Common Sense was instrumental in the formation of our Nation. Common Sense was the title of Thomas Paine's January 1776 pamphlet where he laid out the arguements for independence. The pamphlet was published anonymously at first and was an instant best-seller, both in the colonies and in Europe. It sold as many as 120,000 copies in the first three months, 500,000 in the first year, and went through twenty-five editions in the first year alone. Because of Common Sense, Paine became internationally famous. "A Covenanted People" by Donald S. Lutz called Common Sense "by far the most influential tract of the American Revolution....it remains one of the most brilliant pamphlets ever written in the English language." To say that common sense was instrumental in our nations founding is an understatement. What our founding fathers did in creating this great nation grew out of their love of God and fellow man, and was nothing but the common sense extension of the understanding and love.
So how have we lost it when it was so prominent in the young United States. I know that during my lifetime it appears to have begun its decline in the 1960's. The make love not war and don't trust anyone over 30 crowd dealt it a severe blow. I guess Dennis Prager who says, "the Baby Boomers will go down in history as the dumbest generation ever", might have something and I am a Baby Boomer. However, it really got underway with Woodrow Wilson in the early 20th century. President Wilson, an academic, argued that the constitution was an 18th century document, with 18th century notions of rights. President Wilson also gave us the graduated Federal income tax and the Federal Reserve Act. He called his program the New Freedom. Sound familiar? What Hamilton called our limited constitution becomes the living constitution.
The next move away from the common sense of the founding fathers was FDR's New Deal. Why is it always "New" with these guys? Of course, this is where common sense and the economy parted ways. With all the New Deal programs like the W.P.A.-Works Progress Administration, C.C.C.-Civilian Conservation Corps, F.S.A.-Farm Security Administration, P.W.A.-Public Works Administration, as wells as, Social Security Administration FDR brought us the idea of stimulating the economy with deficit spending and strengthened as well as enlarged the Federal government. After the New Deal we get the Great Society of LBJ and the peace movement of the 1960's. At least LBJ did not call it the New Society. During this time the liberals began creating new rights as fast as the New Deal printed money and expanded the welfare state.
After the peace movement of the 60's lack of common sense seemed to steamroll through the country. These same Baby Boomers moved into our colleges and began educating/indoctrinating our children and eventually moved into the judiciary, the media and public service. The newly educated/indoctrinated teachers graduated and began teaching in High Schools and the lower grades as well. We then get "Heather Has Two Mommies" and no prayer in school. All the while the judiciary blocked all attempts at sanity and came up with legislation of their own. Even overturning the will of the electorate when the judges themselves are smarter and gentler than the dullards that vote. And now today it appears that it all is coming to a head. The pace has definitely accelerated with the election of the most liberal senator, President Obama.
Now that I can look back on this assault on common sense and our way of life I realize that it has been a hundred year war. It started with skirmishes in the Wilson era and moved steadily to today. Yes, there were ebbs and flows during this time where conservatives were in power, but when you step back and look at this period it was pretty much a steady progression. Each new move to the left started where the one before left off. Conservatives never really rolled back much of the lefts progress. Yes, we did have welfare reform but welfare did survive pretty much intact, just limited. We have had tax cuts but we still have a graduated income tax. Before Woodrow Wilson it was a flat tax. Even President Bush expanded entitlements with his Medicare Prescription Drug program. Bush also failed at reforming Social Security. That in my book is a net loss.
Today we face an all out assault, the end game. We have proposals for cap and trade which will devastate the energy industry and our economy by increasing all our energy cost and sucking a huge amount of money out of the economy and into the dark recesses of Washington. The card check program will do away with secrete ballots in union elections and we are seeing rhetoric that they are going to require the registration of all firearms in the country. States rights, the little that is left are being attacked by the stimulus bill to the point that Governor Perry of Texas has mentioned the succession word.
Where do we go from here? How much more can our country take and still recover? How much can our way of life take and resemble remotely what we had, what our founding fathers intended and what we all deserve? Is there a conservative out there to lead us out of this morass? I guess it will be left up to us.
