Between the National Review article and the tragedy of Trayvon Martin in Florida the perpetual myth of those on the political right as racists has reared its ugly head once more.
If you have been a conservative for longer than a day you've probably faced the calls of racist from your less informed liberal friends who wish to show you the "compassionate side" of their arguments. Today there seems to be more of this on the national scale and the push being made by prominent leftists is in no way grounded to historical facts. Allow me to set the record straight.
As a brief overview of our ideology we believe in natural rights as given to us by God. These rights have to be recognized by government for that government to be recognized as legitimate. It has been the march of those carrying the call enshrined in our Declaration of Independence to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness that sought to free the slaves, fight the Confederacy, and limit the government's restrictions on rights you receive because you have inherent worth as an individual.
Conservatives fight against the unhealthy growth of government. They recognize that government takes away the rights of individuals in order to expand its own power. With a government truly limited the rights of the individual are boundless. No man can keep another man as a slave and treat him as less than human.
It was the conservatives that pushed back government by defeating the Confederacy and freed the slaves by pushing back government and allowing their natural rights to take over. It was those who sought to expand the growth of government that created the Jim Crow Laws and looked to remove those rights once more.
The conservatives look to level the playing field so that the playing field is as equal as human beings can make it. Once government steps aside it is only man. Man may be flawed but he cannot in good conscience keep his fellow man down.
The media, which is spear-headed by leftists and progressives, will do anything it can to portray those on the right as being intolerant. They will attempt to showcase our policies as racist. It is up to those prominent members of the conservative movement to take this moment and showcase why racism is so inherently opposed to liberty and natural rights. Andrew Breitbart would have been salivating at the opportunity to beat back the firestorm created by prominent members of the media.
We need to come forward and nip these kinds of issues in the bud. Conservatism is directly inverse to racist policies. With a small government respectful of the rights you are born with racist policies are impossible. It was under the guise of "compassionate politics" that allowed government to restrict the rights of its citizens in the first place. In order for all men and women to be free government must be limited.
Conservative politics and racist policies clash at the most fundamental of levels. Racist policies grow the power of government and we will not stand for that. Point out this paradox to any leftist that dares to attack the right as racist. I bet it blows their minds.
Showing posts with label Natural Rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Natural Rights. Show all posts
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Your Rights Are Absolute
There has been a slow erosion of the natural rights and liberties that this country was founded upon. A death from a thousand individual cuts may quickly befall the greatest experiment of individual liberty that the world has ever seen. The culprit here is not just at the government level but also at the mental level. Too many of those amongst us are far too willing to surrender the rights that are bestowed upon us by our birth.
This has been a slow death march started during the Progressive Era where the idea that we must "progress" past the Constitution and move on toward the more "forward-thinking Old World." That the "rights" of the class far outweigh the rights of the individual. At the birth of this nation the people were sovereign, we have since moved toward a republic where the needs of the many are more pressing than individual liberty.
We have allowed government and culture to dictate what rights have become acceptable and what ones should be dealt away with. We have become a society that after a small uproar has elected to live with being strip searched in the public domain. The use of body scanners and TSA searches have become the writs of assistance of our time. The government along with the supporters of security at all costs have made us "progress" past our fear of unreasonable search and seizure.
These individuals have attacked the first amendment on multiple fronts. We've seen recently that the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare for short) will force religious groups to provide healthcare insurance that provides for contraceptives. Government is attempting to coerce religion in a way that violates the conscious of the institution.
The United States of America now has "Free Speech Zones" when a prominent political figures deliver remarks. It may just be the America I thought we lived in but I thought this entire nation was a free speech zone. The First Amendment grants us this privilege. This is another natural right that is under attack by the culture as well. The growing political correctness and hypersensitivity of this country threatens what we can say and our mindset more than our government ever could.
We've been born with everything we need to exercise our natural rights and liberties. We've been given a mind of our own so we are guaranteed freedom of conscious. We've been given a mouth to speak our minds. We've been given eyes to see the truth. We've been given all the facets necessary to succeed.
The last thing we need to succeed is to reverse the tide of statist outreach. We must not be afraid to push against the tide. Speak your mind. Defend your religion. Have a free mind and conscious. We must reclaim the natural rights and liberties from our government. They are rightfully ours after all.
This has been a slow death march started during the Progressive Era where the idea that we must "progress" past the Constitution and move on toward the more "forward-thinking Old World." That the "rights" of the class far outweigh the rights of the individual. At the birth of this nation the people were sovereign, we have since moved toward a republic where the needs of the many are more pressing than individual liberty.
