And once again, I get the chance to blame our Educational system – mostly because it is well deserved. Go ahead and ask any teacher what it is and I’m betting they won’t give you the proper answer.
We DO, however, have GraniteGrok commenters who know it quickly enough. From “Comment on NH State Rep Carol McGuire – Your State House 5/14/21“, Commenters Matt and Bryan W hit the nail on the head (abridged):
Matt: The role of government is to keep us free, not keep us safe.
Bryan W (in response): This is such as basic concept that so many people miss.
And make no mistake, this has been done on purpose with FDR’s proclamation in his “Four Freedoms Speech“:
- Freedom of speech
- Freedom of worship
- Freedom from want
- Freedom from fear
While the first two are commiserate with the Negative Rights (what Government CAN’T do) that our Founders knew would help maximize individual Liberty, FDR then dumped that philosophy onto its head by embracing Socialist philosophy of what Government has to do FOR you. And to any intelligent person, it should be clear that NO Government can do the latter two items as Wants always increase and Fear always finds more bogeymen to be fearful of. Now apply those two items to what we see and hear from Social Justice Warriors and the “Gimme” crowd – NOTHING is ever enough and creates an ever-increasing downward spiral.
Even with all of the Stimulus checks that have been passed out, the “Gimme” crowd wants even more. And it is the Progressive / Socialists that wish to fulfill FDR’s Second Bill of Rights such that we will be a Socialist country:
- The right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation;
- The right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation;
- The right of every farmer to raise and sell his products at a return which will give him and his family a decent living;
- The right of every businessman, large and small, to trade in an atmosphere of freedom from unfair competition and domination by monopolies at home or abroad;
- The right of every family to a decent home;
- The right to adequate medical care and the opportunity to achieve and enjoy good health;
- The right to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age, sickness, accident, and unemployment;
- The right to a good education.
And from that same post, the philosophy that validates both Matt and Bryan W’s correct answer:
Bruce Walker over at American Thinker put it well:
How can liberty be anything other than negative? Liberty is the absence of external control. Only in our age of collective thinking and untidy language could such a thing as “positive liberty” be conceived. The state power to coerce is not liberty.
Yes, the Proper Role of Government “is to keep us free, not keep us safe”. The two are not equivalent in the least. One demands that Government does the impossible (safety), one tells Government to leave us alone (Liberty).
Thanks to both Matt and Bryan W for reminding us of the difference.
