"MORE SAFE" Versus "LESS FREE"

The truly life-threatening—and way-of-life disrupting—impact of COVID-19 (more aptly, “China Virus”) has provided much of the World with many wake-up calls, and some crucial memory-jogs regarding long-standing realities. 

None the least—those wake-up calls and memory-jogs regarding the age old “Safety” versus “Freedom” dilemma, so prophetically expressed in the following cautionary message often attributed to Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), 1st U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and one of the U.S. Founding Fathers: 

“Safety from external danger is the most powerful director of national conduct. Even the ardent love of liberty will, after a time, give way to its dictates. The violent destruction of life and property incident to war, the continual effort and alarm attendant on a state of continual danger, will compel nations the most attached to liberty to resort for repose and security to institutions which have a tendency to destroy their civil and political rights. To be more safe, they at length become willing to run the risk of being less free.”

Of course, history very likely widely supports that (so-to-speak) “the COVID-19 dust will one day settle”—and hopefully sooner than later. 

However, what seems increasingly “less clear” and alarmingly “very uncertain,” is the ultimate nature of our “thereafter” personal liberty and freedom. As compared to the extent of power “we the people” have placed, and/or have otherwise tolerated, in the hands of often power craving and power abusing aspects of our local, state, and federal government. 

While, and as was so aptly noted by Hamilton not all that long ago—in our striving to be “more safe,” we and our humankind peers “continue” to at length, and self-destructively, become willing to run the risk of being “less free”!     

                                             
                                                           —William James Moore

But Then . . . Along came a "Serious Threat To The Swamp"

Not actually all that long ago—on this said to be 4.5 billion years young planet—Abraham Lincoln reportedly cautioned that, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” A warning that seems to be more and more unnervingly prophetic, as one considers many of today’s happenings throughout this precious U.S. Constitutional Republic now gifted to the hands of we Americans still above ground.

What at times seems like only yesterday, it was supposed to be a slam-dunk! Starting with 17 candidates, the Republican Party’s brutal and self-devouring primary had ended with one sole survivor, Donald Trump. The Democrat primary, beginning with three candidates, had soon became a race between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. With Sanders ultimately endorsing Clinton, as hacked e-mails exposed that top DNC officials had early-on dismissed Sanders as a viable candidate and attempted to undermine and derail his campaign.

Yes, the 2016 presidential election was supposed to be a done deal! Millions had been given and promised a seemingly endless list of “free-stuff” from our trillions of dollars in-debt public treasury. Years of effort had been invested in promoting victimhood, racial/social unrest, and an array of other divide-and-conquer agendas. Political-correctness had been widely entrenched as weapons against truth, fact, reality, free speech, and common sense. So-called mainstream media and entertainment-industry elite had saturated the country with politically biased venom. And, a “Deep State” (liberty-threatening manipulators within the IRS, FBI, and other government agencies, etc.) was firmly established to disrupt and roadblock any serious threat to the “status-quo.”

A predicted certainty by many, our U.S. borders would soon continue to be essentially open to all, providing a growing “voter-base” for some, and endless source of “cheap labor” for others. And, essentially forever secure would be the positions of power and influence, within the self-sustaining partnership between the radical/irresponsible elements of “BOTH” the political-left and political-right—i.e., the entrenched base of irresponsible career politicians, lobbyists, and bureaucrats—the Washington DC “Swamp.”

But then . . . along came “President Trump”! Not chosen from the flawless among us, for none exists; not a self-serving career-aspiring politician committed to straddle-the-fence talk, but an independently-wealthy businessman capable of actually speaking his mind—even at the risk of offending those conditioned to hearing otherwise; a Washington outsider; someone not bought by and obligated to lobbyists and special-interest groups; a president putting U.S. interests above that of other nations, and U.S. citizens’ rights above the welfare of illegal aliens; striving to replace nation-destructive political correctness with plain talk, truth, fact, reality; publicly declaring radical/Islamic terrorists to be “radical/Islamic terrorists”; committed to the seemingly impossible task of “Making America Great Again”; donating his taxpayer-funded salary to charity; a President making it OK again to publicly make reference to “God,” show respect for the U.S. Flag, and to verbally and/or through publicly displayed signage actually express a “Merry Christmas Wish”!

