Founding Fathers knew best

Government is necessary. Big government is not. Like our Founding Fathers, many of us believe that the proper role of government is to do only those things that people cannot do for themselves.

Today many have come to consider government as a foe, rather than a friend. America’s government rose out of a glorious vision of freedom, opportunity and individual liberty. But it has increasingly become too unwieldy, unresponsive and unaccountable. Even so, too many people consider more government the cure for all that ails us. Many good, well-intentioned people go to the state capitol in Columbia or the national capitol in Washington D.C. and get tangled in the web of special-interest money, lobbyists and bureaucracies. America has strayed far from its founding ideals of government. The Founding Fathers would be deeply concerned.

Our founders envisioned a form of government of limited powers. As Thomas Jefferson said, “that government is best which governs least.” We honored that ideal for many generations.

Those seeking evidence that we’ve abandoned that ideal need look only at Congress’ massive spending, bailout and “stimulus” bills, which will expand government, empty our wallets and permanently shift resources from the private sector to the public sector.

Americans soon will observe Presidents’ Day, a holiday celebrating presidents past. Officially named “Washington’s Birthday,” the holiday originally marked the birth date of George Washington, and was later expanded to honor Abraham Lincoln as well. But perhaps this Presidents’ Day, we could use the occasion to honor the wisdom of all our Founding Fathers and their bold and revolutionary vision for America. We’re at a pivotal time in our nation’s history -- a time of economic crisis and monumental challenge. As we ponder our nation’s future, where we stand, where we need to go and how we get there, perhaps we’ll find new wisdom in those words by Thomas Jefferson, who believed government should limit itself to doing only those things we cannot do individually.

“Government exists to protect us from each other,“ Ronald Reagan once said. “Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.” As a young Republican volunteer in the early 80s, I remember well how Reagan revived our national spirit and transformed our government from one that was consuming our prosperity to one that got out of the way of folks who produce prosperity and create jobs. Reagan knew as our Founding Fathers did -- that government should get out of the way and let the most industrious, ingenious and enterprising people in the world build an ever-improving nation rich in freedom, opportunity and success.

It is our responsibility as citizens to insist that our elected leaders rein in all levels of government so that future generations will be blessed with the same opportunities to succeed that so many of us were blessed with. Unless we return to the original principles on which our nation was founded, that opportunity might not be there for future generations including our own children and grandchildren.