“The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases. The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first.”—Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, as he nearly always did, nailed the point exactly. History shows that, as government grows, human liberty decreases. There is a metaphysical reason for this, and our Founders based the American system upon it. It runs like this.
“People power” is called liberty—the right to do what one wishes (in harmony with virtue and the laws of God). “Government power,” when abused, is called tyranny. Government becomes necessary when people misuse their “power,” their liberty, by living unvirtuous lives, which infringe on the rights of others. Thus, for that reason, government becomes necessary. But government power always limits somebody’s “liberty”—and again, sometimes, necessarily so. But the principle is the same—government power restricts liberty, and too much government power, when it infringes on people’s true rights, becomes “tyranny.” Our Founding Fathers did everything they could to prevent the American government from becoming tyrannical. That is, as Jefferson stated above, the purpose of the Constitution.
The problem is that “power” in a political system is a zero-sum game, and the only place government can get more of it is by taking it from the liberties of the people. And so, what Jefferson said here is historically and metaphysically true. The course of history demonstrates that as government grows, the liberties of the people decline. We want the “liberties” of criminals to decline; that’s why we create government in the first place. Government must restrict some abuses of the people. But then, it is up to the people to restrict government so that government will not do what it has always done in history, i.e., become tyrannical.
Recommended
Just like government writes laws telling the people what they cannot do (infringe upon the life, liberty, and property of other citizens), “We, the People” wrote a Constitution to tell government what it could and could not do. Criminals—“people” criminals and “government” criminals—must be protected against. Frankly, “We the People” have done a very, very poor job of protecting against the criminality of the government. Let’s analyze this a little further so that we can understand fully what Mr. Jefferson was talking about.
We are endowed by our Creator with certain “natural rights”—life, liberty, and property (or, “pursuit of happiness,” in the Jeffersonian phrase). There is only one way to have a truly “free” society, so that all citizens can pursue the life, liberty, and property of their choice, and that is if the people are virtuous, that is, respectful of the life, liberty, and property of others, and don’t invade others’ rights. When people “freely” choose to do that, then that is true freedom—it’s a free choice people make. As Benjamin Franklin said, "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." Edmund Burke concurred: “Liberty does not exist in the absence of morality.”
The criminal class, which has always existed in every society throughout human history, is not virtuous or moral, and therefore, because of their unvirtuous selfishness, trespasses upon the rights of the virtuous and free. They are, as Jefferson said, “enemies of the people” because they seek to rob the people of their right to “life, liberty, and property.” Thus, government becomes necessary to protect us against this class of people. That is the legitimate function of government: “to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men” (Declaration of Independence). Not to give us our rights, as Virginia Democrat Senator Tim Kaine abominably said a few months ago, but to protect our rights from the unvirtuous (“criminals”) who would try to take them from us. Governments, obviously, must have a certain amount of “power” in order to do this effectively, and we, the people, sacrifice certain of our rights, transfer those rights to government, in order that government can perform its legitimate function of protecting us from “criminals,” domestic and foreign. Sadly, this is necessary because not all men are virtuous. “If all men were angels,” James Madison wrote, “we wouldn’t need government.”
But government has been deemed necessary down through history to restrain the criminal’s “power” to take freedom from citizens. Government restricts the criminal’s power to rob freedom. But how is “government power” restrained so that it won’t take freedom from citizens?
As noted above, per Jefferson’s quote, “We, the People” wrote a Constitution that tells the government what it can and cannot do. The Constitution informs the government of the rights “we, the people” have sacrificed to it, clearly specifying, defining, and limiting those government “rights.” “Government, you can do these things, and nothing else.” Has the American government, down through our history, abided by that contract between the people and itself?
Don’t make me laugh.
“The course of history shows that as a government grows, liberty decreases.” The problem we face in America today, folks, is that we have a major political party that wants government to grow and individual liberty to decrease. The Democrats, as Tim Kaine said, believe that government gives us our rights; that is the system in Communist China and is a definition of totalitarian government, the very thing the Democrats want. It’s not freedom, it’s slavery. Any right government gives, it can take away, so what protection do we have from these government “criminals”? None whatsoever—if the Democrats get their way.
So, yes, two “enemies” exist in America today, and the purpose of both species is to take liberties away from people and give them to themselves. The government criminal (“enemy”) is by far the worst; it has power that George Floyd never dreamed of having.
Well, we were warned.
Check out my Substacks: “Mark It Down! (mklewis929.substack.com) and “Mark It Down! Bible Substack” (mklbibless.substack.com). Both free. Read my great tales of the Old American West, available on Amazon and Kindle: "Whitewater," "River Bend," "Return to River Bend," "Allie’s Dilemma," and "Kendrick and other stories." Follow me on X: @thailandmkl.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy Townhall's conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join Townhall VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member