Purpose Of Government

What Government is Meant to Be...

What question to start with is difficult, andI have thought about what I should begin with is what I believe the government’s job is and what the government should not be involved in. A fundamental part of my beliefs begins with the Declaration of Independence, written primarily by Thomas Jefferson and beginning with the famous preamble.

            “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.”

             All men are created equal, and we have rights that come not from the government, but from God. This is central to what we are as Americans, that we believe all men have rights, and that those rights trump anything given or taken from the government. The ideas of natural rights percolated for many years before the declaration, but John Locke directly influenced Jefferson with his ideas that "life, liberty, and estate (or property)" were natural rights outside of the power of the government to give or take away.

            It’s interesting to consider what Jefferson changed from Locke’s ideas, he substituted the pursuit of happiness for the estate (or property). Jefferson didn’t write that everyone had the right to be happy, that every person is entitled to an equal share of happiness. He had the foresight to realize that government could, and should only give the right to pursue happiness. A powerful idea, significant to me because it is that belief that drives many other things I believe.

            The government’s job is to give everyone the opportunity to be successful, in whatever way they measure happiness. It is hard work and perseverance that is the cost of anything that we actually value. Anything that is worth anything in this life is hard. Marriage, Career, Family, Children, School, anything that we value comes by work and nothing but work. Nothing is owed to us but the chance, that if we work hard, that we won’t be denied the opportunity to try because of our race, gender, religion, or any other aspect of discrimination. Some will say that it’s not equal in America, and that some people have a harder road, that some have all the opportunity and connections to get ahead. It’s true, that life isn’t fair, and it’s never going to be fair, no matter how many government programs or good intentions try to make it so.

As Much as We Would Like it To Be,

Life Isn't Fair

Government solutions create as many problems as they solve, where any time you try to give a group a leg up, it’s often at the cost of some other group. Also, it’s impossible to ever really truly judge how difficult someone’s life is, there’s no difficulty-o-meter. The beauty of capitalism and the free market is that when we go out and serve our own self interest, we serve the whole, and those who have the will to work have the opportunity to live the American dream.

The greatest men in our history often came from great difficulty, and I believe that the struggle makes the man more than what he would have been otherwise. Men are tested and grow when they confront difficult circumstances, as I have told you girls a thousand times, that true self esteem and pride only comes from facing and completing difficult things. The only things that are worthwhile in the long haul in this lifetime are hard. The focus of government needs to be giving as many people as possible the chance to work hard and be successful. Nathan, my son, because of the hard life he has had to live his first few years, has become so special and amazing, and I believe that as he struggles with his problems, he will be a better man for it, and a better man than I because of it.

The dream of America is found in individual success, and the power and freedom that we hold so dear. America was built by men who wanted nothing more than for powers that be to give them the chance to make their own way. Men like Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt, and others lived deliberate lives against difficult times, and it was work, and absolute tenacity that they became great men, that stand as men to be truly admired.