Thoughts inspired by a grocery store check-out line

This evening, I went to a local small-town grocery store to pick up some last minute Thanksgiving items.  This year, we have faced a lot of trials and tribulations – both personal and professionally.  Nevertheless, I am grateful to God for the blessings that we see so often taken for granted – I live in the greatest and most free nation in the world.  As I was standing in line at one of the registers, I could not help but to overhear a conversation between the cashier and the man she was checking out.  The gist of the conversation was that both the cashier and he agreed that we needed a new national government, distribution of wealth, government aid, and a more fair society where everyone is truly equal.

 This week, the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) enters its fifth week of protests.  I have watched and listened as FOX News, MSNBC, and ABC News have interviewed different pundits and participants about the meanings they ascribe to in their support of this movement.  The OWS protesters demand much of the same thing – an overthrow of the capitalist economic system and the institution of a socialist form of government.

Since the middle of President George W. Bush’s second term, I have watched as the liberal media and left leaning Democrats have attempted to bring back the anger and confusion of the 1960s in an attempt to redefine American society.  Make no mistake about it, this new definition of America has been summed up by First Lady Michelle Obama – “America is a downright mean country…”   We have listened as the angry fists have been raised and decry equal opportunity while praising social justice and equal outcome.

There is no such thing as the “perfect” nation.  Humans are fundamentally flawed creatures and possess a nature that the founding fathers understood all too well.  According to the writings of John Locke, government exists to protect the rights of the citizen from the citizen.  The question has always been when does government transform itself from an entity that protects the rights of the citizen to an entity that destroys personal liberty in favor of a “more socially and economically just society?”  The founding fathers understood the dangers of a strong and expansive government and strove to create boundaries to constrain the national government’s growth and reach.  Even the First Amendment bears out that the Bill of Rights defines rights not for the purpose of the citizen but to place restraints on the national government (Congress shall make no law…).  Granted, it is referring to religion, press, speech, the rights to peacefully assemble and to petition the government to redress grievances, but the clause clearly demonstrates the intent of the framers – to place limits on the government and not on the citizen.

By desiring that our society be fundamentally changed to provide social and economic justice, the OWS and the movement’s supporters desire a form of government that is very alien to the concept of true liberty.  As an American citizen, I currently have the ability to practice the religion of my choice, to use the talents and abilities I have to overcome challenges and reach my fullest potential.  Equality of outcomes does not assure me or anyone else personal satisfaction or success, but forces one to settle for “just enough.”  Somehow, according to those who support a socialist system, “just enough” seems rewarding and fulfilling.  There’s no reason for going beyond what is expected, no reason for improvement; what begins to set in is stagnation, lack of imagination and innovation.  Where there is no growth and development, there is only death.

We need a national re-awakening to what made us great in the 1880s, 1920s, and 1980s.  We need to understand that this nation was founded and preserved with the blood of men and women that saw the greater good of this nation.  I am grateful for the selfless sacrifice of those brave men and women that are serving in our nation’s military and for a nation that is still be beacon of freedom in a world darkened by tyranny, war, and enslavement.  I am thankful to have been born in the United States.