If the spectacle of conservative leaders approving the biggest expansion of a government social program in 40 years through Medicare "reform" isn't enough to make you question what it means to be "conservative," how about the fact that in 2003 the federal government spent a whopping $20,000 per household, or that mandatory government spending reached its highest level in U.S. history?

Those who claim to be fighting for smaller government and greater individual freedom ought to be asking themselves: In what do I believe?

This much they should know for certain: God created both freedom and order, and any attempt by man to govern others will be flawed. Governments instituted by man should exist only to uphold the freedoms and rights divinely ordered by a Creator who provided both clear guidance and the free will to individuals to chart their own destinies.

America's Founding Fathers knew these truths well. That's why, in their wisdom and foresight, they designed a framework for a country that would allow citizens to seek God on their own terms and to live peaceably in the manner of their own choosing. The pursuit of happiness, they understood, was an individual path, defined by the journeyman alone.

The men who framed the Constitution knew first-hand the vanity of any ruler who actually thinks he can mandate peace and end suffering by controlling his people. They were willing to live by, and if need be die by, the principle of "the government that governs best, governs least." In short, they understood that freedom was a concept created by God himself, and that any government that grew too large, either in size or regulations, would inevitably strangle the liberty right out of its citizens.

Our Founding Fathers also understood the inseparable relationship between personal finances and personal freedom. They created a framework for government that reflected their belief that the ability of individuals to determine how to use their own earnings is directly linked to the ability to pursue happiness. They designed a system in which the purpose of taxation was to fund the smallest government possible to meet the charge of protecting the citizenry and their God-given freedom. The idea of taking what belongs to one and giving it to another – of "redistributing income," in modern parlance – they considered immoral. For them, the purpose of taxation was, and still is, to protect freedom.

They understood the importance of free-market competition, too. They even threw a pretty lively tea party in Boston to make their point that government-mandated suppliers of anything would not be tolerated.

And they knew how crucial it was to properly define the role of property in the new nation they were creating. For the ability to own private property, to benefit from the sweat and toil of one's own hands, to pursue the needs and dreams of one's own families, and to determine how to provide charity to others, are essential elements of a free nation. Continued...