…Progressive socialism leans toward the view that the founding ideals are no longer valid in our day – the founding documents should be considered ‘living’ documents – that is to say that we can change the way we interpret as well as understand them as we see fit – they are situational in nature.

We have politicians who say they can reach across the isle to come to agreement on the issues that our country faces today as well as for our future. With such a great divide mounting in our foundational beliefs it may be extremely difficult, might I say almost impossible, to bring such diverse views together to gain consensus.
The issues: the amount of government intervention in our daily lives, continually increasing tax burdens, governmental spending run amok, career politicians whose goal is attaining more power (as well as generating earmarks), judicial activism, ……will surely stretch any politician on either side beyond their abilities to construct effective legislative movement to address these issues.
Where will we find the statesmen that are concerned more about the honor and integrity of their actions than gaining political advantage, who are willing to stand true to the foundational truths that started this country and created the greatest experiment in democracy in the history of the world, who are willing to forsake their lives, their fortunes and their honor to keep our country the land of the free and the home of the brave…
As we have seen throughout the history of civilization – it is not the enemy without that destroys great civilizations but the enemy within that slowly erodes the foundations that they were built upon…

P.R. Barriball (August 2008)