We have allowed government and culture to dictate what rights have become acceptable and what ones should be dealt away with. We have become a society that after a small uproar has elected to live with being strip searched in the public domain. The use of body scanners and TSA searches have become the writs of assistance of our time. The government along with the supporters of security at all costs have made us "progress" past our fear of unreasonable search and seizure.
These individuals have attacked the first amendment on multiple fronts. We've seen recently that the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare for short) will force religious groups to provide healthcare insurance that provides for contraceptives. Government is attempting to coerce religion in a way that violates the conscious of the institution.
The United States of America now has "Free Speech Zones" when a prominent political figures deliver remarks. It may just be the America I thought we lived in but I thought this entire nation was a free speech zone. The First Amendment grants us this privilege. This is another natural right that is under attack by the culture as well. The growing political correctness and hypersensitivity of this country threatens what we can say and our mindset more than our government ever could.
We've been born with everything we need to exercise our natural rights and liberties. We've been given a mind of our own so we are guaranteed freedom of conscious. We've been given a mouth to speak our minds. We've been given eyes to see the truth. We've been given all the facets necessary to succeed.
The last thing we need to succeed is to reverse the tide of statist outreach. We must not be afraid to push against the tide. Speak your mind. Defend your religion. Have a free mind and conscious. We must reclaim the natural rights and liberties from our government. They are rightfully ours after all.
Friday, January 27, 2012
National School Choice Week
We have the freedom to choose where we shop. We have the freedom to choose where we eat. We are not restricted by our residence to perform our day-to-day tasks. Since this is inherently true, why do we allow our children to be restricted by the state? Why do we choose to have a top-down education system? Are we applying the tools that made this nation an economic force?
Since 1979, the federal Department of Education has been nothing but an abysmal failure. In 2001, President Bush brought a gas can to the inferno and exacerbated the problem with the No Child Left Behind Act. It's tentacles have nullified the Tenth Amendment and the rights of states and communities to organize their own educational structure. A federal mandate for education is just as unconstitutional and frightening as the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare for shorthand).
The federal government should not dictate what should be taught in schools in individual states and communities. It creates a culture of teaching toward a test and only the test. It forces teachers to alter lesson plans and delay the advancement of the classes. It is because of this teach toward the test culture that students do not have the appreciation for math and science as they once had. They are taught "know this for a standardized test" as opposed to "know this for personal benefit." The test culture forced upon us by the federal government has harmed a generation.
The current primary school system in use by the states does not improve matters either. The policy of "This is your zip code, this is your school." Denies the parents and the children of their fundamental right to choose. Where you reside should not dictate your future. With public schools failing in Detroit, Camden, and other urban areas can we sit here with good conscious and continue to feed the failing schools with our future? We are dooming these children from the start. The drop-out rates in these cities should not come as a surprise. The system is broken and we're choosing to ignore it.
By continuing on with the status quo we are denying the children of these areas two of the three fundamental natural rights enshrined in our Declaration of Independence. Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The free-market solutions that have brought this country to the forefront of the world should be applied to this controlled market system.
The idea of the student voucher was brought to prominence by renowned economist and political philosopher Milton Friedman. The belief of returning the money to the "student-consumer"would give the parents and students the freedom to choose. This freedom in turn drives the school marketplace. The schools with bad reputations and bad graduation rates, with poor teachers will be shut down by the parents and students. Just like a bad business will fail (as long as you aren't in the automotive industry) a bad school will fail. In this country we seem to be immune to the idea of the "bad school." Like we couldn't possibly have them in this country. It's a shame but we do.
In the marketplace competition breeds success and innovation. The government breeds complacency and keeping in place a system regardless of merit. The system needs a shake up.
This week is more than just the voucher system. It should be for school choice, educational choice, and a free and open education system. No more controlled markets. More freedom.
Since our inception as a nation we have been terrified of the over-reaching hand of government. Where other countries dictated the rights of government in their constitutions ours began with the phrase "We the People." It's time we recognize the threat of government mandates across the board. It's time we push the federal government and state government to return the future to families. The ultimate form of the government closest to the people governs best.
Since 1979, the federal Department of Education has been nothing but an abysmal failure. In 2001, President Bush brought a gas can to the inferno and exacerbated the problem with the No Child Left Behind Act. It's tentacles have nullified the Tenth Amendment and the rights of states and communities to organize their own educational structure. A federal mandate for education is just as unconstitutional and frightening as the individual mandate in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare for shorthand).
The federal government should not dictate what should be taught in schools in individual states and communities. It creates a culture of teaching toward a test and only the test. It forces teachers to alter lesson plans and delay the advancement of the classes. It is because of this teach toward the test culture that students do not have the appreciation for math and science as they once had. They are taught "know this for a standardized test" as opposed to "know this for personal benefit." The test culture forced upon us by the federal government has harmed a generation.
