Individual Responsibility

I am a Constitutional Conservative, a term I have applied to myself to let others know that I believe in a literal and historical translation of the United States Constitution (I hope the name is not being used by some left-wing, commie, tofu-eating crowd.) I believe that our Founding Fathers got it close enough to perfect when they crafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution along with the Bill of Rights. I strongly believe in a limited Federal Government as demanded by the 9th and 10th Amendments. I believe that we naturally have the rights stated in the Constitution, and they are not a gift or allowance from the Government, and as such, cannot be regulated, suppressed or denied by the Government.

I believe that the controlling principle of the Constitution is individual responsibility. I have the right to free speech. I have the right to protect myself. I have the unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I do not have the right to healthcare. I do not have the right to home ownership. I do not have the right to a job. I do not have the right to injure you in order to advance myself. And I do not have the right to take your possessions or your money, even if they are taken from you by the government and then given to me. I am responsible for myself. I will thrive and prosper, or wither and die, based on what I do with what I create, what I grow, what I earn, and what I save. I do not have the right to what you create, what you grow, what you earn, or what you save. Your things are not mine. They are yours, whether good or bad. We are all responsible for ourselves.

I do believe in love and charity. Some say these are the same thing. I say that love is the intangible goodness that we can give to others, while charity is the tangible. True love and charity are gifts that people willingly and freely give to others of their choosing, without asking for anything in return. It is not government's place to give love or charity, for the only way government can give is to first take, always asking for something in return.