The Other Half of History Daily Blog
Thoughts on modern politics from a historical perspective.
Mean Republicans “Disenfranchise” Dead Voters
As we approach another presidential election, the subject of voter screening is once again emerging as a purely partisan fight. Republicans are supporting laws that require a person to identify himself before casting a ballot; Democrats oppose such laws. Democrats accuse the Repubs. of trying to “disenfranchise” the downtrodden proletariat by making them show ID when they vote. The Republicans claim, with some basis, that they are only trying to “disenfranchise” illegal aliens, cartoon characters, and dead people.
Should the Government Lead Social Movements?
For the first hundred-and-fifty-odd years of the United States’ existence, it was a land of rugged individuals. The nation was founded on the idea that “that government is best that governs least,” and self-reliance and self-respect were the defining characteristics of Americans.
But over the last eighty years or so Americans have been progressively allowing the government to play a bigger and bigger role in their lives. With the passage of Obamacare in 2010, Americans have granted to the national government the power to control their access to health care. If the Democrats’ various “Cap and Trade” proposals are ever put into effect, we will have given the government the power to control our access to the fuel that makes our modern lifestyle possible.
But even more frightening than the government’s assumption of these new legal powers is its assumption of a leading role in changing the values and beliefs of ordinary Americans.
Friday Links and Notes Feb. 24
Lots of interesting stuff in the news this week.
On the Obamacare-vs-Catholics issue, Blogger Richard G. Williams confronts President Obama with a well-chosen George Washington quote. The Father of our Nation weighs in strongly against any government that “might possibly endanger the religious rights of any ecclesiastical society.”
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The Gold Standard and Government Power
“The Founding Fathers knew that a government can’t control the economy without controlling people.” Ronald Reagan
The first question every liberal asks about a proposed government action is “will it make the government more powerful?.” We conservatives should learn to ask that question too, and for opposite reasons.
President Obama and the Divine Right of Kings
The origins of American ideas of freedom go back to at least 1215 AD. In that year a group of English nobles forced King John to renounce the concept of the “Divine Right of Kings,” a doctrine under which medieval kings claimed the right to do literally anything they pleased, under the belief that their absolute power was bestowed upon them directly by God.
If recent events are a guide, most Americans don’t understand what a pernicious doctrine this was. If we understood the dangers of the Divine Rights doctrine we would react more strongly when our current President shows similar tendencies.
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