The current primary school system in use by the states does not improve matters either. The policy of "This is your zip code, this is your school." Denies the parents and the children of their fundamental right to choose. Where you reside should not dictate your future. With public schools failing in Detroit, Camden, and other urban areas can we sit here with good conscious and continue to feed the failing schools with our future? We are dooming these children from the start. The drop-out rates in these cities should not come as a surprise. The system is broken and we're choosing to ignore it.
By continuing on with the status quo we are denying the children of these areas two of the three fundamental natural rights enshrined in our Declaration of Independence. Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The free-market solutions that have brought this country to the forefront of the world should be applied to this controlled market system.
The idea of the student voucher was brought to prominence by renowned economist and political philosopher Milton Friedman. The belief of returning the money to the "student-consumer"would give the parents and students the freedom to choose. This freedom in turn drives the school marketplace. The schools with bad reputations and bad graduation rates, with poor teachers will be shut down by the parents and students. Just like a bad business will fail (as long as you aren't in the automotive industry) a bad school will fail. In this country we seem to be immune to the idea of the "bad school." Like we couldn't possibly have them in this country. It's a shame but we do.
In the marketplace competition breeds success and innovation. The government breeds complacency and keeping in place a system regardless of merit. The system needs a shake up.
This week is more than just the voucher system. It should be for school choice, educational choice, and a free and open education system. No more controlled markets. More freedom.
Since our inception as a nation we have been terrified of the over-reaching hand of government. Where other countries dictated the rights of government in their constitutions ours began with the phrase "We the People." It's time we recognize the threat of government mandates across the board. It's time we push the federal government and state government to return the future to families. The ultimate form of the government closest to the people governs best.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Scranton Showcases Progressive Bias
I originally planned for this to be a letter to the editor to my local papers following my Catholic Jesuit University inviting a woman who had devoted her life to the pro-choice movement to hold a seminar on our campus. While the seminar was to get more women involved in politics (an idea anyone would support) the leader of this forum used to run a PAC devoted to running pro-choice women for Congress. I encourage you to look up her record. This move showed the University's commitment to progressivism. A microcosm of what conservative youth faces in the American education system. Especially in higher education.
The University of Scranton has caused a great uproar after refusing Bishop Joseph Bambera’s request to separate themselves from former Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies who operated a Political Action Committee dedicated to running pro-choice women for Congress. Scranton has allowed her to host a forum on getting women to run for office.
Normally when a University engages in academic freedom and has a discussion about normally taboo subjects I would be thrilled. it gets youth involved in politics when you discuss hot-button issues such as abortion. Unfortunately, I am far too close to this university to be enthralled with it’s decision to invite Congresswoman Cto our campus.
You see for the past three semesters I have been blessed to be the University of Scranton College Republicans President. For the previous year and a half I have been fighting not just to spread the word of limited government, but to get young people more involved in politics regardless of political ideology. During my stint at this institution I can tell you the bias against conservatism in higher education is real and showcased by the school’s current actions.
During my tenure as College Republican President I have had several events cancelled or have been unable to host events because the school was afraid they would be seen as favoring a particular ideology. I had to fight tooth and nail and refuse to take no as answer when we wanted to host then Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta in 2010. Congressman Barletta received a 100% from the Right to Life Committee for his freshman term. The University last year informed me my request to participate in a video conference with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann as a “Get Out the Vote” rally had been denied because of timing issues. The list goes on.
Today it appears as though the University no longer cares about being seen as an institution that favors a certain ideology. I could have dealt with the previous grievances as just typical of higher education toward the conservative ideology. This is so blatant I felt I needed to showcase the long standing bias I have experienced at this University so people can recognize the history.
The University of Scranton is trying to hide from Congresswoman Margolies past by billing this as a teaching event devoid of partisan politics. I for one will not fall for it. With her past affiliations and record neither should you. If Wayne LaPierre, the head of the NRA was holding a forum on gun rights would we believe his bias would be evident? If Ambassador John Bolton was holding a forum on diplomacy would we believe his past positions would not affect the forum?
After a year and a half struggle of me doing everything I can to promote right-wing candidates and being forced to cancel events, hold events in secret, and being denied opportunities I can say I am not shocked at our school's decision to promote leftist ideals that contradict established Church teachings and opinions.
This is just a microcosm of the factors afflicting young conservative students in higher education. If the accepted teachings of the Catholic Church on abortion and the pro-life movement are under attack at a Catholic institution where is it safe in academics to be a conservative?
The University of Scranton has caused a great uproar after refusing Bishop Joseph Bambera’s request to separate themselves from former Congresswoman Marjorie Margolies who operated a Political Action Committee dedicated to running pro-choice women for Congress. Scranton has allowed her to host a forum on getting women to run for office.
