Caesar and Christ

Will Durant, a famous historian, wrote in his book, “Caesar and Christ”, a summary of the causes of the destruction of the Roman Empire, he said: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself within. The essential causes of Rome's decline lay in her people, her morals, her class struggle, her failing trade, her bureaucratic despotism, her stifling taxes…."

One of those class struggles was the notion that a human being is mostly an economic creature. Meaning his material well being is the single most important part of his life, and all other facets including his freedom and privacy are subservient to that well being. (This is also the crux of Marxism.)

Security, food, clothing, housing and medical care are the same things that one might consider necessary in a jail where they are all guaranteed.

Unless everyone bakes a loaf of bread for every other citizen, we cannot guarantee that all citizens will have a loaf of bread to eat.

Government cannot guarantee material gain, economic prosperity, or food, clothing, and shelter. They are only the result of hard work and industrial production.

While government is absolutely necessary in order to have an orderly society, there are concerns that the tendency is to have government seek more power, thus slowly restricting freedoms.

We, the people, granted our government limited powers. They were only granted the following:
1. Defend the Nation.
2. Punish Crimes.
3. Adjudicate and enforce Property Rights.
4. Compel each citizen to bear his fair share of performing the above.

When we allow the government to do activities outside the above limited functions such as welfare and redistributing wealth, or other activities that coerce people into performing a prescribed code of social planning, then we are in grave danger of losing our freedom.

We can only allow the government to force our neighbor to do these things if we have the right as an individual to force our neighbor to do them, because the government only has the same rights as an individual. They get the right to act in our behalf because we grant them that right. If I do not have that right, I cannot delegate it.

“I tell you that freedom does not mean the freedom to exploit law in order to destroy it. It is not freedom which permits the Trojan Horse to be wheeled within the gates, and those within it to be heard in the name of tolerating a different point of view!” – Cicero, 106-43 BC

Welfare, Homosexual Marriage, Removing God from our Country are all “Trojan Horses.” We should never have the freedom to destroy freedom.

In 1976 Ford Motor Company economists showed that there were more people being supported by taxes in the United States (80,655,000) than there were people working in the private sector of the economy to pay the taxes (71,650,000).

“A new American majority is being created,” the study states, “who are exploiting the fact for their own political and professional purposes.” Such was a major factor in the fall of Rome. This group votes! And it Votes for more entitlements! More Social Programs, more Welfare, more Socialism!

Katrina was a terrible disaster, but should the Federal Government institute more Welfare in order to “fix” the problem? Or, is it really outside the powers granted to them by the Constitution?

Perhaps the Government should instead organize the different Charities to give a “helping hand” to help the evacuees to rebuild themselves? Give a “hand up” instead of giving a “hand out?”

Should we use Charity or Welfare to help those who have lost everything? Is it worth the loss of freedom in order to help others through Welfare?

Am I a lone wolf crying in the Wilderness? Am I too conservative? I hope not, or we have all but lost the battle of remaining a free nation.

“A government must be a taker before it can be a provider.” – Winston Churchill