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The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis,shrink from the service of their country.” –Thomas Paine
During the beginning of the Revolutionary War, Thomas Paine wrote about the “summer soldier” and the “sunshine patriot.” The “summer soldier” was a name for the Colonials who had a farm. He would plant his crops in the spring, fight the British in the summer, and then go back home to harvest his crops in the fall. The “sunshine patriot” fought when things were looking good for the Revolution. When the weather started getting cold or there was an attitude of defeat, the sunshine patriot would sneak off in the middle of the night.
What have you done recently to help the cause of liberty? Is the extent of your patriotism to fly the flag on the 4th of July? Would you be called a modern day “summer soldier” or a “sunshine patriot,” or are you nowhere near the fight that’s currently raging for the soul of America?
As our freedoms have eroded, so has our country. America was built on the ability to do what other people around the world could only dream of doing. The American way of life was envied, desired, and loved worldwide. America was thriving, growing. America set the example and displayed the benefits of freedom and free enterprise. People from around the globe risked their lives to come to America. America represented a better quality of life.
The highest time of prosperity and happiness was when America blossomed at its pinnacle of liberty and freedoms. Americans were free to do business, taxes were low, and the free market could dictate which businesses would succeed or fail. The dream was alive and well, and everybody had the ability to engage. Many people owned their own businesses and added to the gross national product. Ideas thrived and continued to flourish in an unrestricted marketplace. It didn’t matter if you were rich or poor, or what background you came from; in America, with a dream and action, you could become prosperous.
America was built by our free-spirited, hard-working, risk-taking ancestors. It was built on a dream of freedom from tyranny and oppression. The ability to dream and to take action created the greatest country in the world.
Do you have a dream? Would you like to live that dream? How would you like to create the lifestyle you choose for you and your family?
That’s what America was. Not anymore. America used to be the freest country in the world when we flourished and thrived. However, according to the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom World Rankings, we now rank 9th in terms of economic freedom and 19th in terms of personal freedoms.
The health of Americans is one of the worst in the economically developed world, and our country is declining rapidly. The sad thing is that most people have unknowingly been deceived about these facts.
We’re no longer the freest country on the planet. America has more people in prison than any other country in the world per capita; we have 5% of the world’s population and 23.4% of the world’s prison and jail population.
To make matters even worse, our school system is ranked 14th out of the top 34 countries, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, yet we spend the most money per child. Why is that? When our first schools were started, students were taught how to survive and thrive. Now, our children are being taught how to be good little followers and not how to think for themselves. You know there’s a problem in this country when there’s a hit show called “Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader?” and most adults are not!
In our great nation’s formative years, Americans were highly educated. Yes, American children achieved a higher education compared to children today. They were taught critical thinking skills, how to think for themselves, and how to solve complex problems.
Children back then were taught how to step successfully into adulthood. In today’s world, some children don’t move out of the house until they’re 25 or 30 years old, and many still don’t know how to balance a checkbook. The subjects and skills they’re taught in school don’t fully prepare the students for the real world. Not even in college.
Our two-party system has had a horrendous effect on American lives. The international policy of conquer and occupy has generated an overwhelming hatred for America, and that puts our lives in danger. America currently has troops stationed in over 150 countries. How would you feel if China, Russia, or any other country pushed their way into America, set up troops, and forced their way of life and beliefs on you? Would you defend yourself?
Well, other countries are defending themselves at the cost of the lives of America’s children. I find it odd that we only care about human rights and democracy in countries that possess large oil reserves, while in other countries where genocide is publicly rampant, we suddenly lose our interest in democracy and human rights. You do not commonly hear about those countries’ problems in the two-party American media.
The safety of the American people has been greatly compromised. Based upon fear, the rights of Americans have been shattered by bills such as the Patriot Act, the National Defense Authorization Act, and the National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order. Every passing of such bills takes the U.S. closer to those ideals we despise.
America spends more money on our military than any other country in the world. Global, annual, military spending for 2010 was over $1.6 trillion, with the U.S. accounting for 43% of the total. In 1948 the Department of War was changed to the Department of Defense. The government’s offensive ways of war are easier to swallow under the name Department of Defense. Yes, it’s prudent to protect ourselves and our freedoms from an enemy, foreign or domestic, that attacks our land, liberties, or way of life. At that time America will stand tall and proud. America will fight with the heart of our forefathers. America will succeed in retaining our God-given, unalienable rights.
That time is now! It is time we stop the erosion of America from the inside. It is time to upgrade our international policy to what it was when we were loved, envied, and respected by the rest of the world. It is time to restore all the rights that have been taken from us through the legislative branch under the guise of protection.
We’ve been taught that we have the right to be happy. But, we really don’t have that right! According to the constitution, we have the right to pursue happiness. It is our right to pursue happiness. However, we’re limited in our pursuit of happiness because of regulative burdens.
The pursuit of happiness should be unabated by government policies based on one man’s morality vs. another man’s morality. We should be able to live our lives as we choose as long as we’re not infringing upon the rights of anyone else.
Through politics as usual, we’ve seen a great decline in our country, in our economy, and in our liberty. We must get back to that which made us great.
Statistics show that 70% of new jobs come from small business. Yet, big business and powerful unions have bought up the politicians, and through unnecessary legislative regulation, the free marketplace has been bogged down, making it difficult for the little guy to work, to do business, and to succeed.
