AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS ADDICT

English: The Liberty Bell. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ARBITRARY EXERCISE OF POWER.

On May 10th I posted an article titled, What Is Tyranny? The President Should Know The Definition, in which we defined tyranny as–arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power; despotic abuse of authority. Synonyms: despotism, absolutism, dictatorship. Arbitrary means – subject to individual will or judgment without restriction; contingent solely upon one’s discretion: an arbitrary decision. What came to light last week about the IRS targeting specific groups, the Justice Department confiscating phone records and emails from AP reporters without a warrant, and Kathleen Sabelius asking for contributions from health industry officials to help implement the new health care bill, are all examples of “arbitrary or unrestrained exercises of power”, aka tyranny. We should not be surprised by any of this, they are default actions taken by people who think they should not be constrained by the rule of law, even though our country was founded on the rule of law and not the rule of men.

THOMAS SOWELL, THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.

Thomas Sowell wrote a book titled, The Quest For Cosmic Justice, which contains a chapter titled, The Quiet Repeal Of The American Revolution. This chapter explains the difference between the American Revolution and all other revolutions in history, it  is also  one of the best chapters of any book I’ve ever read. Here are a few excerpts from the chapter. “The war for American independence… was a landmark in the history of the evolution of free and democratic societies….it went further in rejecting a basic conception of man and society that goes back thousands of years, and which is still with us today…people with the most diverse philosophic persuasions have proceeded as if what was needed was to replace false doctrines with true doctrines and false leaders with true leaders, the heathens with the faithful, capitalists with socialists, royalty with republicans, and so on….What the American revolution and its resulting constitution established was not simply a particular system but a process of changing systems, practices, and leaders, together with a method of constraining whoever or whatever was ascendant at any given time….it gave to the common man a voice, a veto, elbow room, and a refuge from the rampaging presumptions of his “betters”….. it was seen by others in the world at large as a landmark in the general struggle for human freedom. That is why it must be opposed by those with more ambitious visions (even if they do not consciously feel any animosity against constitutional freedoms) because, on issue after issue, those freedoms stand between the morally self-anointed and the realization of dreams which have overwhelming importance to them. Some of these dreams revolve around the quest for cosmic justice, in which constitutional constraints may be seen as technicalities to be finessed. Other dreams may be about personal ambitions that can be fulfilled only in a very different kind of society from that established by the Constitution… Ego and ideals are of course not mutually exclusive but may readily exist in the same individual, who may even mistake the former from the latter.

Our founders knew that Government power had to be restrained or else it would be used arbitrarily by the politicians or bureaucrats who were in position to wield it. We have allowed the Federal Government to incrementally take away our individual freedom over the last hundred years. The power grab has been so gradual we don’t even notice the differences as these changes happen step by step. It’s like looking in the mirror everyday for twenty-five years, you won’t realize how much you’ve changed over time, until you look at a picture of yourself that was taken twenty-five years ago. We have that picture, it is the history of our founding. Unfortunately it is not taught in our Government schools, and we are seeing the cumulative effect of not passing on our culture of freedom to the next generation.

GOVERNMENT IS FORCE.

The quotes to the right on my blog have a common theme, which can be summed up in this quote by George Washington, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force, like fire it is dangerous servant, and a fearful master”. When the President spoke at the commencement at Ohio State, he said this, “ Unfortunately, you’ve grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that’s at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They’ll warn that tyranny always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices.”Does the President think that George Washington is one of these voices. Washington didn’t trust Government power in anyones hands, not even his own. John Adams, our second President, proved Washington right when he implemented the Alien and Sedition Acts, which made it a crime to “print, utter or publish any false, scandalous, and malicious writing about the Government”. These were obviously arbitrary and unrestrained exercises of power. Adams, one of our founding fathers, abused the power given to him by the very constitution he helped create. What makes us think that our present day leaders, who are two hundred plus years removed from our founding, will constrain themselves from abusing  power every chance they get.

The IRS over reach is a violation of our first amendment right to free speech, and the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and petition the Government for a redress of grievances.  The IRS also violates our fourth amendment right to be secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. It also violates our fifth amendment right against being a witness against ourself, or be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of the law. When you go up against the IRS, you have to prove your innocent, they don’t have to prove your guilt. They can take money (property), out of your bank account without due process. They make you a witness against yourself when you fill out your tax return. This IRS abuse is one we should all understand. How do you react when you get a letter from the IRS? (“What did I do wrong?”). We all understand the threat of force from the IRS. The AP confiscation of emails and phone records is a violation of first amendment right to the freedom of the press. It also violates the fourth amendment right to be secure in your persons, property, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures. I don’t understand why the main stream press isn’t going crazy on this one, unless they feel intimidated by the fact that Government may have already confiscated their private papers. The Sabelius fiasco is flat-out extortion. You give us money, and we won’t harm you. These are all examples of mafia intimidation tactics.

BUREAUCRATS ARE BIASED TOWARD THEIR OWN POWER.

Government appointed bureaucrats at any level are considered public servants, but that shouldn’t give them a free pass on being politically unbiased. They are motivated to keep their position and grow their agency. And anybody that gets in the way of this growth or threatens cuts, can be a target of the power of that particular agency. They are no different from a politician in this regard, they are trying to keep their power.

If you think the big Government establishment republicans are upset that the IRS was going after tea party and liberty groups your wrong. The establishment was upset that liberty minded people were making inroads into the republican party, because it threatened their power. They didn’t like their establishment candidates getting primaried out by tea party candidates. They blamed the tea party for the losses in 2012, even though they liked them when they helped win the house in 2010. Some establishment republicans will use the IRS scandal because they can use it for political gain. Establishment republicans like big Government because they hope to one day be back in control of that power.

CONCLUSION.

I watch with amazement as the spokesmen for the White House are telling lies about what has been documented. The truth is in front of our eyes, and they are trying to tell us we are not seeing what we are actually seeing. It’s like Obi Won Kenobi saying, “these aren’t the droids you’re looking for”, as he uses a Jedi mind trick on the storm troopers. The other thing that I have observed in all these situations, (and before in Fast and Furious, and Benghazi), is the President or the Attorney General always say that they will find the people who did this and bring them to justice. I believe them as much as I believe that O.J. is still looking for Nicole’s killer. We were told by a wise man to “trust but verify”, but I think it should be, “verify and remain skeptical”.

I would rather be on the side of George Washington. He understood that because Government was force, it was “a dangerous servant, and a fearful master”.

Related article, Human Action Reveals The Reality About Political Decisions, at austrianaddict.com.

Related article, Thomas Sowell Explains How Democracy And Freedom Are Not The Same Thing, at austrianaddict.com

Related article, Is The President Our Boss? No. Each Individual Is His Own Boss, at austrianaddict.com.

This entry was posted on May 20, 2013 at 9:19 pm and is filed under Government and Politics. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Alien and Sedition Acts, American Revolution, Arbitrary Power, George Washington, IRS, John Adams, Thomas Sowell, Tyranny