Put Your Faith In Liberty, Not Government

As I was cleaning out my apartment this weekend I came across a stack of cards and letters I received a few years ago. They were sent from family and, mainly, friends when I was in the hospital for a couple of days a few years back. After sifting through a number of them, I was reminded warmly of my support system and the community where I was raised.

I set them aside to continue cleaning, where Becca later found them.

She found them and (while I wasn't looking) read through every single one. I was in another room and she sought me out to read one in particular aloud. When she finished she was teary-eyed and said, "I guess this is why people go to church."

I clarified that people go to church because of their faith and relationship with God, but that it was important to a lot of people to be a part of a church family. I acknowledged that I had been raised in a very strong church family, where people not look out for one another but genuinely care about each other.

Afterward, when I was alone, I started thinking about my family and friends. I thought about how they shaped what I currently believe and stand for. Then, I thought about politicians and government officials and how they shaped their beliefs. I was reminded of something Mitch Daniels said this week. Daniels, is the current Indiana governor and an on-the-fence Presidential candidate, he called for a "truce" on social issues. He went on to say, "purity in martyrdom is for suicide bombers."

If someone asked you, "Do you think of yourself as a conservative?"

If you would answer, "yes," then, would you categorize it first? In other words, would you say, "I think I am on fiscal issues but not on social issues."

I believe that the quintessential conservative cares about all people and loves all people. A conservative is someone who wants every citizen to reach their maximum potential. It's someone who believes in something more than big government, they put their faith in something bigger: liberty.

You can't have a truce on social issues and only debate fiscal issues because they are inseparable.

Ronald Reagan said the same thing at the the 1977 Conservative Political Action Conference:

"The time has come to see if it is possible to present a program of action based on political principle that can attract those interested in the so-called 'social' issues and those interested in 'economic' issues. In short, isn't it possible to combine the two major segments of contemporary American conservatism into one politically effective whole? I believe the answer is: Yes."

The answer is: Yes.

Mr. Reagan went on,

"The American new conservative majority we represent is not based on abstract theorizing of the kind that turns off the American people, but on common sense, intelligence, reason, hard work, faith in God, and the guts to say: "Yes, there are things we do strongly believe in, that we are willing to live for, and yes, if necessary, to die for." That is not "ideological purity." It is simply what built this country and kept it great."

We can debate the fiscal problems. There is plenty to discuss: gas prices, unemployment, a ravaged housing market, need I go further? We can talk, like this blog says, " 'til we're blue in the face." The fiscal problems of this country are part of a larger problem. The larger problem is that elected officials in Washington, including President Obama, are rejecting the very values, morals and principles on which this country was founded: the pursuit of liberty.

We want the ability to pursue life and happiness without the government interfering. Where we are allowed to decide how and where we spend our money. Where we are free to make our own decisions about how best to run our business -- not federal regulations. Where families, yes, families decide how to raise a child -- not government programs. After all, a child shapes their beliefs and values from their family.

By the way, does anyone know President Obama's life story? Did you know he went to church? Do you know where? He was a member at Trinity Church of Christ in Chicago, Il. Where Rev. Jeremiah Wright once said, "God damn, America!" Wright said America got what it deserved in his Sunday sermon following 9/11. Makes you kind of wonder, "What does our President believe?"

Want more from Reagan's CPAC speech? Visit: http://www.conservative.org/cpac/archives/cpac-1977-ronald-reagan/#ixzz1MTRpATDV