Yes, “President Trump”—a never before encountered “SERIOUS THREAT TO THE SWAMP.” A President with more U.S. preserving accomplishments during his first two years in office than most if not all his predecessors! For example: “The biggest Tax Cut and Reform Bill in America’s history”; “Destruction of the ISIS caliphate”; and a “Historically unmatched booster-shot to U.S. economy”! An economy that has added over “5 Million New Jobs,” including some 467,000 new jobs in the Manufacturing Sector; lifted more than “4.6 Million People Off Food Stamps”; and created the “Lowest Unemployment Rate in Half a Century”! As well as nomination of 2 Supreme Court Judges and 161 Federal Judges. These being but a few of hundreds of crucial nation-saving liberty/freedom-preserving achievements so far. All while swimming upstream against opposition in “BOTH” major political parties; a hostile mainstream news media; an on-going, nation-damaging hissy-fit from election sore-losers; a dysfunctional U.S. Congress; and a “deep state” committed—not to our U.S. Constitution, liberty, and freedom—but to our President’s and country’s failure.

And now we head towards the upcoming November 03, 2020 U.S. General Election. An opportunity to, by way of our votes, try our best to do the right thing for our Country and future generations of Americans. An opportunity also for those among us consumed with ignorance, apathy, complacency, denial, greed, and counter-productive aims and fears, to help the aforementioned caution from Abraham Lincoln to one day soon become a most sad, shameful, and liberty-destroying reality.

But what do I know, I’m just an old unapologetic, irredeemable-deplorable who just possibly may have offended someone. And as a result, likely now labeled by the unrelenting, reality-denying, and so-called politically-correct as a racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic, and other yet to be declared “-ists” and “-phobics” from the radical-left’s ever-growing “divide, conquer, and control” playbook.

                                                            —William James Moore 

THE DIMINISHING BENEFITS OF “U.S. CITIZENSHIP”—VERSUS THAT OF “ILLEGAL ALIENSHIP”:

The Thursday, April 30, 2020 edition of local Southeast Kansas newspaper, the Parsons Sun, included what should have been a very attention-getting, if not considerably troubling, Page 3 article titled, “Kansas can’t require voters to show proof of citizenship.”

About a recent ruling of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Salt Lake City, upholding a federal judge’s injunction nearly two years ago that prohibited Kansas from enforcing the requirement, which took effect in 2013. A Court of Appeals panel ruling reportedly “grounded in a broader constitutional principle that when a state significantly burdens the right to vote, it has to justify it.” Justification, as noted in the Sun article, Kansas was apparently unable to provide. At least, that is, to the satisfaction of said Court of Appeals panel.

Fortunately it seems that a nation-saving number still recognize that “voting” is a pretty big deal. A responsibility entailing some rather significant consequences, such as, to cite but a few: determining who has the power to tax we-the-people; spend our money; burden us and our children and grandchildren with national debt; and impose an array of laws affecting our liberty, freedom, safety, security, and otherwise general well-being; etc.

And, in a nation that has, over recent years, witnessed untold millions of taxpayer dollars and other valuable resources being spent, by a dysfunctional government infested with shouts, screams, screeches, and other demonstrations of so-called anxiety and concern about “foreign governments” interfering in our elections, etc., . . . it would also seem that “showing proof of citizenship” in order to register to vote, should call for “little justification” beyond a bit of commonsense, and also be high among the unnegotiable “universal demands” of we-the-people.

Oh well, but now back to making sure that I keep readily available the various record-proofs of who and what I am (including photo ID) when carrying out much more important tasks. Such as, driving an automobile; seeking approval of a bank loan; boarding an aircraft or cruise ship; seeking healthcare; etc. Much more crucial than to whom the powers of our local, state, and federal government are entrusted. 

But first, I can’t help but also ponder, for at least a fleeting moment, the rational of those who are insisting that “illegal aliens” receive payments from the now underway distribution of COVID-19 (China Virus) Stimulus Recovery Funding. As well as, the motives of those who opposed (and successfully prevented) including a “U.S. Citizenship” question in the also now underway U.S. 2020 Census. Saying nothing of course about “illegal alien” access to housing, food, education, transportation, Internet-access, health care, etc., benefits funded by the public treasury.

Could it be that the time is rapidly approaching when the only recognizable benefit of “U.S. Citizenship” will be, for example—being among that diminishing number of “U.S. Citizens” who remain lawfully on the hook for our country’s (now $24.7 Trillion) ever-growing, unsustainable, and totally out-of-control National Debt? An indisputable life-and-liberty-threatening “U.S. burden,” that anyone still in touch with a trace of sanity should grasp is of course not now, nor in the future, transferrable to anyone who has not been publicly declared (lawfully, responsibly, and hopefully proudly) —a “U.S. Citizen”! 

                                                             —William James Moore