Motivation

  Is America changing? Well of course it is. Everything changes over time. Isn't that the basis of evolution? The hope is always the changes are for the better. In nature that always means survival. An adaptation to the physical world. With governments, that isn't always the case. In fact, historically speaking, governments rarely evolve into anything better that survives. Many scholars have written about that. The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire is probably the best known of those works. Rome didn't begin as a republic, it began as a Kingdom. The romans overthrew the king and formed the republic which lasted for 450 years until it was replaced by the Roman Empire. That's when they had emperors. That surely didn't work out well in the end. 

 I shake my head as I listen to many people today wanting to change our republic into something else. A socialist state seems to be leading the pack of possible alternatives. Changes that would destroy the republic. I hear the argument that the constitution is a living instrument and should be changed, it should evolve with the times. I'd argue that it has done just that with the addition of amendments. Most notably the first ten and those concerning civil rights. Other amendments were added to favor the government itself, rather than the people. But that is a discussion for the scholars. It must be remembered that the core principles remain the same. All men are created equal, an ongoing process that continues to this day. Equality doesn't mean any one group gets the advantage over the others! The freedom to speak out and address the government when you feel wronged. That's because you are the government, not those elected to represent you. 

 When I was in grade school we did say the pledge of allegiance in the morning. It included this phrase," and to the republic for which it stands" it did not say to the democracy. You hear a lot about democracy these days, our democracy. Yeah well our form of democracy is a Republic! If history teaches us anything at all it is that we must never let our Republic decline into a democracy. Aristotle stated that plainly enough and we should heed that warning and advice. Democracies decline into despotism. It's something the Democrats like to say about Trump, that he is becoming a despot. Last I knew the legislative and judicial branches of the republic were still in full effect. That's the way the republic was designed. 

 Aristotle also said. "Happiness belongs to the self sufficient." That is exactly what the United States should be, self sufficient. Some call that isolationism. I think of it as independence. Now I enjoy getting help when I need it, I like getting goods or services that I don't have as much as anyone else. I just don't want to be dependent upon them! There's a big difference between what you want and what you need. The purpose of government isn't to provide those needs, it is prevent others from denying your ability to acquire them. That is what true freedom is. Dependence upon government is not freedom. In fact, dependence is the surrender of freedom. Dependence is what will create the necessary circumstance for a despot to gain control. When government controls your means of production, your means to provide for yourself, you become dependent upon that government. Government should be the tool that ensures your freedom, not the shackles that restrict you! 

 Motivation does not change the objective. We hear an awful lot about motivations these days. We hear about why the pilgrims came to this land, why all the others followed over the years. We hear about the search for freedom, the American dream. Yes, the American dream and just what is that dream? Freedom from government oppression. Independence! Give me liberty or give me death! What is liberty? Freedom, that's what the word means. Freedom from restrictions imposed by government. 

 Liberty to the founding fathers began with ensuring individual liberties and is dependent upon civic virtue. What is civic virtue? Their conception of that was based in Christian beliefs. Virtue and morality go hand in hand. Virtue morality is not dependent upon words written in a book, ie: the Bible, Quran or Torah, which is why we have that separation of church and state. Rather it is based on just being a good person. The whole treat otters as you wish to be treated philosophy. Charity begins at home, not in the halls of government. 

 Is America changing? You bet it is and not for the better. It is not going to be a sustainable future when the population becomes dependent upon government. It really is as Margaret Thatcher pointed out, you will run out of others peoples money. She was talking about socialism. Socialism, a system that says everything should be controlled by the community (government). The hippies in the 1960's America tried that method, calling them communes. Communes, socialists, communists, all the same philosophy. no liberty for you! Those communes all collapsed. Disheartened and disillusioned the hippies just went back home. I wonder where will we all go if the Republic collapses? We must remain vigilant! 

 Our survival depends upon our motivation. What controls our motivations? Our individual moral and ethical values. What was it that Aristotle said? Happiness belongs to the self sufficient. Are you really self sufficient when you are willing to abandon all civic virtue for personal gain? Remember the Republic can only exist when the citizens of that Republic exercise sound moral and ethical values. In short, be good people. Being a good person does not involve forcing others to provide for your wants and needs. The purpose of government is not to provide charity, it is to govern the actions of those that would not act in a moral and ethical fashion. That is the purpose of government, the rule of law. 

 What is the motivation for you to be a good person? For the religious it may be eternal life. It may be just having a sense of purpose. It could be popularity, the desire to be seen as a good person. Whatever the motivation may be, it involves a reward of some type. Seems to me it depends upon just how soon you want that reward. Urgency often leads to bad decisions. I don't have any real sense of purpose here, I'm just a tiny piece in the big picture. A single pixel. Whatever reward I receive, I will have earned, that's my feeling about that. What motivates me? Not sure about that, but I have to keep going to find out I suppose. Curiosity is a good motivator. I have observed this much, "emotions are great motivators but seldom good guides" Stay calm folks.