I have teenagers, so I am quite familiar with the “know it all” mentality that they often display during these years. After all, I'm not so old that I don't remember having a very similar attitude when I was their age. Even as a young adult, I was proud of my conservative beliefs and very stubborn about defending them, sometimes to my own detriment, when I would end up deeper in a debate than my knowledge and wisdom should have allowed me to go. Yes, as a young man I had a belief system that I was confident was right, and staunchly defended it under the flag of the Constitution of our United States. The only problem was my own knowledge of this amazing document which set our country on a solid foundation was very limited.
I remember arguing quite fervently with the pro-choice crowd over abortion. I am positive that several times I referred to the Roe v. Wade decision as a decision which should be overturned, and that abortion should be made illegal by the government. Okay now be honest. Those of you who believe fully in the Constitution of our land, please tell me the err of my ways back then. It seems like a quite sound belief from a conservative standpoint. Make abortion illegal. It's a very morally positive outcome, right? Wrong! Now, before all moral conservatives stop reading this please hear me out. First of all, Roe v. Wade is a decision that should be overturned, because it is not constitutional...but the reason it is not constitutional is the same reason why the federal government cannot pass legislation to make abortion illegal. According to the Constitution, the federal government may not exercise that power over the land. The Constitution is quite clear in stating that these decisions are left to the individual States to decide. The 10th Amendment to the Constitution is quite clear on this matter. I bring this point up to simply to point out that it is so important in this day and age that we educate ourselves in what we believe in. If we are to believe that the government should follow the Constitution in governing this land, we have to educate ourselves on exactly what the founding fathers wrote in the document, lest we be labeled by the liberals (statists) as hypocrites.
This is one example of the founding fathers saving us from ourselves if you think about it. Though it would seem like a great moral victory for the government to pass legislation which would eliminate the killing of innocent unborn children, we have to think deeper about the power that we give our federal government each time we allow them to step in and dictate a rule or law over the people of this nation. That same power we give them today to do something in our favor will, tomorrow and forever be wielded by the federal government. History would show that when a federal government gains enough power over it's people to make decisions, allegedly on their behalf, that inevitably they begin to abuse that power to their own selfish and/or greedy benefit. See, the founding fathers understood that man is an imperfect being. They knew that even they, themselves, if given enough power would govern to their own benefits eventually. It is human nature, and you can trace it all of the way back to the very first story in the bible, with Adam and Eve.
Therefore, the 10th Amendment of the Constitution clearly states that the individual States are to make these decisions. Which actually works out if you think about it. If you are Pro-Life, you may choose to live in a Pro-Life State, and vice versa if you are Pro-Murder. This allows everyone over the long term to be happier citizens, and the federal government's power to be limited.
No comments:
Post a Comment