Thursday, January 22, 2009

Affirming the Pursuit of Security

It is a New Era, But the Battle is Not New

"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." -- American Declaration of Independence

John Locke is credited with the original thought: "no one ought to harm another in his life, health, liberty, or possessions" In the first article of the Virginia Declaration of Rights, George Mason explains it better: "That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posterity; namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety."

This document is considered to be a model for the Declaration of Independence. Today the financial corruption of large entities, both government and corporate, are a real threat to this fundamental yearning. Here is one of the greatest challenges we face.

The Enron Complex
The Enron Complex

Franklin Raines
Franklin Raines

Perhaps a good beginning is to Acknowledge Corruption in the bodies one would invoke to oversee us.

mazda5-premacy-re-hybrid
Hydrogen cars offer the promise of
cleaner air and a healthy economy.

Then A Policy of Public and Private Entities in Partnership for Energy Independence would go a long way to secure this right. Nuclear Energy, Hydrogen cars, and a general push to go beyond the era of fossel fuel would also give us better environmental stewardship and national security. Hydrogen Cars are Here Now and we must have the resolve to build the clean technology of the future. If we can put a man on the Moon, we can build this new method of propelling our prosperity.

The economic benefits would be many. No doubt we would maintain a position of leadership in the production of this technology. Reduced oil consumption would help our balance of trade. Economic stability would benefit us far into the future.

New Ways of Looking at Healthcare, Education and Retirement will also be necessary.

Here is a Thought Provoking Piece by Theodore Dalrymple in City Journal that underscores the importance of protecting this basic human right.

Update:

Build Big, Mr. President by Howard Husock in City Journal proposes: "Obama should look past mere improvements and plan transformative infrastructure projects."

Required Reading:

greatmyths-cvr

Great Myths of the Great Depression [Click to Read]
by Lawrence W. Reed

"The genesis of the Great Depression lay in the irresponsible monetary and fiscal policies of the U.S. government in the late 1920s and early 1930s. These policies included a litany of political missteps: central bank mismanagement, tradecrushing tariffs, incentive-sapping taxes, mind-numbing controls on production and competition, senseless destruction of crops and cattle, and coercive labor laws, to recount just a few. It was not the free market which produced 12 years of agony; rather, it was political bungling on a grand scale."

Now Check Out the 4o Year Wish List as seen in The Wall Street Journal
Also: Is America's Diplomacy of Freedom Officially Over

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