Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Partisanship Is a Natural Effect of Big Government

Our nation is divided along many lines. The biggest is between the Democrats and the Republicans. People from all backgrounds bemoan the partisanship which has gripped the nation and has Wisconsin in the turmoil of a gubernatorial recall election.

However, few can see that they are the ultimate source of such hostile politics. They never consider that what everyone is bickering about is the use of a governmental power of some sort. The electorate, the lobbyists and the politicians are all fighting over how to use government force upon their neighbor. The way the force is applied is by demanding action from your neighbors or demanding their cash. Often, it is a combination of both. It should be clear that this is the source of partisanship for when force is used upon someone they will resist it.

When you force your neighbor to do something he does not wish to do, you make them your slave. When you demand their cash, you are robbing them. There can be no surprise whatsoever that such activity will incite an extremely vigorous defense. Often, your victim will turn about and use government force in much the same manner against you. This will only lead to continued escalation and it has done so for years. Government gets bigger as the force is applied in new ways. Eventually, every area of your life is under the domain of the government (your neighbors). Bitter partisanship is a direct consequence of big government. I will argue they are directly correlated and bigger government can only bring more intense partisanship. If people truly love big government, then they must learn to love the partisanship. You cannot have one without the other.

It is time to reverse course and bring civility back to our society. The diagnosis has been made, now for the prescription. It is very simple. We demand the removal of government force from as many areas of our lives as possible. When people are no longer using government to force each other to do things against their will, they will find that your lives will be far less politicized. Everyone must accept government is not the best solution for every problem and work with each other in voluntary cooperation.  Without all the bickering over how and when government should be involved in their lives,  people may determine they actually like each other and can live together in peace.

Big government breeds partisanship and hostility. Limited government offers little to argue over and provides the best opportunity for social tranquility. Let's all choose limited government.

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