30 Years Ago

30 YEARS AGO…

Have you ever noticed how many things that are causing so much trouble today are described by beginning with these words? Today’s paper reports about a Mr. Orland who, in writing about a monument to Dr. Kinsey, says the following. “As a direct consequence of the sexual revolution, the past 30 years have witnessed an exploding rate of illegitimacy, divorce, sexual perversity, and rape. If our society is weaker today than ever before, it’s in no small measure due to Kinsey’s efforts.”

30 years ago, the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act gave the Federal government jurisdiction over wild plants, wild animals, private property, pets, commercial uses of animals, wildlife management, farming, ranching, logging, traditional public access on public lands, energy resource development, hunting, trapping, fishing, and a lot more etceteras. This new-found jurisdiction was acquired at the direct expense of state and local governments that had exercised these jurisdictions as granted by the Constitution for over 200 years. The Federal government has steadily expanded these powers and the level of citizen control and the parallel fulfillment of the agendas of radical environmental and animal rights organizations is a growing matter of record. The US system of government overall is being radically altered by these things in very harmful and dangerous ways.

30 years ago, the Supreme Court handed down Roe v. Wade. Like the sexual revolution and the above two laws, early critics were dismissed as fools. Early forecasts of unlimited expansion were dismissed as folly. Steadily, the first trimester became the second, became the third, became partial-birth, and today girds University professors arguing for a 60 or 90-day period after birth to decide if a child should live. Like the sexual revolution and the above two laws, unimaginable and illegal things became not only legal overnight, but legally protected rights that are used to discard the definition of life, marriage, parenting, and the rights of free Americans.

30 years ago, the right to own and utilize guns came under intensified assault. As places like Washington banned all guns, their murder rates skyrocketed. Each such instance only intensified the call for more and wider prohibitions. As prohibitions were enacted with each explosion of evil in which a gun was used, the right to carry a concealed weapon was enacted in statute by concerned citizens. The anti-gun zealots then answered with prohibitions around schools, churches, government facilities, parks, etc. Today as urban bastions of one-party city governments sue gun manufacturers for conducting a legal and necessary business, people take solace in the company of armed citizens as terror fears sweep the nation.

Throughout all this the Federal government size and authority has grown exponentially. Whether it is “saving” the latest critter du jour, protecting abortion clinics, eliminating gun dealers, or guaranteeing the latest sexual practices it is the Federal government called on to prosecute, judge, enforce, or cajole the states or citizens. All of this in spite of the Declaration of Independence mentioning the first “unalienable” Right as “Life.” All of this in spite of the 2nd Amendment saying “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” All of this in spite of the 5th Amendment stating, “nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.” All of this despite over two hundred years of tradition and social values based on a commonly accepted morality that allowed this nation to become the beacon of freedom and prosperity throughout the world.

Mr. Orland’s observation about “our society” being “weaker today than ever before” is right on the mark. The need to reform these trends is more necessary “today than ever before.” Before we can reform the laws and values that are endangering our very way of life, we must elect politicians and appoint judges that will do these things. Before we can activate such politicians and judges, we need to disregard the self-serving inputs of bureaucrats and we must break the hidden bonds between the public agencies and interest groups manipulating them to effect these harmful changes. We cannot do any of these things until we accept that government should not be the answer to anything more than the purposely-limited powers we (“The People”) granted them under the Constitution.

30 years ago something happened that it might take the hindsight of history to understand. Although understanding whether it was the 60’s (whatever that means) or a conspiracy of truly evil people or whatever the thing is, we are where we are and it is up to us to do something about it. I personally believe that these things have a lot in common with the old Soviet Union. They are built on lies, purposeful misconceptions, and self-serving accumulation of power. Perhaps some unforeseen occurrence like Reagan’s confronting the Soviets will happen. We can hope that they will collapse unexpectedly or we can realize that today is the first day of the rest of our lives and begin to retake control of our future based on the successful model of our past. 30 years of this is long enough.

Jim Beers
25 March 03