A Word to the Unwise, from the Unknown

The government was not created to prevent the wealthy from being wealthy. The government was not created to prevent the poor from being poor. The government was not created to prevent the stupid from being stupid. The government was created to regulate the basic structure of our nation and more so, organize our lives. It was created to ensure each citizen is doing his or her part to maintain our country. It was created to maximize personal decision-making and emphasize individuality. We find ourselves forgetting these facts when we put forth frivolous bills that are designed to control the thought process of our people.

As many fight for laws against smoking in cars we forget that the government was created to maximize personal decision-making and emphasize individuality. When we pass laws that control every-day decision-making we take away a tiny bit of the peoples’ freedom of choice. While it is understood the desire for these types of laws, we need to remember that the government was not created to prevent the stupid from being stupid. We cannot forget that as parents we make decisions that affect our children and it is up to each parent to make those decisions: we cannot make them for them. When we were children our parents chose the towns we lived in, and the schools we attended; they chose whether we would wear seatbelts in the car, helmets on our bikes, and the places we could go. They chose whether or not they would smoke in the car with us. The decisions of our parents made us who we are today. Each generation is given the opportunity to make these decisions for themselves based on the decisions made by their parents. As we continue to pass laws that are designed to prevent the stupid from being stupid, we forget that they have made these decisions and it is up to their children to make better choices in the future. We cannot reprimand adults for making (what some consider) “stupid” choices. We can however, inform them of the harm they may be causing. We can educate them, and their children, on the risks they are taking. We cannot prevent the stupid from being stupid. More so, the government cannot prevent the stupid from being stupid. Continuously it is forgotten that the government is not an all-mighty problem solver: it is made up of everyday people with everyday educations. They are no greater at making everyday decisions than we the people.

The government was not created to solve all the nations’ problems. As we continue to pass frivolous laws that attempt to control the decision-making of our people we continue to dismiss freedom and intelligence: we dismiss the necessity for the ability to choose right from wrong. The more decisions we make for our people the more we take away the ability for them to help themselves, and as we all know, God helps those who help themselves.