In the final essay of The Crisis, I address a letter to our posterity. How will they view our efforts against the slouch toward socialism and slavery to an out-of-control federal government?
by Michael Naragon
VI
TO OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN:
I write this to you on June 27, 2009, hoping this letter finds you well. I hope this letter also finds you free, as the inheritors of Liberty and Freedom which you will be entrusted to pass on to your posterity. So it has been since 1776, and so it will be, by God’s grace, for generations to come.
If you enjoy Freedom from an oppressive government, then it appears as though my generation managed to accomplish its mission. At the time of my writing, the situation looks bleak. So bleak, in fact, that I am reminded of the words attributed to General Ferdinand Foch, “Ma droite est enfoncée, ma gauche cède–tout va bien–j’attaque!” In case your French is rusty, it is translated, “My right gives way, my left yields–everything goes well–I attack!”
In many ways, our situation in the United States resembles that which faced General Foch at the Marne. Enemies surround us, both external and internal. The North Koreans have threatened our annihilation. Many in the Muslim world seek to destroy both the United States and Israel. Our own president, sadly, refuses to support the Israeli government with any degree of conviction. Europe is beginning a move to the right, a reaction against years of socialism, but Britain finds itself in dire economic difficulty, having nearly bankrupted herself with welfare, including a nationalized health care system that has forced their government to make decisions about who lives and dies.
In America, we have our own share of problems. Our president, Barack Obama, appears bent on spending us into extinction. Our national debt is nearly $11.4 trillion, and it grows by $3.7 billion every day. Of course, if my generation has not been successful in returning the nation to a Constitutional focus, those numbers may not seem large to you. In 2009, however, that’s a lot of money. So much, in fact, that the chances are remote that we will ever pay it off. If it were going to happen, the people we sent to Congress would have to commit themselves to balancing the budget. Our politicians have no interest in real fiscal responsibility. They have already spent your money and look for more, all in the interest of expanding government’s control, in the interest of breaking away from their Constitutionally defined limits.
The politicians, like Mr. Obama, are not overt in their designs. They spend billions here, billions there, all in the name of helping us. AIG is too important to fail. General Motors must not go bankrupt. 50 million people in America do not have health insurance and must be protected. Our environment must be saved. There is, to the political class, a worthy cause for every trillion dollars spent, and, all the while, we continue our death spiral to insolvency.
Surely, you are asking why we continued to support such a government. Why did we not elect new leaders? Hopefully, in your time, you can still participate in actual free elections. I wish I could produce a better answer for you to explain why. Why did we allow our government to get to such a state? It has been a slow process. The federal government has expanded its role since Reconstruction–do schools still teach about the War Between the States in your time? Under Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt, Washington’s power increased a hundred fold. Programs like Social Security were created to turn the federal government from a distant defender to a seemingly benevolent parent looking to spoil its children. Once the American people accepted the idea of intrusive government–and they accepted it because of the difficulties of the Depression–it became easy to accept increasing degrees of government control. Lyndon Johnson introduced nationalized medical insurance for the aged that quickly turned into nationalized medical insurance for millions more. Jimmy Carter gave away the Panama Canal, betrayed the Iranian government, and worked with terrorists. As the Cold War came to a close, the nation’s deficit snowballed with little resistance. George W. Bush introduced the Patriot Act, allowing the government to subvert the Constitution in the interest of combating domestic terrorism. And then Mr. Obama took office.
Our generation could be labeled as apathetic, but, in our defense, prosperity breeds apathy. And we have woken from our deep sleep. In February 2009, a few thousand patriots gathered across the country to protest the government’s reckless spending. In April, on Tax Day, millions assembled for the same reason. Hopefully, in your time, there is still only one Tax Day. Or, if my generation has been wildly successful, you have none. In July, those Americans who still believe in the Constitution and love the United States will gather once again, symbolically on Independence Day. The news media, in most cases, have done their best to minimize the movement. One comedian claimed we were racists who opposed Mr. Obama simply because he was black. Other news personnel have used graphic sexual language when they referred to us. Unconcerned with such antics, our movement grows. Where it will end is simply a matter of our resolve, which I doubt not.
You have me at a disadvantage–you know the outcome of the narrative. I can only see the end of the tunnel as a distant pinprick of light. You are, I hope, bathed in its luminescent glory. I will not ask the question of our success or failure. We have no other option but success. If we have managed to turn the tide and to restore our nation to its Constitutional principles, thank your God and His Providence. Live your lives knowing they have been bought with a price. Christ died for your eternal soul. Millions of Americans have died for the Freedom to believe so. The best thanks you could give them is to pass on this Republic, this America, to your own children and grandchildren with its principles intact and its way sure. May God bless your efforts.
