In a time when people are simply attempting to survive job losses and economic challenges, I am reminded of how our country was founded and what turn of events transpired to bring about the greatest experiment in self- governance that has ever been conceived. To fully appreciate how far we have moved away from the original designs of our founding documents, we must first understand where it is that our country came from. In particular we should look at the personal aspirations of the brave souls who fought against all odds to not only come to this new land, but then to battle the tyranny of government from afar and overcome hardships that we dare not imagine.

The history of the United States is mired with many tragic events, wars, popular and unpopular political leaders and outspoken critics of government. Certainly there is no shortage of those types of folks today, however there is a key difference between the political leaders of history and those of today. The missing ingredient – in this writers eyes – is honor. Many, and dare I say most, of our political leaders lack honor. Not ’honor’ in the classical sense, but rather an honor that is so deep that it is espoused as a permanent and integral part of their essence. This honor is of the highest magnitude, it surpasses doing what is right simply because it is right and it holds a stronger bond than any familial blood line; no, this honor is about doing what is right because not doing it would grate infinitely harsh against the inner core of your being, such that you would rather suffer immeasurable and irreparable harm than fail at preserving it.

Too often our political leaders view holding office as a power grab, despite their assertion otherwise. It ends up being their golden parachute or fulfilling an internal desire to be famous. Whatever the reasons may be, it is seldom that we find true statesmen. Who do we have, or have we had in our midst in the last 20 years that would begin to measure up against the bar set so high by those such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Samuel Adams. Certainly they exist, but unfortunately they are very rare. The political climate of today instead reflects the poor quality of self-deserving politicos who would rather do what is expedient for the purposes at hand and forgo doing that which is honorable.

The interesting thing here is that it stems not from politicians, but rather the citizens of this once great country who vote them into office because their personal needs would be better served by a political type buying votes as opposed to one doing what is right and just – honorable. Of course we must not forget those who do not vote, as an abstained vote is tantamount to condoning the status quo or roughly the same as a vote against the trailing candidate. But then this isn’t a lesson on why one should vote, but rather why it is important that we maintain the utmost respect for an institution that transcends individual desires.

“Congress [in implementing the 16th Amendment] went beyond merely enacting an income tax law and repealed Article IV of the Bill of Rights, by empowering the tax collector to do the very things from which that article says we were to be secure. It opened up our homes, our papers and our effects to the prying eyes of government agents and set the stage for searches of our books and vaults and for inquiries into our private affairs whenever the tax men might decide, even though there might not be any justification beyond mere cynical suspicion.”

“The income tax is bad because it has robbed you and me of the guarantee of privacy and the respect for our property that were given to us in Article IV of the Bill of Rights. This invasion is absolute and complete as far as the amount of tax that can be assessed is concerned. Please remember that under the Sixteenth Amendment, Congress can take 100 percent of our income anytime it wants to. As a matter of fact, right now it is imposing a tax as high as 91 percent. This is downright confiscation and cannot be defended on any other grounds.”

“The income tax is bad because it was conceived in class hatred, is an instrument of vengeance and plays right into the hands of the communists. It employs the vicious communist principle of taking from each according to his accumulation of the fruits of his labor and giving to others according to their needs, regardless of whether those needs are the result of indolence or lack of pride, self-respect, personal dignity or other attributes of men.”

“The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government, are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.”

- James Madison (Federalist Papers #45)

On June 12, 2010, Judge Andrew Napolitano launched his new show, Freedom Watch, on The Fox Business Network. On this show, I really appreciated this (below) discussion between The Judge, Congressman Ron Paul (Libertarian), and Sarah Palin (Conservative). I happen to really admire The Judge, Congressman Paul, and Sarah Palin, for their beliefs in our founding values, and our Constitution, as written, and understood, by our founders.

Due to the increasing size and scope of our Federal Government, and the increasing far-left agendas of The Obama Administration, there is no doubt, that even people who previously identified themselves as Conservatives, have increasingly moved further right, to a more Libertarian point of view. It is doubtful that our country could ever go back to a completely Libertarian state, as in the days of our founders, but it is great to see such a Constitutional awakening in our country, and a desire to move closer and closer to our founding values, and The Constitutional principles that made us such a great country, for so many years.

I have often said, “if a plant loses it’s roots,” then the plant could never survive. Conversely, if a country is too far removed from it’s foundation, then God only knows where it could lead. Sadly, the many problems that we are currently experiencing in The United States, is greatly due to the lack of prudence to our Constitution, by our Federal Government, over the last 100 or so years.

Please listen to this insightful and informative discussion:

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Since the very early days, following Barack Obama’s Inauguration, and their far-reaching, Big Government, Progressive agenda,  Conservative Americans on the right, have been at great odds with this administration, and the far-left Democrats which currently have the majorities in Congress.

Unfortunately, rather then things improving, it appears that things continue to increasingly get worse, as our national debt sky-rockets, unemployment stays high… and now, an ecological disaster in The Gulf of Mexico, which (containment wise) this administration does not appear to have a great command over.

While it is very understandable to see the right get angry with this far-left agenda, it now appears that the left’s own base is beginning to pile on as well… as they, unbelievably, do not think The Obama Administration is governing far enough to the left.

Politically, things do not look good for The Obama Administration.  As far as the state of The United States, sadly, things do not appear to be getting any better either. Most Americans, anxiously, appear to be looking forward to November and the mid-term elections, to have a peaceful revolution at the ballot box, and hopefully, restore a bit of sanity back into our country. Until then, anger appears to continue bubbling up on both sides of the political fence.

Please listen to Bill O’Reilly on this:

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“Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”

- John Adams