-By Frank Salvato
The midterm elections coming up this November 2nd are perhaps the most important election since the US Civil War. Where the 1864 election came in the midst of a war that tore families apart, saw brothers fighting brothers and the fate of the Union and the issue of slavery hanging in the balance, among other pressing questions (slavery was not the only catalyst for the US Civil War), the 2010 midterm elections are just as critical as again we see the very well-being of our country hanging in the balance.
There really is no singular issue that makes this election more important than the one before it. While many rail about the transformative healthcare bill or the threat of Cap-and-Trade or the bankrupting of our country or any number of irresponsible policies of this Congress and the current administration, the truth is that the critical issue of this election – of this moment in time – is much simpler and much more complex, all at the same time.
The issue that sets this election cycle apart from almost all others is a question of – dare I say it – rebellion; of revolution.
On the one side we have a well-funded and well-organized Progressive movement that quests to change – some say “fundamentally transform” – the United States of America. In a complete failure on their part to appreciate the genius of a constitutionally republican form of government – that it allows for the will of the people while protecting the rights of the minority – Progressives seek to transform the United States into a Socialist Democracy, a country that practices what Glenn Beck is coining as State Capitalism. State Capitalism is the model being employed by China, Venezuela and myriad other neo-Socialist governments springing up around the world.
On the other side of the balance is a grassroots movement, determined, focused and well-educated on the issues, champions of an American philosophy chartered in the US Constitution. The Tea Party movement has enjoined with the constitutional elements of the Conservative movement and Republican Party in a pursuit to reaffirm our nation’s commitment to the inalienable rights endowed to all men by the Creator; the rights to Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The Progressives, whose ideological genesis emanates from the tenets of Marxism and the Frankfort School, and who have been affecting this transformation, incrementally, since the turn of the 20th Century, believe that an all encompassing government is the answer to the ills of our nation; that government is the solution to our problems. They believe that the Constitution is a living document meant to expand with the needs of the times and that the policies of the United States have garnered Americans the scorn of many nations throughout the world.
The Tea Party Movement and its brethren believe in the principles of individual responsibility, limited government, limited taxation and adherence to a Constitution that limits the powers of government, enabling and unleashing the creativity of the American entrepreneur. They believe that our Great American Experiment has created the best hope for freedom and liberty for all men and women everywhere in the world, that a free people left to their own devices, devoid of excessive government interference can and will find answers and solutions to questions and problems. The Tea Party Movement and its brethren – of which I consider myself one – believes that a benevolent Capitalist system brings out the best in human nature and creates cohesive communities, communities where children thrive and grow to attain just a bit more than the generation before them.
In limiting the over-reach of government – the intrusion of government into the private sector and into our homes – we facilitate the re-emergence of self-reliance, individual responsibility and the benevolence of the American soul.
In limiting taxation – the sapping of the accrued wealth of individuals and business owners – we unleash the strength of Capitalism, the very economic model that has made the United States the most prosperous nation on Earth and a nation able to reach out in benevolence around the world. We facilitate reinvestment in business and, in turn, make it possible for business owners to expand, which creates jobs and individual wealth.
And in our belief that all should adhere to the US Constitution – its protections and its governmental limitations – and the constitutional process, we believe we establish the common bond that affords equality in opportunity to all while guaranteeing Life, Liberty and each individual’s pursuit of Happiness.
For far too long we have allowed the inside-the-beltway mentality to cheat generations of Americans out of purity in government. We have tolerated corruption and nepotism and now, as we fight for the very soul of our nation, we truly come to understand two quotes from a man far more aware of the fragility of the Great American Experiment than we; Thomas Jefferson:
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”
and,
“When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”
The time is upon us. The time has come for each and every American citizen to stand-up and make a choice – and stand by that choice. Do you stand for Progressivism and government dependence? Or do you choose freedom and self-government? Do you choose slavery to an elitist class? Or the liberty that comes from honest representative government.
The time has now come, for all of us, to choose.
Do you choose Progressivism or Americanism?
For me, the choice is clear.
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Frank Salvato is the managing editor for The New Media Journal . He serves at the Executive Director of the Basics Project, a non-profit, non-partisan, 501(C)(3) research and education initiative. His pieces are regularly featured in over 100 publications both nationally and internationally. He has appeared on The O’Reilly Factor, and is a regular guest on The Right Balance with Greg Allen on the Accent Radio Network, as well as an occasional guest on numerous radio shows coast to coast. He recently partnered in producing the first-ever symposium on the threat of radical Islamist terrorism in Washington, DC. His pieces have been recognized by the House International Relations Committee and the Japan Center for Conflict. He can be contacted at oped@newmediajournal.us