There is an Aesop fable concerning a woodman who entered the forest seeking permission from the trees to take material to make an axe handle. The leader of the trees promptly agreed to this seemingly modest request and provided the woodman with a young ash sapling. Using this sapling, the woodman crafted the axe handle he needed. Immediately afterward, he began cutting down the finest trees in the forest. Upon realizing how their gift was being used, the trees lamented, “We are finished, but we have only ourselves to blame. Our small concession has cost us dearly. Had we not sacrificed the rights of the ash sapling, we might have remained standing for generations.”
As America prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary, the nation will be filled with exciting festivals, lively parades, educational initiatives, and museum exhibits designed to remind us of our journey since our founding. These events might even reveal new insights into our country’s history. We’ll come together for picnics and festivities, celebrating as if it were 1776. However, as citizens, we may have lost touch with the lessons and ideals from our early days. Many people today assume that being modern or more sophisticated means we have surpassed the wisdom of those who came before us.
The real reason to celebrate this occasion is to remind ourselves that for the first time in history, our founders established a country based on the moral principle of safeguarding individual rights. Built on reason and the concept of equal, natural rights for all people, this idea was enshrined in our First Amendment. This amendment prohibits laws establishing religion or preventing its free practice, and it ensures freedom of speech, the press, peaceful assembly, and the right to petition the government for grievances.
As sovereign citizens, it is important for us to exercise restraint, assert ourselves appropriately, develop civic knowledge, and remain self-reliant in the principles grounded in mutual trust and respect for the rule of law. When those holding elected office or bureaucratic positions resort to force and coercion by creating a false sense of necessity and infringing on citizens’ rights, it can result in a type of socialism that ultimately leads to the problematic consequences of misinterpreted altruism.
Many Americans continue to make sacrifices for misguided causes and reasons. While this may seem harsh, it’s an important point to raise. The government shouldn’t use its authority to address every problem or need that arises—whether it relates to education, healthcare, transportation, housing, or finances. Government should focus on a limited set of responsibilities as outlined by our federal and state constitutions. Other needs ought to be addressed through individual effort, nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, and civic or charitable associations.
Americans are recognized for their generosity. Multiple factors contribute to this, with a primary one being a strong sense of community and care for others. Adam McCann, a financial writer for WalletHub, notes that Colorado ranks as the sixth most generous state regarding charitable contributions. Voluntary giving is widely regarded as a commendable act. However, when financial contributions are mandated through referenda or government action resulting in compulsory redistribution, this form of “enforced generosity” can pose challenges for low and middle-income individuals, working families, and the elderly.
The United States is a nation built with legal immigrants participating and assimilating in the pursuit of their happiness, with each generation arriving in search of a better life. As the country developed, newcomers were expected to adopt American customs and have a respect for the law, while still honoring and celebrating their own cultural backgrounds as part of their American identity. More recently, however, some people and politicians have taken actions that undermine our civic and moral values by forcibly providing essentials like income, healthcare, education, and housing at others’ expense. This kind of misplaced generosity is ultimately harmful.
As we mark our nation’s semi quincentennial, it’s worthwhile exploring our founding documents, which are easily accessible and free to download from many sources. Take some time to read the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the Northwest Ordinance, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. By examining and understanding these pivotal works you can gain insight into the protection of rights, the limited use of taxation, and minimal government spending as significant milestones in our country’s history up until the aftermath of the Civil War.
The Progressive Era ushered in a different mindset of government providing a want from need. This is directly the cause of our problems today with big government and big social safety net programs like those created by FDR’s New Deal, The Great Society and Civil Rights legislation of the 1960’s, and today’s Green New Deal encapsulated in Karl Marx’s vision for a just and equitable society, emphasizing the distribution of resources based on individual needs rather than individual rights.
We should be proud to honor the freedoms that have helped us thrive as Americans. Thanks to our appreciation of basic truths, we’ve gained an invaluable gift: the understanding that protecting individual rights is most important. Generosity can be a virtue. But, taking the fruits of one’s labor by using force to gain generosity is coercion whether it be from onerous taxation, fees, or referendum.
Freedom must never be given up, whether for security or immediate needs, nor for fleeting reasons or misguided generosity that causes harm to us. By remaining prudent, we can thrive. However, if our commitment to liberty and protecting individual rights wanes, both we and the Western world risk disappearing. Let’s not sacrifice the ash sapling of Liberty.
