Tantrums of Government

"The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."
-- Thomas Jefferson (Notes on the State of Virginia, Query 17, 1782)

Oh how intelligent and sensible our founding fathers truly were! And when I read a quote like this, it reminds me how much foresight they possessed. I struggle to try and understand how a minority as small as one person can change the lives of millions of people just by claiming that they have been injured, when no physical harm has come to them. A child, in it's immaturity, will run crying to it's mother at the slightest afront, hoping that she will punish the "bully". When the parent complies out of desparation to stop the tantrum, the child is empowered and has learned that this manipulation will bring the desired results. A monster has been created.

I have learned, and I hope I have taught my children, that Consequences are the greatest teacher. Although they sometimes cause us pain, they bring us the greatest self-respect and maturity. It is the consequences of our wise choices that empower us to create something better, and the consequences of our poor choices that make us wiser and smarter. Those who cry "bully" and require someone else to spare them the consequences will win temporarily, but they and their generations will always be the load society must carry. They will continue to make the same mistakes over and over again, until eventually, they will make an error so drastic that no one can save them...not even the government. We will all suffer along the way.

Today most of our government representatives, and I use the term loosely, are those grown immature children that want everything and have learned that they can get what they want by placing the blame on someone else. They have claimed immunity from the consequences of their own actions by diverting the attention to others, then throwing tantrums so that the focus will be turned away from their own poor choices. This is my generation and I am ashamed for them all, but although they have picked my pocket, they have not yet broken my leg.