Dan McLaughlin

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To Home Page Latest Newsletter Column Archives Click to get these columns for your local paper	© 2006 Daniel J. McLaughlin The Flag Still Stands For Freedom Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light? The words of the National Anthem tell a stirring tale of victory and pride that we sing in honor of the flag of this great country. But is it really the flag we are honoring, the piece of cloth with bright red and white and blue? We face the flag and put our hand over our hearts in reverence, but can a piece of cloth command reverence and pride and patriotism? That piece of cloth is something we can touch, something we can see, but when it has the broad stripes and the bright stars, it is not just a piece of material. It becomes a symbol, a reminder, it becomes the physical manifestation of an idea and an ideal. That idea is freedom. When we say the pledge of allegiance, or sing the national anthem or any other patriotic song, we are not giving a pledge of support for politicians or policies or laws or wars. We are recognizing the ideal on which this nation was founded, the concept of freedom, of individual liberty, which was the driving force behind everything that the founding fathers tried to accomplish. The founders were not just revolutionaries. They were students of history, of politics and of life. They recognized that, in spite of the kings of Europe, life on that continent was improving because freedom was dawning, the ideas of feudalism and dependency were dying. They recognized the power in the writing of the likes of John Locke and Adam Smith. Individual liberty and personal responsibility were sprouting and their good fruit was becoming evident. That concept of freedom is embodied in the unalienable rights described in the Declaration Of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – that to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed,…” The true purpose of government is to protect the rights of citizens to conduct their lives as they see fit. It is not to hand out goodies and favors and protection from competition. It is not to regulate the lives of the citizens to conform to someone’s idea of a good society. America is unique in the history of the world. No other country has had freedom of the individual as it’s very foundation. Our founders took the opportunity offered by History to make something new. The wisdom and foresight of those people has been proven by the test of time. The result was an incredible growth in population, prosperity, innovation and well being for all in the land of the free and the brave. For many decades, our country has been steering a new course. It is a course of massive government, high taxes and regulation, growing dependency on government, special interest groups and powerful business interests fighting for their piece of the government pie, and the constant erosion of the rights of individuals to conduct their lives as they see fit. The inevitable consequences of that change are being witnessed every day. Lower productivity, lower standards of living, unemployed people, loss of property rights, and economic stagnation. Incredible levels of government debt are putting an increasing burden on the people of this country and jeopardizing the future prosperity. The encouraging thing is that it is not too late. Freedom still works. It is working in developing countries that forsake the decades of failed socialist interventionism and adopt freedom and responsibility as the keys to the future. It is working in China, as experiments in economic freedom there are reaping incredible gains in a short period of time. The choice is getting clearer as time goes on. Freedom brings about growth and prosperity. Oppression and government intervention, taxation, regulation and control brings about stagnation and decline. It is time that America stops experimenting with the failed policies of the twentieth century and gets back on course with the principles that made us the beacon, lighting the way to a better world. When we stand to face the flag, remember the Declaration of Independence. Remember the lessons of our founding fathers. They were much wiser than they are currently given credit for. Remember that the flag still stands for freedom.
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Daniel Mclaughlin Copyright © 2006 [Daniel McLaughlin]. All rights reserved. Revised: 03/18/08

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The Flag Still Stands For Freedom

Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light? The words of the National Anthem tell a stirring tale of victory and pride that we sing in honor of the flag of this great country. But is it really the flag we are honoring, the piece of cloth with bright red and white and blue? We face the flag and put our hand over our hearts in reverence, but can a piece of cloth command reverence and pride and patriotism?

That piece of cloth is something we can touch, something we can see, but when it has the broad stripes and the bright stars, it is not just a piece of material. It becomes a symbol, a reminder, it becomes the physical manifestation of an idea and an ideal. That idea is freedom.

When we say the pledge of allegiance, or sing the national anthem or any other patriotic song, we are not giving a pledge of support for politicians or policies or laws or wars. We are recognizing the ideal on which this nation was founded, the concept of freedom, of individual liberty, which was the driving force behind everything that the founding fathers tried to accomplish.

The founders were not just revolutionaries. They were students of history, of politics and of life. They recognized that, in spite of the kings of Europe, life on that continent was improving because freedom was dawning, the ideas of feudalism and dependency were dying. They recognized the power in the writing of the likes of John Locke and Adam Smith. Individual liberty and personal responsibility were sprouting and their good fruit was becoming evident. That concept of freedom is embodied in the unalienable rights described in the Declaration Of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – that to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just Powers from the consent of the governed,…”

The true purpose of government is to protect the rights of citizens to conduct their lives as they see fit. It is not to hand out goodies and favors and protection from competition. It is not to regulate the lives of the citizens to conform to someone’s idea of a good society.

America is unique in the history of the world. No other country has had freedom of the individual as it’s very foundation. Our founders took the opportunity offered by History to make something new. The wisdom and foresight of those people has been proven by the test of time. The result was an incredible growth in population, prosperity, innovation and well being for all in the land of the free and the brave.

For many decades, our country has been steering a new course. It is a course of massive government, high taxes and regulation, growing dependency on government, special interest groups and powerful business interests fighting for their piece of the government pie, and the constant erosion of the rights of individuals to conduct their lives as they see fit.

The inevitable consequences of that change are being witnessed every day. Lower productivity, lower standards of living, unemployed people, loss of property rights, and economic stagnation. Incredible levels of government debt are putting an increasing burden on the people of this country and jeopardizing the future prosperity.

The encouraging thing is that it is not too late. Freedom still works. It is working in developing countries that forsake the decades of failed socialist interventionism and adopt freedom and responsibility as the keys to the future. It is working in China, as experiments in economic freedom there are reaping incredible gains in a short period of time.

The choice is getting clearer as time goes on. Freedom brings about growth and prosperity. Oppression and government intervention, taxation, regulation and control brings about stagnation and decline. It is time that America stops experimenting with the failed policies of the twentieth century and gets back on course with the principles that made us the beacon, lighting the way to a better world.

When we stand to face the flag, remember the Declaration of Independence. Remember the lessons of our founding fathers. They were much wiser than they are currently given credit for. Remember that the flag still stands for freedom.

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