Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp 868 "The Tippah Tigers" Ripley Mississippi C.S.A. (occupied)

In a recent edition of his column "Food For Thought" Chuck Baldwin quotes from President George Washingtons Farewell Address, "The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism. But this leads at length to a more formal and permanent despotism. The disorders and miseries which result, gradually incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an individual; and sooner or later, the chief of some prevailing faction, more able or more fortunate than his competitors, turns this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty." Many of the Founders were concerned about the development of political parties and felt that individual voters should vote on issues without being encumbered by party loyalties and the superfluous conflicts thereby developed. Who can forget watching the Democrat Senators individually forsake the implementation of justice by voting unanimously not to impeach a guilty PresidentRecently Tom Trancredo, a Conservative Colorado Congressman, who comes down on the right side of many issues, has opted out of support for term limits in the case of his own tenure. Cliff Stearns, a Florida Congressman, has also opted out. Florida representative Tillie Fowler has been dubbed "SlickTillie" for failure to honor her own term limit promise. U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Spokane who defeated 30-year House veteran Tom Foley in 1994 reneged on his promise to serve just six years. Many other congressmen after consuming the political fodder have revealed their mendacity by failing to honor their pledge.
An attractive middle aged women, who has a basic grasp of the fast deterioration of Americas social fabric and a stubborn ego has used the leadership of a national right-wing organization as a springboard to become involved in the local political scene.
A bellicose lady full of hubris uses loud, boisterous, occasionally foul-mouthed, and often inappropriate confrontational rhetoric to cow many local politicians. She calls the radio talk show programs and speaks out at the commissioners meetings. She is often indecorous and bombastic.
A local couple, mother and son, are smart and well informed. They often punctuate presentations with uncalled for addendums, breaking in with disruptive talk that calls attention to themselves and disrupts the presentation.
John Bibby writes about the intention of the Founders, "When the founders of the American republic wrote the U.S. Constitution in 1787, they did not envision a role for political parties in the governmental order. Indeed, they sought through various constitutional arrangements such as separation of powers, checks and balances, and indirect election of the president by an electoral college to insulate the new republic from political parties and factions."
In spite of the intention to resist parties in the early 1800s, the requirement that voters must own property was lifted and the resulting increase in the size of the electorate created a need for parties as a method of organizing voters. This coupled with the large groups of followers of Alexander Hamilton in his quest for centralized governmental power and of Thomas Jefferson in his desire that the new nation remain agrarian produced the Hamilton Federalists and the Jefferson Democratic-Republicans. By the 1830s as Democracy grew, two political parties became dominant and have remained entrenched. The two party system has become so powerful that third parties have been unable to gain a foothold in the process.
Political parties are anathema to good government. Democracy was fertilizer to divisive political parties. Proliferation of the right to vote, which has reached its zenith in our time, is the essence of Democracy and multi-faceted problem. When voting was restricted to male property owners their vested interest worked to create an informed electorate. As if implementation of the right to vote for all citizens is not enough to sink the ship of state, putting a political party entity between the legislator, the voter and the good of the nation seems to be in the process of finishing the job. These foolish procedures have contributed to the formation of a permanent elite political class whose motivations overwhelm the integrity needed to produce good government.
Tom Trancredo, Cliff Stearns, Tillie Fowler, and George Nethercutt may be fine legislators who are on the right side of most issues but the lack of integrity manifest by their failure to keep their word calls into question their ability to make the best interests of the Nation their top priority.
My friend "the attractive middle-aged woman" can no longer correctly label the two party system as having only one head since her ambition to rise in the ranks of a political party requires that she support and defend it.
The "bellicose lady full of hubris" and the "mother and son" have fallen into a similar trap, they support individuals whose membership in a party distorts their ability to properly represent the best interests of the Nation.
The disturbing change produced by political ambition is immediately evident in otherwise sound individuals. They become concerned with what is popular and acceptable rather than what is right. They become stubborn defenders of their party, right or wrong.
Political involvement at the local party level often creates repulsive individuals who sell their integrity and who allow ambition to overcome character.
While a resident on Planet Earth sees it as terra firma with sky above, an astronaut in a space ship sees a cylindrical object surrounded by space. Neither has it exactly right. Though the astronaut can view one side of the Earth, he cannot discern the contour of its mountains, seas, plains, and people.
Perspective forms the platform from which all-else results. Atheists see everything devoid of God. Humanists see man as ultimate. Republicans seek to find error in all that is Democratic and Democrats do the same from an opposite perspective. Though they were not all Christians, most of our Founders viewed the new nation from a Christian perspective. Above all else, God desires obedience and liberty allows the willing obedience God desires. In order to live in peace and order man requires the overarching authority of a loving God. He was not created to govern himself.
Without reference to this higher authority he loses his point of reference, right and wrong become arbitrary and subjective.
Gods perspective is outlined in His Word, The Bible; it is the only true perspective. All other slants on life produce the error of human opinion, which is as vast as the 360 degrees from which an object can be seen.
The temptation to consider mans opinions superior to Gods Laws has been pandemic in history. It always results in turpitude and produces less than what God intended. Most Christians want to live in a humanistic society and complain about a nebulous Godly legal structure that is being ignored. They compare Gods Laws to the Taliban (in some cases an apt comparison) and favor their own legal opinions instead.
Party loyalty involves a humanistic attraction to winning on the merits of the party leadership. When one strives for Gods favor the direction is not in the ways of men but in the ways of God, which vie with mans opinions.
The Founders were correct in their disdain for parties and factions. The quest should be for Godly government based on the Laws God gave us in His Word.
Of interest on the political scene is the maxim that individuals who aspire to govern are often lacking in the humility necessary to govern a free people.

Published originally at EtherZone.com: republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."
Al Cronkrite is a free-lance writer from Florida. He a is regular columnist for Ether Zone.
Al Cronkrite can be reached at: fmsinfla@hotmail.com
Published in the August 2, 2004 issue of Ether Zone.

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