Jonathan Paine
Anytime there is a movement, we naturally look for leaders. This is normal human behavior. The problem comes when we look to those leaders for guidance to the exclusion of principle. All leaders are human and therefore prone to mistakes. That is why a true conservative bases policy decisions on principles and not whatever a “conservative leader” happens to be saying at the time.
For instance, if a “conservative leader” said that Americans should expect, and indeed are entitled to, an affordable medical system that will alleviate their suffering, conservatives should pause and consider. To say that the government owes America an affordable medical system is one small step away from saying that the government owes all Americans affordable food, or a “living wage”.
Where people often go wrong is by thinking since the government is supposed to protect our rights, it’s therefore government’s job to provide for those rights. Government’s job is to make sure that the free market is indeed free so that an affordable medical system can develop of its own accord. This is accomplished by government getting out of the way, lifting rule and regulations, allowing competition, etc.
Government does not owe its citizens an affordable medical system. Anytime the word “entitled” is used should be an immediate red flag. This is not being nit-picky. A “conservative leader” telling people that their government owes them affordable health care system is not only dangerous, it is irresponsible.
We should demand certain things from our government. We should demand integrity and honesty in our leaders. We should demand that our government stay within its constitutional limits. We should demand that government protect our rights. In that sense, government does “owe” us these things.
However, we are not entitled to these things. An entitlement is free, given regardless of what you do or who you are. Freedom is not an entitlement. It is a gift, an honor, a privilege, something that must be worked for, something that must be sacrificed for.
Freedom is not free. The only way to preserve it is to have a people who are moral and virtuous and understand the difference between protection of rights and provision for rights.
