The Patriot Post® · Yes, Lord Acton, Corruption

“All power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” -Sir John Dalberg-Acton

60 Billion dollars of spending cuts were hoped for, and that’s not enough. 38 Billion dollars of cuts were negotiated by the two parties in power. Then we learned the real reduction was about 382 Million dollars. I want to vomit. Next, POTUS gets caught off guard on an open mike, uttering political challenges with upmost arrogance. It is difficult for me to find emotional balance in the face of such disappointment.

When will the Washington power structure consider the American people? Are they really just doing dog and pony shows in Washington, taking us to the brink on purpose? Will they soon tell us it is too late for corrective measures and introduce radical reforms? Will they present immediate and large cuts to Medicare and Social Security as the only answer? When will they weary of the “blame game?” What is the hidden agenda that is so diametrically opposed to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness?”

The question of corruption must come to mind. The President and the Congress have the power to fix the financial crisis in an acceptable period of time. Yet they stand frozen in time watching the clock tick down. They fail to act in the best interest of the nation.

In the face of a critically serious financial crisis, the President and his liberal brethren want to spend more and borrow more. As if a 14 Trillion dollar debt is not enough. The Republicans are not putting up enough of a fight. Whose interests are being served? At what point will the Washington power structure throw politics aside and act to preserve our financial stability? Without financial security there can be no liberty.

The answer is simple: when they have no constituents supporting a continuing, insidious move away from the core principles of American Liberty.

Progressivism has had nearly 100 years to slowly eat away at our liberty. Throughout most of the 20th century, the majority of both Democrats and Republicans were progressives. Over the course of time, new programs appeared at a more rapid pace. New programs meant more government handouts to more people. It was a system of buying votes. Politicians were corrupt in that they served their own self-interests, rather than the interests of the people. The people became corrupted by the manna from Washington. Like an addict, the people lost their will, their integrity, and their strength to fight for liberty.

The Conservative movement did not really begin until the late 20th century. Ronald Reagan was successful in growing the economy out of a deep malaise, but even he was unable to convince Congress to curb the spending or reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy.

The Federal Government has the power to assess and collect taxes that are now in the Trillions of Dollars per year. They apparently believe they can do whatever they want with the money. Presently, this seems to mean spend it all and borrow more and also spend that. This is indeed a great temptation for less than virtuous conduct. I believe corruption has resulted. I believe the obvious arrogance of some of our leaders reveals their lack of character. I believe it is corrupt to misinterpret the Constitution in an effort to further corrupt the voters. I believe it is extremely corrupt to take actions and lead our nation in a direction that is clearly destructive.

In my circles I often hear, “they cannot be that stupid, can they?” The answer is, “no, they cannot.” What then? Every corrupt member of the human race has self-interest as a primary motive. Surely corrupt politicians are no different.

In the past, Americans have always proven that we have one ideal that we will not surrender. We have one ideal that will always unite us. We have one ideal that means more than political party loyalties or temporary individual economic status. It is the uniquely American form of Liberty.

The founders of our great nation established “Liberty” to mean free from government intrusion in our private lives. It meant free to pursue an honest living by any legal and moral means of your choosing. It meant free to choose how, when and where you could worship. It meant freedom to succeed or fail at your own risk. It meant free to amass great personal wealth if you were able and so inclined. It meant, above all things, the freedom to obtain, possess and pass personal property on to your heirs, including your savings.

The Liberty our founders intended and wrote into our Constitution is placed at risk by liberal progressivism of the last 100 years. They have corrupted “Liberty” by equating it with “liberality” and selling liberality to the people.

The present outrage and display of corruption has taken the form of redistribution of wealth. Those of a liberal persuasion propose that we take more from the wealthy to solve the national financial crisis. The idea is beyond corrupt and by extension it is immoral.

Redistribution of wealth mocks the essential idea of American Liberty that so many have given so much to preserve.

No, liberals do not want to reduce the bloated federal bureaucracy. No, they do not want to reduce individual and corporate tax rates, on a flat tax, no loopholes basis to spur economic growth. No, they do not want to reduce spending and deficits. No, they do not want to reduce the 14 Trillion dollar debt. No, they do not want to prevent runaway inflation. Instead, they want to stay the destructive course they have set. The liberals want to spend more, incur even more debt, and tax the wealthy into oblivion.

The Washington power structure must think they have corrupted us to the point we no longer care.

We will prove their error. We will renew our hearts and minds to be honorable again. We will become committed again to caring about “the good of all.” We will make some sacrifices, but we will never surrender our Liberty.

The Founders understood corruption. They knew that even in America, power would have its corrupting influence on those who govern. The solution they provided was to give us, the governed, greater power. We had the power to elect the big spenders. We have the power to vote them out. We will do that in 2012.

In the meantime, the Tea Party needs more highly visible rallies. The Republicans have to communicate the conservative message more effectively. Americans need to toss aside party loyalties and be loyal to the idea of American Liberty. Every Patriot needs to repeat the mantra at every opportunity:

The national financial crisis is real, it is extreme, and it is immediate.

I believe we must energize now and stay the course through the 2012 elections and beyond. Every Patriot must stay fully engaged until we return America to our prior glory, full of promise, full of virtue, and humble in the realization of our special Liberty. God bless America.