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Chris
05-09-2013, 01:53 PM
It should come as no surprise that President Obama told Ohio State students at graduation ceremonies last week that they should not question authority and they should reject the calls of those who do. He argued that "our brave, creative, unique experiment in self-rule" has been so successful that trusting the government is the same as trusting ourselves; hence, challenging the government is the same as challenging ourselves. And he blasted those who incessantly warn of government tyranny.

Yet, mistrust of government is as old as America itself. America was born out of mistrust of government. The revolution that was fought in the 1770s and 1780s was actually won in the minds of colonists in the mid-1760s when the British imposed the Stamp Act and used writs of assistance to enforce it. The Stamp Act required all persons in the colonies to have government-sold stamps on all documents in their possession, and writs of assistance permitted search warrants written by British troops in which they authorized themselves to enter private homes ostensibly to look for the stamps.

...

As morally wrong, as violative of the natural law, as unconstitutional as these laws were, they were not historical incongruities. Thomas Jefferson -- who opposed and condemned the acts (he was Adams' vice president at the time) -- warned that it is the nature of government over time to increase and of liberty to decrease. And that's why we should not trust government. In the same era, James Madison himself agreed when he wrote, "All men having power should be distrusted to a certain degree."

...


@ Why All of Us Should Mistrust the Government (http://reason.com/archives/2013/05/09/why-all-of-us-should-mistrust-the-govern)


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness
~Declaration of Independence

simpsonofpg
05-09-2013, 03:18 PM
We don't trust the goverment because they lie to us and don't do what we elected them to do. Both parties are guility. I do agree that Obama is a real piece of work but so were the past several going back to Nixon and Carter.

patrickt
05-09-2013, 04:24 PM
Lying to us is just the beginning. They steal from us. I'm not talking about taxes. I'm talking about giving tax money to friends and buying votes.

Who in the federal government do you actually trust?

lynn
05-09-2013, 05:14 PM
Who is going to govern the Federal government?

Cigar
05-09-2013, 05:31 PM
I guess I should another Gun to help me feel good.

Chris
05-09-2013, 05:43 PM
Who is going to govern the Federal government?

Madison, Federalist 51 wrote: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself. A dependence on the people is, no doubt, the primary control on the government; but experience has taught mankind the necessity of auxiliary precautions."

He then went on to explore what structures would do this, the different branches and seperation of powers for example.

But that structure falls apart when the Administration and Judicial legislate.

patrickt
05-09-2013, 05:47 PM
Who is going to govern the Federal government?

We are supposed to.

patrickt
05-09-2013, 05:49 PM
I guess I should another Gun to help me feel good.

Cigar, that won't be necessary. There are people who are feeling good enough just from sucking up to someone.

Chris
05-09-2013, 05:54 PM
We are supposed to.

Problem is too many have come to depend on government cradle to grave.

Private Pickle
05-09-2013, 05:58 PM
I guess I should another Gun to help me feel good.

Meh it would be wasted on you. Everyone knows if the government told you to sell your soul you would ask "how much"... Lets face it... You having a gun is about as useful as a violin is to a quadriplegic...

simpsonofpg
05-09-2013, 06:44 PM
I guess I should another Gun to help me feel good.

Only responsible adults should be allowed to have guns. Maybe you can make a plastic one.

Mainecoons
05-09-2013, 07:03 PM
I'm not sure I'd trust him with a gun from Toys R Us. He might find a way to shoot himself.

:rofl: