'Government Is Best Which Governs Least'—Thoreau

Darrell Beck writes in response to a blog by Robert Krysak on Ramona Patch:

Bob Krysak’s evenhanded argument "O.K. Corral vs. Big Brother" is well taken and is a worthy challenge in the debate for big government vs. less government. Due to his experience of having lived in a big city he noted the necessity for more government as a means for survival there as opposed to living in a rural area where less government is the rule.

Last week, at our 60th Ramona High School reunion, we were discussing how everything was so much different than it is today. We vividly recalled how much more freedom we enjoyed in our youth because we had much less government to interfere in our lives. We remembered how we had to be self-sufficient, while being far removed from the busy city life, but we liked it that way. As a matter of fact, city folks considered us to be “country bumpkins.” Nevertheless, most of us agreed we were at the right place at the right time and wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.

Reminiscing, we wondered why our families decided to come to a lonely backcountry frontier called Ramona where the roads were dirt and where there were no utilities or electricity and few public facilities. We concluded that almost everyone wanted a piece of ground they could call their own and where they could farm, raise a family and be free of intrusion from the government.

Freedom from oppression and crime could by why most people leave the grime of big-cities and their corrupt big-governments. Nevertheless, despite the loathing of big government by many people, there is still an absolute need and place for some form of government. The questions are: just how much government can we afford, is the government acting within its authority and how much do we need?

When governments get so big they are feared by the people, the people must get to work and reduce their power. If they fail, the people will become subjects, not citizens. In recent years the federal government has become bloated because too many in the legislative, executive and judicial branches are not upholding their oaths to uphold the U.S. Constitution. The federal government is seizing massive powers over the people because they are making laws that are unconstitutional.

Because of the enormous growth in government and intrusion into citizens' rights, Ramona Tea’d has been active in our efforts to inform the public of this threat and begin to reduce the size of government so the people remain in charge. For more information see www.RamonaTead.com

Patch note: The quote "That government is best which governs least" is from Henry David Thoreau's work from 1849, "Civil Disobedience." Click here to learn more.