GUEST EDITORIAL

by Wayne Pilcher

From its beginning, the United States of America experienced unprecedented success and prosperity. Why is this true? It did not just "happen", there are reasons behind historical trends and outcomes.

The Declaration of Independence and Constitution established America's founding principles. The Declaration stated that all men are equal before the law and have unalienable rights. These are not just words; they provide a crucial basis upon which a government must be structured.

America was a child of the Enlightenment - the philosophical belief that all people possess reason and the innate ability to use that reason to create values in their lives. Such values include material possessions as well has non-material such as associates, mutual business enterprise, freedom of thought and religion. It is the activities of free people working together in mutual enterprise that create prosperity and a rising standard of living for everyone.

The rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are the rights of people to pursue their aspirations free from interference by others, in particular the government.

The Constitution of the United States is not just some arbitrary set of rules that can be changed to suit the exigencies of the day. The Constitution is based on timeless and immutable principles. Human experience may change but human nature does not. Rights, freedom and prosperity derive from human nature, that human beings create values by the free use of their reason. The Constitution was written for all people for all time. Its purpose is to protect the people from the despotic tendency of government which the founders rightly feared.

We are now living in a different philosophical age. We no longer have the idea that individual people are capable of pursuing and achieving their values. Now, we have pressure groups that have "needs" and make demands on society, to be provided by the governmental taxation. The American people are increasingly becoming dependent on the government and are not shy about making their demands known.

The very foundations of America's political principles are under attack. That foundation is the United States Constitution. Today's "Progressives" want to "transform" America. They advocate a "living" constitution. They are bitterly opposed to "strict constructionists" or "originalists." Members of the Supreme Court look to European or International law when considering their decisions. American courts, including the Supreme Court regularly rule on law, not by Constitutional standards, but by their own standards for political ends. Once installed on the Supreme Court, justices have little accountability for their decisions.

Conservatives and Libertarians need to fight for American principles and Constitutional law. They need to understand and explain the underlying philosophy behind those principles. They should not just advocate for them because "they work" or some other pragmatic rationale.

The American people must rediscover their roots and fight for their right to be free from government overbearance AND largesse.

Editor's note - Wayne is a libertarian-conservative. His blog can be found at renew-america-con. He links LR, and somewhat oddly lists us in the "conservative" category.

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