Tuesday, September 24, 2013

A question for our elected representatives: Do you intend to live our lives for us?

I'd like to ask a few questions of my Missouri Senators, Roy Blunt & Claire McCaskill, similar to a short series of questions I asked a year ago.

"It's so much easier to pass judgment on a man than on an idea"
Sen. Cruz quoting from The Fountainhead
The questions start off simple enough: Do you expect to live your own life? It's a simple question. The answer to which determines whether or not you are an American, or are Anti-American

Too harsh? Too bad. Do you expect to be able to live your own life? Don't worry, there remains plenty of room within a 'yes' answer for us to find innumerable areas to disagree upon, but upon this one question, all further communication depends.

Do you expect to be able to live your own life?

If yes, then welcome to the club, the club which is populated with a subset of those living in America, who actually are Americans. Whether or not they were born here, or what their background was, or their skin color, religion, race is, I really don't give a damn about any of that. But how they answer that question, that is everything to me.

Now, if you do expect to be able to live your own life, doesn't that require that you be at liberty to make your own choices in and for your own life? Do you somehow also believe that you are able, capable, entitled, to make choices for how other people will have to live their own lives?... while still expecting to be free to live your own life?

s such a view compatible with equal Rights for all?
Is such a view compatible with equality under the law?
Is such a view compatible with any form of logical thought at all?

Have you considered this? Seriously, have you? Have you considered what it means to want to force others to comply with your wishes, while somehow being left free from their desire to force you to comply with their wishes?

They only way to do such a thing, is to abandon the Rule of Law, in favor of the turbulent Rule of Men using power to pursue their passions. The only way to do such a thing is to abandon Principles in general, and the principles that America was founded upon, in particular, trading what is Right and Wrong, for what some proclaim to be 'for the greater good!' - even yours, regardless of what you might choose as being good for you.

Don't bother criticizing me, try criticizing the idea behind it: Do you have the right to live your own life? Or not? Answer the question.

It is all well and good to want to see that every American has their health care needs met. Who doesn't? It is a laudable sentiment. One which, according to the left (and a great many willing accomplices on the Right), a majority of Americans agree with  (really?). But answer me this - is there any reason why you and your majority, can't associate together, to provide low cost health care to those who are in need of it?

Is there some level of efficiency which you feel 200+ new governmental bureaucracies, are going to contribute to providing your service, that you, focused upon your cause, couldn't provide yourself?

What is it? And why has Congress, the Unions and every corporation with any political power to speak of, sought an exemption from it?

You don't want to answer that, do you? What is it that the govt brings to the issue, other than the ability to compel, to force, through the IRS, everyone else to conform to your wishes, for living their life?

Do you really expect to be free to deprive others of their freedom? How long do you expect to remain one of the privileged 'others' and separate from the imposed upon 'we'?

Another question: Do you have such a low opinion of your fellow Americans, that you believe that the vast majority of them would not be favorable to your project, and would not contribute some measure of time, effort and money, towards your efforts to aid your fellow Americans?

Think of the unprecedented outpouring of donations to help victims of worldwide disasters in Japan, Indonesia, Haiti, Katrina, 911... why would you think your fellow Americans would be so stingy towards your efforts to help those in need right here, in your neighborhood?

What does that say about your allegedly 'good intentions'?

One last question, a rhetorical one borrowed from Thomas Sowell, how is it that you believe me greedy, mean spirited, etc, in wanting to remain free to make my own decisions and spend my money myself... and yet you don't find it greedy, mean spirited, etc, for you to want to take my money from me and deprive me of my liberty to make my own decisions about living my own life?

I would dearly love an answer to these questions.

And here's another question for our elected representatives, that I would dearly love an answer to:

Do you believe you were elected to represent people who wanted to live their own lives, or people who want you to live their lives for them? Do you believe that standing up for our right to live our own lives, is somehow a support for anarchy?

Sen. Blunt, Sen. McCaskill, do you intend to stand with Sen.'s Cruz, Lee, Paul & Rubio, to block the ObamaCare law which forces us to handle our healthcare according to how others insist we do? Or are you going to allow this law to deprive us all of our ability to live our own lives as we choose to?

To my fellow Americans, do you intend to sit back and allow your representatives to represent you as if you were their pets? Or will you, at the very least, call them, email them, Tweet them, that you expect something more American of their votes?

Really? Well I live in Missouri, so Show Me:

Lamar Alexander (R-TN) -- (202) 224-4944
Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) -- (202) 224-3324
John Barrasso (R-WY) -- (202) 224-6441
Roy Blunt (R-MO) -- (202) 224-5721
John Boozman (R-AR) -- (202) 224-4843
Richard Burr (R-NC) -- (202) 224-3154
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) -- (202) 224-3521
Jeff Chiesa (R-NJ) -- (202) 224-3224
Dan Coats (R-IN) -- (202) 224-5623
Tom Coburn (R-OK) -- (202) 224-5754
Thad Cochran (R-MS) -- (202) 224-5054
Susan Collins (R-ME) -- (202) 224-2523
Bob Corker (R-TN) -- (202) 224-3344
John Cornyn (R-TX) -- (202) 224-2934
Mike Crapo (R-ID) -- (202) 224-6142
Mike Enzi (R-WY) -- (202) 224-3424
Deb Fischer (R-NE) -- (202) 224-6551
Jeff Flake (R-AZ) -- (202) 224-4521
Lindsey Graham (R-SC) -- (202) 224-5972
Chuck Grassley (R-IA) -- (202) 224-3744
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) -- (202) 224-5251
Dean Heller (R-NV) -- (202) 224-6244
John Hoeven (R-ND) -- (202) 224-2551
Jim Inhofe (R-OK) -- (202) 224-4721
Johnny Isakson (R-GA) -- (202) 224-3643
Mike Johanns (R-NE) -- (202) 224-4224
Ron Johnson (R-WI) -- (202) 224-5323
Mark Kirk (R-IL) -- (202) 224-2854
John McCain (R-AZ) -- (202) 224-2235
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) -- (202) 224-2541
Jerry Moran (R-KS) -- (202) 224-6521
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) -- (202) 224-6665
Rand Paul (R-KY) -- (202) 224-4343
Rob Portman (R-OH) -- (202) 224-3353
Jim Risch (R-ID) -- (202) 224-2752
Pat Roberts (R-KS) -- (202) 224-4774
Marco Rubio (R-FL) -- (202) 224-3041
Tim Scott (R-SC) -- (202) 224-6121
Jeff Sessions (R-AL) -- (202) 224-4124
Richard Shelby (R-AL) -- (202) 224-5744
John Thune (R-SD) -- (202) 224-2321
Pat Toomey (R-PA) -- (202) 224-4254
David Vitter (R-LA) -- (202) 224-4623
Roger Wicker (R-MS) -- (202) 224-6253

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