If you were to study the history of the fall of Rome or the fall of Egypt, you would find that America is escalating into the same error that brought about the demise of other powerful countries throughout history. Those countries’ governments started taking more and more freedoms away from the people. Whenever you start taking away the citizens’ ability to grow and to dream, your country will go into decline. It has no choice.
Healthy competition and the free market promote higher quality products and lower prices. Some people say we have a free market. But when you have to pay for licensing, permits, fines, and fees, plus additional unreasonable fines and unrealistic fees, it’s no longer “free,” and you may not even be able to afford to start a business. Too many laws are being created to stifle the minds and creative pursuits of the everyday person.
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How would you like to have a free and open mind? Free to grow and create, to innovate and empower people to greatness? It’s your God-given, unalienable right to pursue happiness. It’s your right to fulfill your purpose.
Ask yourself this. Are the currently active politicians looking after you, or are they only looking after themselves? Let’s take a look at that. If they were looking after you, wouldn’t you have the same retirement plans as they do? But you don’t. Why? Because the current politicians abide by a completely different set of rules than the rest of us. They have adjudicated these advantageous rules for themselves. Approximately 58% of members of congress are millionaires. Coincidence? I think not.
When we were free, we had greatness. Now that our freedoms have been stripped, our country is careening into poverty. We’re enslaving our children into debt.
I have a five year old son. He’s the reason I’m so passionate about this cause. We are here to rebuild a country, and to leave a legacy: a legacy of freedom, a legacy the next generation can be proud of, a legacy that gives all Americans a better life. We’re passing the torch to the next generation, asking them to continue greatness. We should never leave the next generation worse off than we are. We should always be moving forward.
Many people have been taught for years that it’s the norm to get a job, work for someone else, and do what they’re told. They know nothing else. They have no desire or ability to start their own business and to think above and beyond what they have now or to reach for more. More for their friends, more for their family, more for themselves, through their own efforts.
We must start teaching critical thinking. We’re all made of the same material, which means we all have the same abilities. We’re all born pure of heart and mind, but conditioned to be a certain way through our childhood, our upbringing, and our families, through our friends, our teachers, and the media. These influencers can only draw from the way they have interacted with the world based upon the way the world has interacted back with them. Children are programmed by their environments and take that programming into adulthood.
So, how do we overcome that conditioning? We overcome it with proper education that teaches how to think critically, to figure out solutions to complex problems, and to communicate in ways that promote continuous growth. Instead of tearing people down, it builds people up.
You’re either growing or you’re dying! You’re either moving forward or you’re moving backward. There’s no standing still, because everything around us is constantly changing. Therefore, we have to be awake, we have to pay attention, and we have to get rid of the distractions in our lives that get us off track.
Now, what can we do to get our country back on track? Not only what can we do, but what must we do? Now that we see the problems, we all have an obligation to do something, to find solutions, and to implement them!
Total U.S. federal debt has increased every year from 2000 to 2010, growing from $5.7 trillion as of September 2000 to $13.6 trillion by September 2010.
If a person were to run their finances like the government does, they would be in jail. If they ran a corporation like the government does, it would be out of business. The government keeps taking from us until there’s no more to take, and that’s when we endure complete and utter collapse.
The two-party system is bloated beyond its capacity to be effective. It is time for a new birth. A new birth will happen when ideas and imagination, fueled by belief, inspire people to come together and put their hands to the plow. You won’t be given what you need; you’ll be given what you deserve. What you deserve will be based upon the work you put forth. The farmer doesn’t reap a harvest simply because he needs one. The farmer reaps a harvest because he deserves one. It’s the farmer who puts in the time to plant and cultivate his crops.
We will not receive improvement and liberty simply because we need it. And yes, we do need improvement. We’ll receive improvement when we deserve it based upon the work we personally put forth. And yes, we will deserve it!
Do you love America and what she stands for enough to join me and take hold of the plow? If you said yes, I encourage you to step up to the plate. Together we can stop the erosion of our American way.
We can’t be complacent. We can’t be numb. We can’t be stagnant. We’re either a raging river roaring down with great power and strength, or we’re a stagnant pond filled with pond scum and disease. This raging river that America used to be is drying up and slowing down. It is time to turn the tide. We all have the ability to make our country the freest place to live once more! Are you with me?
“Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor;
it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
C. Michael Pickens is the Northern Vice Chairman of the Libertarian Party of California. He can be reached by email at [email protected]
Great article, by one of the rising stars of the libertarian movement!
There are two sentences that I especially like. The first one is: “How would you feel if China, Russia, or any other country pushed their way into America, set up troops, and forced their way of life and beliefs on you?” Good point, because the same thing is happening now, only we’re being attacked by domestic enemies instead of foreign ones. But it brings up a flaw in Gary Johnson’s foreign policy, WRT his opposition to closing Guanatanamo. As I asked him on Michael’s show on KRXA, isn’t the U.S. base at Guantanamo akin to Cuba or Venezuela occupying Matagorda Bay or Monterey Bay, and maintaining a military base there? How would we like that?
Also, “We must start teaching critical thinking.” Amen. Economists growth models all rely on improvements in technology. Economic development professionals try to achieve this in their locations by increasing the availability of education. And that’s great, but what’s even more important is not memorizing lessons but developing creativity. Unfortunately, our school system is not geared to doing that.
Well said.
Great article.