Most people see the conflict between limited government and big government as a political battle between conservatives and liberals. This conflict is much more profound than political theory can encompass.
“Children of The
Beast”
By Sam Sewell
Introduction
"The
average man doesn't want to be free. He wants to be safe." H.L. Mencken
Most people see the
conflict between limited government and big government as a political battle
between conservatives and liberals. This
conflict is much more profound than political theory can encompass.
In this essay the metaphor
of “The Beast” is used to represent big government, and “Children of The Beast”
to reveal the nature of those who support, or are dependent upon, big
government.
My analysis is offered in
two sections:
- The
inherent inefficiency and inertia of large, complex entities
- The
inherent evil of large, complex entities
“The Beast” is too big to be responsive to
human will
“This system is like a steamroller
with an unresponsive steering wheel; no matter who is in the driver’s seat it
continues to crush the people.”
Aristotle
The Hun
At every
level of life we recognize that the more complicated any system becomes the
less efficient its function. Complicated systems overwhelm the people who
participate in them.
For example,
let’s look at people and their possessions.
Most of us have made the observation that as we accumulate “things”
there comes a time when our things own us, rather than us owning our
things. My wife has created a system
that prevents her closet from taking over our house. She will not put a new piece of clothing into
her closet unless she eliminates something that is already there.
Many
businesses have a similar policy. In
addition to not adding a new policy without eliminating an outdated policy,
managers do a periodic analysis of the existing bureaucracy to determine what
paperwork and procedures need to be eliminated.
Governments
would do well to implement similar solutions.
Most government programs have a constituency of voters who object to
“their” special interest program being eliminated, resulting in a system that
eventually overwhelms the citizens. Not
only are government agencies inefficient, they often produce “schizophrenic”
results, like attempts to reduce the use of tobacco at the same time that
tobacco growers are receiving government subsidies.
This not just
a modern problem! The same dynamics were
present in large systems thousands of years ago. Bureaucratic inertia was as
much a cause for the fall of the Roman Empire
as barbarians at the gates. The ancient
Jews had a solution to the problem that has escaped the attention of leaders of
modern government systems.
"This fiftieth year is sacred—it is a
time of freedom and of celebration, when everyone will receive back their
original property, and slaves will return home to their families. " Leviticus 25:10
Every fifty years all
debts were cancelled, all slaves were freed, and all land was returned to the
ancestral owners. There were several
other provisions associated with the Year of Jubilee. This religious tradition
was a way for an entire culture to be reset, or “rebooted,” in order to wipe
out the accumulated bureaucratic inertia.
We modern people can “defrag” our computers, but we don’t know how to “defrag”
our federal government.
The problems associated
with complex systems are not unique to the government of the United States
“The powers not delegated to the United States
This Constitutional
Amendment was intended to restrict the power and size of the federal
government. Over the decades the federal
government has steadily centralized its power, while the 10th
amendment has been mostly ignored.
For example, if the
10th amendment were respected, the Federal Environmental Protection
Agency would cease to exist, and individual state agencies would protect the
environment of each state. Also, the Federal
Department of Education would be eliminated, and local school boards would set the
standards and supervise the education in each individual community.
As you might suspect ““The
Beast”” and “The “Children of The Beast”” are adamantly opposed to such
corrections.
It is a fundamental truth that all
systems grow to the point where their internal inertia causes them to
fail. So it is clear that we are
struggling with dynamics more profound than modern politics in the United States
“The Beast” That Was, and Is Not, and Yet Is
(Revelation 17:8)
Now, there is a riddle for you! I remember a speech I heard by the flamboyant
trial attorney, Gerry Spence. He said,
“I had a very successful career working for corporations and the government. I won every case that went to trial. Then I became aware that I was working for
virtual, non-human entities that had no actual existence. My clients were artificial, abstract
‘creatures’ whose only claim on reality was a concept or a contract defined by
the laws of man. I also noticed that
when I won a case for a corporation or the government that real live human
beings, with blood pumping through their veins and breath moving in and out of
their lungs, were victimized by the ‘non-breathers.’ That is when I vowed never to have another
non-breathing client for the rest of my career.
If you can’t fog up a cold mirror with your breath, I will not be your
attorney.”
I think Gerry Spence solved the above riddle. If it doesn’t breathe, it is “The
Beast.” If “The Beast” serves human
needs it should be domesticated, cared for, and kept on a tight rein. If “The Beast” intimidates human beings and
expects the humans to serve IT, the time has come to bring out the cattle prods
and force ““The Beast”” back into submission.
Metaphorically, American citizens are struggling with “The
Beast” that has forgotten who is serving whom. I wonder if the right to bear
arms includes cattle prods. J
Our elected leaders are expected to accept the responsibility
of controlling “The Beast.” Why do you
think the Constitution has all those phrases, “The government shall not …”?
If, instead, our elected leaders begin serving “The Beast,”
it becomes the responsibility of each individual citizen to ensure that “The
Beast” is properly subordinated to ‘We the People.’ Many of our elected leaders are “Children of
The Beast.” Many of our citizens have
become “Children of The Beast.” They
worship the glory and the power of “The Beast.” They accept gifts from “The
Beast,” and they become dependent upon “The Beast.”
A vote that strengthens the BEAST is a danger to us all. Vote to Tame the Beast!
Read the full article here: http://beastchildren.blogspot.com/
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