In a Nutshell…

One of my articles, “DPS/PSB Locksmith License – Follow Up” ( link provided in title bar ), appeared in this week’s Carnival of Principled Government , hosted by Dana of Principled Discovery. While reading articles submitted by others, along with the comment sections, I was humbled by some of the great ideas that were shared knowing that in order to grow it’s important to hang around with folks who exhibit those qualities which you hope to acquire.

One important line of thought which I found in this, the 8th Carnival of Principle Government’s short collection, was Dana’s piece,
Freedom: An Ancient Custom of Rights and Responsibilities , another thought provoking article complete with several interesting comments. (I promise to eventually get close to the target topic of “In a Nutshell”) A history of our language is offered as pertain to the words “Freedom” and “Liberty”; which at times seem to be in opposition, at least in their original context as their roots in the Germanic and Latin are explained.

“In this sense of the word, our freedom is an inherent birthright which cannot be taken away by men. It, however, stems from our belonging to a group of free people governed by law. Our connection to one another is as important as our rights.”

Dana has a complex set of thoughts expressed in a succinct and yet easily misunderstood choice of words. I’ll use as my example, “inherent birthright”, a topic which I found worthy of discussing with other bloggers in an open forum some time back. I found the barriers of a common language to be the source of variance in how something eternal in nature, man’s inherent rights which come from God, our being made in His image; had been relegated to a lesser and seemingly finite issue, a natural occurrence which could be attributed without acknowledging God’s hand in it.

The use of words and the assumption that we all understand each word and combination of words the same; that we fail so miserably to communicate our thoughts through language “skills”; (how’s that for an oxymoron?) may stem from the time of the Tower of Babel. Confusion fell upon man when he attempted to “build an edifice which would reach Heaven”. Man’s over confidence, arrogance and pride without regard for humility and obedience to God’s laws brought us the many languages and our inability to communicate effectively; that fate would seem to hold true regardless of a supposed “common language” such as English.

Government, a mechanism which has been invented by men to provide a means of sustaining some semblance of order, has the nasty habit of growing far beyond any intended good which it might provide. Invariably government’s tenuous balance between righteous dominion and excessive control is tipped in favor of excessive control; the loss is permanent and not reversible as history has shown.

One of the comments to Dana’s article could easily have “flown under the radar” and the wisdom offered be missed by those who need it the most, our elected and appointed government officials. Unfortunately I may never learn who to give credit since the comment was posted “anonymously”.

A reference was made and attributed to a character out of history, Davy Crockett. (I think I convinced my folks that I needed a coon skin cap after watching the original black and white television shows. “Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier. . .”, my head bobbing like a fool as the tune plays inside my head) In spite of the whimsical portrayals in television and films, I’ve found a more important aspect of Davy Crockett, a substantial respect for the Constitution which he exhibited with calculated reverence.

Speaking as an elected member of congress when asked to pass legislation which would honor a deserving diseased person Davy Crocket reminded his fellow legislators, “We have the right, as individuals to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity, but as members of Congress we have no right to so appropriate a dollar of the public money.” I should probably post the entire comment; but if you are interested all you need do is check the comment section of Dana’s article.

The extensive debt which our country holds is the result of our legislators ignoring this one simple truth; how many other simple truths have been ignored, overlooked or intentionally pushed aside? The Carnival of Principle Government is only one of the forums which provide a review of important aspects of being a free people, a country where Rights, Liberty and the notion that responsible law abiding citizens carefully scrutinize the actions of their government.