Normally when a University engages in academic freedom and has a discussion about normally taboo subjects I would be thrilled. it gets youth involved in politics when you discuss hot-button issues such as abortion. Unfortunately, I am far too close to this university to be enthralled with it’s decision to invite Congresswoman Cto our campus.
You see for the past three semesters I have been blessed to be the University of Scranton College Republicans President. For the previous year and a half I have been fighting not just to spread the word of limited government, but to get young people more involved in politics regardless of political ideology. During my stint at this institution I can tell you the bias against conservatism in higher education is real and showcased by the school’s current actions.
During my tenure as College Republican President I have had several events cancelled or have been unable to host events because the school was afraid they would be seen as favoring a particular ideology. I had to fight tooth and nail and refuse to take no as answer when we wanted to host then Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta in 2010. Congressman Barletta received a 100% from the Right to Life Committee for his freshman term. The University last year informed me my request to participate in a video conference with Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann as a “Get Out the Vote” rally had been denied because of timing issues. The list goes on.
Today it appears as though the University no longer cares about being seen as an institution that favors a certain ideology. I could have dealt with the previous grievances as just typical of higher education toward the conservative ideology. This is so blatant I felt I needed to showcase the long standing bias I have experienced at this University so people can recognize the history.
The University of Scranton is trying to hide from Congresswoman Margolies past by billing this as a teaching event devoid of partisan politics. I for one will not fall for it. With her past affiliations and record neither should you. If Wayne LaPierre, the head of the NRA was holding a forum on gun rights would we believe his bias would be evident? If Ambassador John Bolton was holding a forum on diplomacy would we believe his past positions would not affect the forum?
After a year and a half struggle of me doing everything I can to promote right-wing candidates and being forced to cancel events, hold events in secret, and being denied opportunities I can say I am not shocked at our school's decision to promote leftist ideals that contradict established Church teachings and opinions.
This is just a microcosm of the factors afflicting young conservative students in higher education. If the accepted teachings of the Catholic Church on abortion and the pro-life movement are under attack at a Catholic institution where is it safe in academics to be a conservative?
Sunday, November 6, 2011
On the Origin of Rights
There is a common misconception plaguing America. This misconception is so radically dangerous to a free society that the very liberty that we hold dear is in danger. The belief I am speaking of is the belief that we get our rights from government and not from being human beings.
Each and every human being is entitled to natural rights. These rights are enshrined in our nation’s oldest document, the Declaration of Independence. That human beings are created with certain inalienable rights endowed to them by their creator, and that these rights are self-evident. If government elects not to prescribe to these guidelines than it is the right of the people to alter or abolish said government. It is important that the United States continue to follow the idea of natural rights.
When you state that you get your rights from government the government then has the authority to take those rights away. Would you feel comfortable with the government dictating what you can say, feel, and think? To deny human beings these rights is to degrade them to the level of animals. Humans are cognitive beings and deserve to be treated as such. To allow government to have the authority to take away rights is akin to leaving the barn door open and wondering why your hay isn’t there anymore. As a dear friend of mine used to say, "God gave you a brain so you can think, a mouth so you can speak, and eyes so you can see. Government cannot take these things from you and they must recognize them."
Liberty and freedom are not passed down from generation to generation but must be constantly secured by the vigilance of a well informed populous. I refuse to grant the government that kind of power and authority into my life. For the moment you believe you get your rights from the state and not from being an individual you no longer are an individual, a citizen, or a person. You are merely a subject and I would sooner die than degrade myself to the level of a subject.
Each and every human being is entitled to natural rights. These rights are enshrined in our nation’s oldest document, the Declaration of Independence. That human beings are created with certain inalienable rights endowed to them by their creator, and that these rights are self-evident. If government elects not to prescribe to these guidelines than it is the right of the people to alter or abolish said government. It is important that the United States continue to follow the idea of natural rights.
When you state that you get your rights from government the government then has the authority to take those rights away. Would you feel comfortable with the government dictating what you can say, feel, and think? To deny human beings these rights is to degrade them to the level of animals. Humans are cognitive beings and deserve to be treated as such. To allow government to have the authority to take away rights is akin to leaving the barn door open and wondering why your hay isn’t there anymore. As a dear friend of mine used to say, "God gave you a brain so you can think, a mouth so you can speak, and eyes so you can see. Government cannot take these things from you and they must recognize them."
Liberty and freedom are not passed down from generation to generation but must be constantly secured by the vigilance of a well informed populous. I refuse to grant the government that kind of power and authority into my life. For the moment you believe you get your rights from the state and not from being an individual you no longer are an individual, a citizen, or a person. You are merely a subject and I would sooner die than degrade myself to the level of a subject.
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