How can I explain so that you understand?

A recent post on this blog attracted a decent amount of traffic from those of a more liberal persuasion than the authors of this blog. Their comments indicated a fundamental misunderstanding of the roots of our discontent with government. I have long wished to find a way to explain to people who would characterize what we say here as "so much hatred, ignorance and misinformation" what we are really all about. I don't know if it's possible, but I've decided to give it a shot.

The most fundamental thing that needs to be understood is that we believe, quite strictly and rigidly, that the founding documents of this nation are the supreme and universal law of the land. This nation was founded with a limited federal government - intended to be the weakest level of government, subservient to the states. The primary purpose of that government was to provide for the security of the nation as a whole by training and maintaining military forces. The federal government was to serve as a mediator in the event of disagreements between the states. It was never intended to be an all-powerful ruling class with the power to confiscate the fruits of the labor of the people. The founders never intended for there to be Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs. They never could have envisioned a federal government as bloated and overbearing as that which we are forced to serve today.

We oppose this gargantuan ruling body, and have for decades. We want to put the federal government back in its place. This is not a new desire that was born last November 4th or January 20th...it did not originate with Barack Obama or the Democratic controlled 111th Congress. We have been accused of not complaining when George Bush was in the White House. This is a provably false accusation. I, personally, began blogging on May 7, 2006, and my first blog was an open letter to the Congress in which I excoriated the then Republican controlled legislative body for overstepping their prescribed role and utterly failing the people they were elected to represent. Even that was nowhere near the beginning of my disgust with our government. As a teenager in the 1970's I railed against the form our government was increasingly assuming. This is not a new anger for me or my fellow bloggers, and it is not partisan. Though I am still a registered Republican, I feel no loyalty to that party and vote for the person I believe best understands the role of government as it was intended to be in our Constitution.

Over the coming days and weeks, I intend to expound on a variety of subjects and explain my views on each in greater detail. My ability to explain those views, however, depends on my ability to make this initial point. I am not a Republican operative or party hack. I am not uninformed, or narrowly informed - I spend every free moment educating myself through a vast array of news sources, foreign and domestic, public, private and military. I would be willing to bet a thousand dollars that you do not know anyone who spends more time researching both sides of issues, scanning news sources, watching and listening to news and opinion programs, than do I. My family and friends would certainly vouch for that - they chide me frequently because I am no fun, spending nearly all my time absorbing information and very little having fun. I do this because I believe that I have a responsibility to understand my world to the absolute best of my ability and to do what I can to advance the cause of liberty for all of mankind. You do not have to agree with my views, but you should be aware that I am not just an opinionated hack - I'm a very well informed opinionated hack.

I sincerely welcome your comments and disagreements, but ask that they be as civil as the writings on the main blog post. We do not moderate comments here, but will delete any that we feel are inappropriate and, if a pattern of hateful behavior develops, reserve the right to begin moderating at any time. We are interested in dialog, and welcome opposing views, but this is a privately operated enterprise, unlike our government, and is ultimately our kingdom over which we have supreme control. Hate speech will not be tolerated, in any form.

I hope you will join me, and actively contribute when you feel I've missed a point or am getting something wrong. Who knows...maybe, working together, we can find some common ground and make the world a better place.