"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."
- Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, following the attack on Pearl Harbor

BRTP Members:

By a sneak attack vote in the middle of the night last night, Congress has past the last real hurtle to put health care  - and for the first time in our nation, your life - under their control.  They call it "reform", but it is not the reform they promised the hard-working American people, nor the reform the American people want or need.  It is not reform we can even afford.

Why do we wait for someone else to stand up for what we know is right? In a nation, where speaking your mind is protected by our founding documents, so many Americans wait for someone else to stand up for them. Have we become so apathetic as to not defend ourselves? The paralysis that comes across an individual’s face at the mere mention of politics should strike fear in the heart of all freedom loving people. We have a duty to question the actions of our government and we have become derelict in that responsibility.

The time to nominate a Supreme Court Justice is at hand and the media has begun to forecast the winner of the latest political horse race. The talking heads are focused on the gender and race of each possible nominee. My Great Grandmother’s generation broke the societal norm and fought for women’s suffrage. My Grandmother was one of the first female Marines. My mother burned her bra in a statement of sexual liberty. Now my generation will happily accept promotions and political nominations based on our gender? If a woman was denied a position because of her gender, the outrage would be heard from coast to coast. Promote a woman to fill a quota and all is well. I do not want special treatment as a woman. 

“It were contrary to feeling & indeed ridiculous to suppose that a man had less right in himself than one of his neighbors or indeed all of them put together. This would be slavery & not that liberty which the bill of rights has made inviolable and for the preservation of which our government has been charged. Nothing could so completely divest us of that liberty as the establishment of the opinion that the state has a perpetual right to the services of all it's members.”
-Thomas Jefferson 1782

What percentage of my labor must the state claim prior to my designation as an indentured servant? In the interest of public good, the federal government adopted the policy of sharing the products of one man’s labor with the less fortunate. The new policies contorted the definition of “the general welfare” and exceeded the constitutional limits of the Federal Government . The intentions of the politicians are noble, because suffering is unacceptable in America. Despite the intentions, the results are contrary to our founding principles of liberty and equality.

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Why is profit a dirty word? When did the phrase “record profit” come to be a slanderous accusation? On the micro scale, as my paycheck increases so does the amount I contribute to the federal coffers. A larger percentage and sum of my hard-earned money is then distributed by the government to those in need. My achievement feeds families, vaccinates children, funds our military, Mexican abortions, climate research and protects some California tit mouse. My desire for a bigger television, larger house and a real car produce good effects across the nation. So why is my ambition seen as evil? Why is the desire to earn more reviled? Why must I have a deep social concern for every action I take? Is it not enough to provide well for those I love and allow the government to handle the less fortunate? With the new administration any effort of mine would seem frivolous with the promise of sea level reduction and world peace.

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The Preamble to our Constitution begins with three simple words, four syllables, two pronouns and an article:

We the people…

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and other “rebels” risked life and limb to secure the blessing of freedom we call liberty. Under cover of darkness, Thomas Paine’s Crisis Papers were pressed, one sheet at a time. Our progenitors began with a simple idea, a government for the people by the people.
These great men began the grandest experiment known to man, Democracy. Over two hundred years after the first shots were fired in the Revolutionary War, we have become apathetic and disengaged. We go about our daily lives; unconcerned and uninvolved in the political change that constantly re-shapes our lives. Americans now fill their role in the experiment as test subjects rather than researchers. Despite years of experience, the most crucial aspect of the equation was forgotten:

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With every promise a politicians makes, there is a hidden undertone of disbelief. Those in charge do believe that we are capable of making our own decisions. They do not understand that we are willing to create our own destiny, our own jobs, our own prosperity and our own nation. We do not need a big brother keeping us on track and saving us from ourselves. The administration has lamented that the American dream is becoming unattainable, but I argue that American dream can never be obtained. The American dream is not stagnant and is not a single objective. It is not finite or tangible. The dream is different for each American and changes as each milestone is met. Our desire to do more, faster and better is what has made this country great. The pursuit is the American dream. Our ability to follow our heart where ever it may lead is the hallmark of a free people.

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“Fear is the foundation of most governments; but it is so sordid and brutal a passion, and renders men in whose breasts it predominates so stupid and miserable, that Americans will not be likely to approve of any political institution which is founded on it.”
-John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776

Fear never results in action, but often creates the lack there of. People do not express political views in fear of what others may think. For years, I feared that my friends would discover my true political inclinations. I would sit quietly when the conversation turned to politics or current affairs. I let fear paralysis my speech in a country where free speech is protected. My opinions may not always be popular, but they are mine and mine alone.

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