What is
the Purpose of Government?
The way we answer this questions
determines what we allow government, and our public functionaries, to
do. The answer to this question is what we hold up against campaign
rhetoric and legislative bills. It is what we should be basing our
calls for government action on.
So, what is the purpose of
government?
Webster's 1828 - American Dictionary of
the English Language
"GOV'ERNMENT
4. The system of polity in a state;
that form of fundamental rules and principles by which a nation or
state is governed, or by which individual members of a body politic
are to regulate their social actions; a constitution, either written
or unwritten, by which the rights and duties of citizens and public
officers are prescribed and defined; as a
monarchial government or a
republican government
Thirteen governments thus founded on the natural authority of the
people alone, without the pretence of miracle or mystery, are a great
point gained in favor of the rights of mankind."
Our founding Declaration of Independence states what the
purpose of government is in America:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.--That
to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among
Men."
The purpose of government is to
secure our Individual Rights!
Do we live our lives in agreement with
this Declaration? Do we demand that government secure Individual
Rights, or do we demand that government violate Individual Rights to
give us "safety and security?" When politicians promise to give us
things, or deliver the pork, are we upset and calling them on the
carpet to correct them, or do we grab all the entitlements we can and
demand more?
When public functionaries, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed, are encouraged by 'We
the People' to "legally" plunder us, very few will resist the
temptation. Americans must ask themselves whether they support
defending Individual Rights; and they must be honest with themselves
about their answer to that question and whether their words and
actions line up with that answer.
What do you truly believe is
the purpose of government?
Beliefs lead to actions, and actions (and
inactions) have natural consequences. Good intentions never negate the
consequences of bad or poorly thought out actions.
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