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Five Things Millennials Should Understand About Constitutional Conservatism
February 06, 2016
You want real, honest-to-goodness control of your OWN life and your OWN destiny? You might want to check these out.
Remember the first time you put the keys in the ignition after getting your license?
Oh sweet, sweet freedom.
You no longer needed to rely on your parents to take you places (unless of course, you still needed their car).
Pretty soon, though, the license loses its luster, as you realize that there are still those blasted rules.
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Itâs the one, nearly universal modus operandi of most teens: âWhen the heck can I get the HECK out of Mom and Dadâs home??â
And itâs probably not because you didnât love your parents, or didnât like the food, or the bed you slept in, or the clothes they bought you.
It was because leaving home meant getting out from under Mom and Dadâs thumb.
It meant you were free to make your own decisions.
So let me ask you this: if you couldnât stand being told what to do, where to go, and otherwise how to live under your parentsâ authorityâwhat makes you think having an all-powerful government to do the exact same thing on an infinitesimally bigger scale is any different?
Hereâs what Iâm getting at: Millennials love Bernie Sanders.
Let me clearer: Millennials love Bernie Sanders, the unapologetic socialist running for president.
Socialism is pretty simple: Itâs basically varying degrees of wealth redistribution, mandated and controlled by the government. And, thereâs usually a great deal of cultural engineering thrown in there too.
Bernie Sanders preaches a very clear message of solutions to what weâre all experiencingâespecially those of us just now coming of age, and who have no concept of anything but a crappy economy and crippling, burdensome debt.
His promises bring hope to a generation thatâs scared to death about its future.
He talks a lot about all the free stuff youâre going to GET.
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(And for the record, we could cut the entire military and tax everyone who makes more than $1 million at 100 percent and still not be able to pay for it allâbut thatâs another story.)
But have you ever really thought about what youâre going to have to give up to get it?
Probably not, since youâve likely been told itâs conservatism (specifically, constitutional conservatism) and its stodgy religious tenants and insipid obsession with rugged individuality thatâll force you to give stuff up.
Is it, now? Letâs take a look:
1. Constitutional Conservatism Means Your Rights Are Protected. Guaranteed.
We talk a lot about the Constitutionâand how its recognition of inherent rights is what makes this whole thing so unique. See, just like Sen. Ben Sasse brilliantly put it, âmost governments in the past said âmight makes right, and the king has all the power, and the people are dependent subjects.â The American Founders say âno, God gives us rights by nature, and government is just our shared project to secure those rights.â Government is not the author or source of those rights.â
We also talk about it being a static document. Why? Because if itâs a living, breathing documentâare your rights really inherent? If itâs moldable and pliable to whateverâs the cause du jour, are the rights you have today for CERTAIN the rights youâll have tomorrow?
Whereâs your guarantee?
Just remember, to get Bernieâs free stuff (which isnât remotely free), youâre going to do have to do a lot of constitutional twisting and molding.
2. Constitutional Conservatism Means a Government Let's You Keep More of Your Money.
We donât think all taxes are evil. We think punitive taxes are evil.
At what point in a personâs professional life do they shift from being deserving of their income, to being unfairly in possession of it? Is it $150,000 a year; $500,000 a year; $1 million a year? Whatâs the offending figure, and who decides?
How is it fair that top earners pay astronomical percentage rates just because, while itâs UNFAIR to suggest we all pay a flat percentage of our income for a government we all use?
But, thatâs the only way to even come close to dreaming of paying for all the free things Bernieâs offeringâstick the ârichâ (however thatâs defined) for as much as we can.
3. Constitutional Conservatism Means Actual Concern For The Poor.
Thereâs nothing wrong with needing a helping hand when thereâs nowhere else to turn. But hereâs the bottom line: We donât want people trapped in an endless cycle of government benevolence where they are dependent on the government to give them more; dependent on the government to force some employer to pay them more; dependent on the government to force that employer to provide them with the benefits they need.
We hear a lot about what the government should give to the poor. When we do hear about how the poor will be raised up OUT of welfare? OUT of a minimum wage job? OUT of a Medicaid situation?
And this isnât all just about the moneyâŠ
4. Constitutional Conservatism Means You Choose How to Run Your Life.
Look, we donât care about who youâre sleeping with. I mean, sure, many of us may have religious convictions about it, but really, we largely don't care. We may try to convince you of that conviction, but ultimately it's your business. We also donât care if you want to celebrate that love with a big, beautiful ceremony and party.
But is it really constitutionally, justifiably fair to force someone whose religious beliefs say otherwise to lend their personal business, property or talent to it? And is it constitutionally justifiable to force a religion to redefine its institution because society has decided itâs no longer that religionâs business?
And itâs not just about marriage and homosexuality. When itâs ok to tell people that they MUST not only accept a certain view, but set their own aside in the process, who says where it all ends? And if you donât have a Constitution that backs up a set of stationary rights, (see No. 1) what are your rights at all?
5. Constitutional Conservatism Means Equal Protection Under the Law For ALL Americans.
We donât hate minorities. We hate discrimination.
And separating out which lives are more important than others IS discrimination. We hate that we donâtâas a nationâlook at all lives as equal, and equally deserving of attention, of helpâof justice. When we look at the biological skin color as opposed to the living, breathing human being, donât we devalue that person by making them nothing more than one of many?
Letâs get back to the original question: If you couldnât wait to get out from under your parentsâ thumbsâwhat makes you think being under the governmentâs thumb (in exchange for a bunch of seemingly free stuff and social reengineering) is any better?
You see, with government calling the shotsâfrom healthcare to education to religionâyou get as much freedom as the government TODAY determines you can have.
See how much youâd have to give up?
Mary Ramirez is a full-time writer, creator of www.afuturefree.com(a political commentary blog), and contributor to The Chris Salcedo Show (TheBlaze Radio Network, Saturday, from noon to 3 p.m. ET). She can be reached at: afuturefree@aol.com; or on Twitter: @AFutureFree
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