Thomas Jefferson once said, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”
I had a very insightful lunch the other day with a high-ranking official of the George W. Bush administration.
He told me the specific policy details of Ronald Reagan’s use of capitalism and freedom to undermine Soviet rule are still classified and not generally known. Reagan’s maneuvers helped those under Soviet dominance to recognize the bonds of government and break free.
It seems unlikely that the media and the current administration will ever publicize this part of history.
Yet the proof is not hidden, just forgotten. Consider Pope John Paul II’s speech in Poland to a crowd of 3 million that helped spark the citizen revolt against Communism. Or consider the numerous Russian scholars who admit the communist bloc fell because the government spent the Kremlin’s last ruble.
With the fall of Communism came the beginning of the decline of the old-world political elite, those with the state of mind that stemmed from monarchies and autocracies. Through the 20th century, Communist leaders fronting so-called “people’s movements” kept this idea alive as they ruled with an air of entitlement to the country’s resources and to the citizens they oppressed. These were the leaders of the Cold War who fought so strongly against capitalism because they knew it meant a severe blow to their power.
Now we see a similarly elitist mind-set exhibited by some top Democrats. Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Frank and many others conduct themselves with a defeatist attitude toward the American individual in the form of seeding dependency-increasing entitlement programs. They are amassing and centralizing power by taking over some of the largest private sectors of American business (the car industry, health care, etc.). They continue to reward cronies, supporters and unions with various government advantages. They are perpetuating the elitist mind-set using socialist-style programs. Well, this is America, and socialism should be completely off the table.
That conversation is over, and no modern politician should even permit it to be mentioned.
If you have read my columns before, you know I am a firm believer in personal freedom and the power of the free market to accomplish objectives over government mandate. After discussing the long conquest of Communism by freedom and capitalism, my friend and I began to discuss the ramifications of letting our government continue to amass and centralize power.
The American people will have a choice to make in 2012—a serious, life-altering choice that will decide the future and fate of our country.
It is at this crossroads that we can choose to quash the power trip of our government officials. We can choose to be a country of individual freedom that can provide free-market means with limited government support to aid our fellow citizens in need.
Our choice will be simple and clear: We either move into a golden age of personal freedom or continue to enable elitist political tendencies.
America can take heart. The first step down the path of personal freedom is taken with the inalienable power each citizen holds to vote. The best part about it is that the choice is ours, and it is a simple one to make. However, we better not put it off any longer because we have spent our last dollar—about 12 trillion times.
Bryan Griffin is a first-year law student. His columns appear Thursdays.
