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Jewish World Review June 11, 2013/ 3 Tamuz, 5773 When government can't be trusted By Cal Thomas
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Without the slightest hint of irony, President Obama said last week, "If people can't trust not only the executive branch but also don't trust Yes we are, because more and more of us don't trust government. In fact, according to the What has led to this distrust? The Benghazi cover-up, the The federal government long ago exceeded its constitutional boundaries. It has reached into our public schools, our colleges and universities, our wombs, our wallets;
A loss of some privacy was supposed to be the price we had to pay for security following 9-11. President Obama declared the war against terrorism over, but the surveillance expanded. Now, it seems there are more cameras out there then there are cicadas. The president claims, "Nobody is listening to your telephone calls." But the government has the ability to listen. When I was a kid, some of my relatives had party line telephones. People shared the same phone line, but were assigned different numbers of rings so you'd know which call was yours. My cousins and I eavesdropped on other people's conversations. Will the federal government now take listening in to a new level? We have an "on the one hand, but on the other hand" attitude about security. On the one hand we want to be safe; on the other hand we don't like government intruding on our rights because once we've lost them, they will be difficult to regain. The notion that we should trust government is foolish and dangerous. Government officials, like all human beings, have the capacity to do wrong, as well as right. That's why the Founders gave us a Constitution, to control government that "the blessings of liberty" might be secured.
Here's some history for those who missed it in history class: "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution ... are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite." -- "Freedom is lost gradually from an uninterested, uninformed, and uninvolved people." -- On this 64th anniversary of the publication of George Orwell's novel, "1984," uninterested, uninformed and uninvolved Americans should consider his concocted language called "Newspeak," which includes: "War is peace; freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength." President Obama is speaking in "Newspeak" when he says government can be trusted. Government cannot be trusted. We -- and he -- must trust the Constitution.
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JWR contributor Cal Thomas is co-author with Bob Beckel, a liberal Democratic Party strategist, of "Common Ground: How to Stop the Partisan War That is Destroying America". Comment by clicking here.
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