Fwd: Eternal

'I had many "a-ha" moments during my trek from "moderate liberal" to "independent Constitutional conservatarian" (aka Right Wing Radical).

 

One of them was this:

 

That if you try and explain to a non-American why our government hasn't done something about X, Y or Z, and you tell them, "well, our government doesn't have the power to do that", they look at you as if you have 5 heads.

 

The very idea that a government is forbidden to do something is an anathema to much of the rest of the world, and that includes some countries in Europe.

 

And in fact, you may even run into some AMERICANS that will also look at you incredulously. Or they may acknowledge what the Constitution says, but then say "but we have to do something" or "it's for the children" or whatever the emotional argument is that day.

 

And when that happened to me - both with a non-American and an American - it was as if scales had fallen from my eyes. I realized at once how really precious our American liberty is, and how quickly people will abandon their liberty for security (Franklin had something to say about that, I think).

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/381374/eternal-dictator-kevin-d-williamson/page/0/1