Jokers and Thieves

Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. John Adams repressed free speech and the criticism of government. Dirty Bill Clinton cheated on his filthy hag wife. Politicians are dirty, and we all know it. Despite this, every day we see people casting aside reason and responsibility, ready to throw away truth and liberty for the sake of following the latest enigmatic demagogue. While they may eloquently seem to offer us solutions to all of our problems, our elected leaders will always fall sway to the same human weaknesses shared by us all. Our government can never be better than we the people, and just as no man ought to have dominion over another, we should never swallow the poison pill of blind fanatic loyalty to our elected leadership. A government of the people, by the people, and for the people, necessarily possesses every weakness that lies in the people. This was the very reason that compelled the founders to create a nation defined by liberty and limited government. They saw very clearly the susceptibility of power to corruption.

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
-Thomas Paine

We are, however, quickly forgetting their humble wisdom. The American government has grown in size and scope and, like a metastasized cancer, is steadily infecting every aspect of our lives. While we are still, politically speaking, one of the greatest societies in history, we should always remember that the frailties of mankind are as immutable as death, and never submit our individual sovereignty to the corruptible will of another.

It is said by some that the founding fathers would cry out in horror at the leviathan that is the American government of the 21st century (well, maybe not Alexander Hamilton, that bastard!). We've been fooled by our leaders into handing ever more power and authority over to them, and in return we have received only taxes, wars, excessive laws, and a political circus worthy of Barnum and Bailey. It was never supposed to be this way. It's time for us to stop trusting these thieving jokers with the control of our lives, and start trusting in ourselves. We don’t need their bailouts. We don’t need their medicine. We don’t need their wars. We need to be strong, confident, and responsible. We need to grow up.