We humans have way more in common than we want to admit. Whether we are conservative or progressive, citizens or aliens, we are all trying to survive. Once our basic safety and subsistence needs are met, we move on to the pursuit of happiness.
This is where it gets complicated! Is happiness found in this world or the next? Will a lot of money, big house, and fine car bring happiness, or must we consider our eternal soul and follow a strictly virtuous path? And who decides what we pursue?
"Happiness is the aim of life, but virtue is the foundation of happiness." Thomas Jefferson
Some of our political differences stem from divergent interpretations of what is meant not only by “pursuit of happiness,” but also the government’s role in securing that right. Some believe that our Founding Fathers intended us to follow the puritan belief that happiness comes from the practice of virtue, not our individual personal satisfaction.
Puritanism . . . survived, perhaps most conspicuously, in the secular form of self-reliance, moral rigor and political localism that became, by the Age of Enlightenment, virtually the definition of Americanism.
Belief in self-reliance leads conservatives to prefer less government interference in our decisions and pursuits. Progressives argue that government is obligated to supply happiness via equal outcomes.
“Everyone has the right to actually be happy, not just try to be happy. To use a metaphor: You don't just get the chance to make the baseball team, you are guaranteed a spot. That's a very different understanding.” Brent Strawn
Following either belief to its extreme is ugly.
If the government plays no role in creating a structure of justice, civilization deteriorates into control by warlords. When the government assumes total responsibility for its citizens’ happiness, individual purpose and responsibility disappear, and government dictators take over. Either way is a form of control contrary to the American ideal of free choice.
An ideology of unproven utopian promises sneaks up on the unsuspecting who are willing to trade individual responsibility for the state security-blanket of comfort. Progressives who propose that the government should and will provide for every human need are paving the way for the destruction of individual rights, decisions, and meaning in life.
Loss of freedom creeps into a culture by revising history, altering the language, denying reality, confusing and isolating the population until people have no choice but to submit to the experts. COVID mandates, transgender treatments, and equity requirements are examples of thought control. The government demands these beliefs be accepted not only politically, but as religious dogma.
Resistance Is Our Job
We all have a responsibility to push back against obvious lies, and work to maintain the rights documented in our Constitution. Florida is among the states working to reinforce the reality of parental rights. Florida supports the federalist system that balances centralized power with local control.
Support the Free State of Florida by engaging with your local legislators. Learn how with Convention of States, a community that offers practical lessons in speaking up for what you believe. COS defends truth, values history, and provides strength in numbers. Read about COS and Article V as a path to remain free.
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