Let Us Ignite an Enduring Flame

Many libertarians, conservatives, and even moderates are now looking to what is happening in response to the passage of "healthcare" legislation (not to mention the government takeover of the student loan industry): states passing their own legislation to be exempt from the bill's many mandates and taxes, state attorneys general and law firms (such as Mark Levin's) poised with lawsuits against the bill's constitutionality, the Congressional races in November. While these are battles that need to be happening, we should also look at the bigger picture of the continued (indeed, one that will continue until the return of Christ, or something else causes America to cease as it is) struggle that we must undertake.

Electing conservative congressmen and women in fall 2010 and 2012 and a conservative president in 2012, while most likely to prevent further damages to our economy and our personal liberty, is merely a wadded-up shirt meant to stop the bleeding. There must be a shift of discourse in our conversation in this country. President Kennedy said "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." The essence of liberty upon which this country was founded was being able to stand on one's own two feet, to, at the end of life, look back and say "There may have been a lot of hard times, times when I thought I wouldn't make it through, but I worked hard and got through it on my own."

There must be a great espousal of individual responsibility. Ben Franklin said "Idleness and Pride Tax with a heavier Hand than Kings and Parliaments; If we can get rid of the Former we may easily bear the Latter." It is true; who, the government having met the needs thereof for any considerable period of time, would vote against his benefactor? It takes a special kind of person, a particular brand of resolve and fortitude to break the bonds of dependency; it is this type of person we must extol. It is the kind of person our children and our peers must see in us. In my high school senior English class there was at one time an assignment in which we were writing our opinions on the social issue of our choice. One girl presented hers as such: "As you can see, I'm an African-American, and today I want to express my opposition to affirmative action. If I succeed, I want it to be on my own merits, not because of my skin color. I don't want to be hired because the government says I have to be hired" (paraphrased). It is with this attitude America's future generations will succeed; without it, we are at the mercy of the government.

We must understand what humility entails, and exalt the mindset. If one wishes his lot in life were better, he should pray and apply himself to improve it. If he wishes to be charitable and improve the lives of others, he should go about it with diligence and accept the help that willingly comes from others with the same vision, while extending the liberty not to be involved in the effort to those unwilling or unable. The "Tea Partiers" and conservative groups have been labeled as "selfish" for not supporting legislation purported to assist those in need. While there may be a great number of selfish persons amongst the ranks of the opposed, this accusation is neither just nor appropriate. In a constitutional republic, by means of votes and contact with representatives (or lack thereof), all citizens are part of the governing process; therefore, to endorse such socialist policies is to deny one's neighbor the liberty not to take part in one's own vision of improving the lives of others.

Ben Franklin also said, "I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it." The Gospels and other religious texts command us to take care of the poor, but improvement of life is not just about having one's needs met. We must begin to go about our work with true gratefulness, knowing that work is not simply a necessary evil for making ends meet and possibly buying ourselves comfort, but that meaningful work in itself shapes us into a better person, and in doing so, realize that providing work for the poor provides a much more profound and lasting impact than simply giving them money, food, etc.

As for those who neglect their own care, we must warn them of the destructive consequences of their actions and pray for them, but ultimately realize that it is their choice to make, and be there willing to help when they have fallen hard and are ready to make changes in their lives. As Thomas Jefferson said, "The care of every man's soul belongs to himself. But what if he neglect the care of it? Well what if he neglect the care of his health or his estate, which would more nearly relate to the state. Will the magistrate make a law that he not be poor or sick? Laws provide against injury from others; but not from ourselves. God himself will not save men against their wills."

We must stand and squarely face our challenges. The apostle Paul wrote "suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."

We must take the time to listen to the ideas of all with openness, but also with scrutiny. I do not claim to have exhausted the list of what needs to happen with us, and recognize that there are many others who have valuable contributions as well. However, take the words of none, even of mine, to be absolute, and be ever vigilant. If we maintain our sense of self-worth, duty to others, perseverance, and deference to the liberties of others, we will be able to cling to what is true and reproach that which is not, and, perhaps, reach the point where our senses automatically revile messages at the first hint of falsehood.

Again, we must never cease. As Paul also wrote, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall." We must continue to fight for freedom and give of ourselves of our fellow man as long as we have breath in our bodies, and pray that others are struck ablaze by our flame.