Brandan Grinwis March 2009

An Essay on Civility Friend, Patriots, and Lovers of Liberty: Those of you who know me are aware of my political leanings: politically conservative and socially liberal. To this purpose, Ive previously aligned myself with the Libertarian Party, though, admittedly, glaring inconsistencies and disputes exist. I cannot accept their isolationist foreign policy or seemingly heartless domestic social platforms. Ive reluctantly accepted these flaws, as their stance on personal liberties and Constitutional dogma, outweigh these discrepancies. Lets start with the right The Grand Old Party, the party of Lincoln and Reagan, is dead. I used to find solace in their national strength and unabashed constitutional loyalty. No longer! The past administration and subsequent nominations last year have proved they hold few values of mine. Between GWs erosion of the checks and balances through executive order and McCains pandering across the aisle, the only things we hold remotely in common (philosophically) are the core values of the Judeo-Christian faith. They have even bastardized these, using their faith as a political platform designed to dictate their values on the general population. Oh, did I mention the spending? Now the left Its too easy to criticize the J. Granholms and N. Pelosis who prove their treasonous intent every time they act. The current spending is out of control and the march to socialism quickens its pace. I believe the current actions of the left intend to further enlarge government, weaken markets, and ultimately, leave the middle class floundering, beholden to their handouts. If they accomplish these goals (the Bolshevik Revolution only took 9 months), the forgotten man will have no recourse but to accept the benevolence of government, essentially bound by the chains of a new slavery. This, coupled with the attacks on the press and other rights guaranteed by the Constitution, calls for immediate, decisive action. Lets examine this in a new light, without labels of Republican and Democrat or even left and right. First, and perhaps most difficult to define, we need to establish some sort of moral code, devoid of theology and religious doctrine. Here is the only concession necessary in the consideration of a collective good. Our founding fathers were able to embrace moral absolutes and ethical values. While most were derived from their personal relationships with the Creator, they were able to detach the framing of the Constitution from any religious doctrine. Essentially, the tragic flaw of this great document was an assumption of moral fiber. It is to this we must return. Currently the left would like our economic collapse to draw blame to the greed and corruption of Wall Street, our past administration and capitalism itself. What they neglect to mention is the depth of their involvement and investment in said system. Capitalism does tempt the weak soul to take advantage of a loosely regulated system, this cannot be disputed. Still, the demonization of its institutions in the

media only aides the progressive march. How many of us, free thinking men and women, havent questioned our financial systems integrity, even in the best of times? More regulation? The TARP funds and incessant bailouts signed into policy during the last 5 months were released without stipulation. The SEC clearly has no moral platform, who are they to investigate now that theyve ignored much worse (for the sake of their own portfolios)? The auto industry (whove doomed themselves though rampant, corrupt unionization and disgraceful R & D policies) quickly took their place in the bread line. Theyll get what they have coming, along with the banks and insurance giants who did the same. The taking of public monies for private enterprise opens them up to all sorts of regulation, manipulation and ultimately nationalization. Instead, we need to let these insolvent institutions die! While this would likely lead to more unemployment and a huge credit crunch; to dismiss the idea that from this tragedy, new banks and automakers would emerge is to dismiss mans ambition and capability. Ambition and capability These are two important precepts upon which our nation was founded and in turn flourished. Socialism will weaken them further, as it has for decades through entitlement programs. Our educational system has worked to instill a feeling of hopelessness disguised as equality and fairness in several generations now. It dismisses the concept of the individual and the individuals propensity to success. Equality is good, when it comes to opportunity. Beyond that, who dares dictate who has more ambition, talent, intellect, tenacity or even wealth? Here the collective good can only be served by allowing the individual to march to his own drum. Success is too often determined by affluence and position. This is relatively easy to attain without the restraints of moral conscience. I pose this question How can we return to a self-patrolled and morally-sound government, industrial and financial system? This certainly would be tricky, not because man is incapable, but rather, he has been conditioned to believe hes entitled to the same as his neighbor. Too often he will sacrifice his soul to attain these goals. The imposition of regulation on industry and the individual raises issues that contradict my own personal philosophy. The Laissez-Faire system of government can only profit all when those in power exert ethical restraint. Its been said that this form of unregulated government outlived itself once the frontiers of our nation were tamed. I disagree. While I admit an assumption in the initial drafting of the Constitution, I firmly believe we can return to a morally based system. The decline of our nations civility can only be halted by the brave.