Tyranny, Taxes, and Tanning

What encroaches upon liberty? What replaces liberty when liberty is lost? The answer is tyranny. Call tyranny by any other name: totalitarianism, despotism, dictatorship, oppression, and tyranny is still tyranny—the antithesis of liberty.


When government pays for a product or service for the governed it creates a nasty liberty-compromising consequence. Once government pays for something, they make whatever they paid for their business, and the people lose out on a little something called: Choice. Look at it this way; you can’t just go get a driver’s license at any Macy’s can you? No, you have to go to the one place and one place only--the dreaded DMV. This was one of the many reasons so many liberty-loving Americans were so adamantly opposed to the federal government take-over of our health care industry.

Obamacare painfully articulates the dark truth about the current administration and congressional democrats: Their agenda will trump personal freedom and liberty every time. They would much rather dictate to you how you should run your life. Of course, they think they are mandating things which are for your own good; however, as C.S. Lewis pointed out in God in the Dock, “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive”.

For a relevant example, look at the 10% tax increase on indoor tanning beds congressional democrats wrote into their health care overhaul. This is a perfect example of how they do not think you are worthy of personal freedom and liberty of choice—how you are too stupid to make personal choices on your own.

Fundamentally speaking, I can understand where their health-conscious thinking comes from. Most sane, rational people value their health, and I would go as far as to contend anyone not living in an underground cavern for the last 50 years comprehends the potential risks associated with too much exposure of UV light on their precious sensitive skin. However, if you want to lay under UV lights from time to time in order to keep others from writhing in agony every time you wear shorts or remove your shirt because their retina cant stand the white-glare you emit, you should be able to do so at your digression—without being taxed by the federal government!

Sales for non-essential luxuries are down already due to the state of the economy. Why impose an additional tax burden on businesses? Anyone who at least understands the basics of economics comprehends that raising taxes—any kind of taxes—during a recession is counterproductive to recovering from the recession. People do not go into business to hire other people; they go into business to first-and-foremost make money. Hiring people is a byproduct of making money. Only when a business makes money and needs to grow will it hire more. When businesses get taxed—when the money they work hard to generate is taken from them, when government intervenes more—they hire less, or worse still, shrink their workforce. I know it is hard for the current administration to comprehend these economic fundamentals, but what should we expect given the vast majority of them have never worked in the private sector… One of the main reasons we have not seen unemployment go down since the Obama regime took over is because they have forced themselves too deep into our GDP. We will not see unemployment go back to 4 or 5 percent until government shrinks, and that will not happen as long as democrats are in control of congress. They have been in control of congress for four years now.

Anyway, back to the tanning tax; can anyone intelligently articulate to me why it is the prerogative of the federal government to tax tanning? The aforementioned question is facetious by the way; I know exactly why they are taxing tanning. The federal government just bought our entire health care industry which means they will now legislate how we live our lives as it pertains to health (according to their agenda of course).

When will enough be enough? What exactly is too overreaching? Where is the limit? If they can basically tax our right, choice, and privilege to tan indoors, what’s next? By their logic, they should be taxing anything and everything that can be potentially hazardous to our health—just look at what they have done to the price of cigarettes. Should they line the beaches with toll booths so that those wanting to sun-bathe in the free and open air have to pay a tax to do so? Or how about eating a nice greasy fat-filled cheese burger? Why don’t we pay a federal tax to do that? Why not pay a federal tax to drive a vehicle? God knows driving is potentially hazardous to your health, and liberals love to demonize the automobile for it’s consumption of oil and vicious destruction of the environment. Why doesn’t the federal government tax or ban all sodium and sugar, and why not federally mandate that we all have to do 20 sit-up’s and jog for 20 minutes a day? I had better stop there, I am starting to sound 1984ish and some congressional democrat will read this and start thinking “Hey those are some great ideas…” Too late, it has already started. My point is: there is no limit to what they will try to control unless we the people put a stop to it and vote them out of office!

The left called us crazy when we said Obamacare will lead to rationing, but look what just happened. Obama personally appointed—no congressional hearings mind you—Donald Berwick, the unabashed socialist as head of Medicare and Medicaide, and guess what? He is in favor of rationing! He favors a government dictated “point system” which assigns points to people based upon how many times they visit a doctors office. The higher points you accrue (more doctor visits you have) the lower on the list you are placed. So in other words, my 85 year old grandpa had better not get sick or need surgery any time soon because based on the doctor visits he has had in the past 24 months, he has accrued a lot of “points”. Scary.

What is it again that replaces liberty when liberty is lost?

Tyranny.

Reflections This Independence Day

The Declaration of Independence, elegant in its composition, forthright in its annotation of Natural Law, and moving in its conviction, is an authentic American founding document as important as the Constitution itself. Abraham Lincoln referred to the Declaration of Independence as “an immortal emblem of man's humanity” and “the father of all moral principle because it incorporates a rational, nonarbitrary, moral and political standard”.

As the Declaration asserts:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The pursuit of happiness cannot be sought without liberty, and liberty cannot be had without life. Oppressed people throughout history have known this undeniable truth all too well.

To be sure, the founding fathers of our nation were an unconventional and radical lot for their time. By standing up for the laws of nature and openly opposing tyranny they marked themselves as independent thinkers, believers in liberty and natural law – the same natural law which provides certain undeniable rights for humankind.
Many of the founders were executed as traitors for their beliefs pertaining to the unalienable rights the Declaration so boldly proclaims. By signing the Declaration of Independence some founders were indeed signing their own death warrant.

So moved were the French by America’s embrace of independence and defiance of tyranny that they bestowed upon our nation one of the most iconic tributes to liberty the world has known. For 124 years the Statue of Liberty has stood, foot forward, arm raised, torch in hand as an undeniable reminder: Liberty is an American value. This torch shines its light on the land of the free and the home of the brave.

The composition of the Declaration of Independence forged for this nation an experiment never seen before in the history of humankind. To this day the American Experiment endures scrutiny and disdain from forces both domestic and foreign. Some seek to redirect, recreate, and “change” the fundamental nature and original intent of the Declaration of Independence. Further still, some even try to argue that the Constitution is a “living breathing” document up for individual interpretation.
As American citizens, we benefit from the honor, privilege, and right to maintain the integrity of our government as it was so brilliantly conceived by our forefathers. The honor of having a government of the people, by the people, and for the people comes from our duty to ensure no one President, administration, or political party or foreign power ever succeeds in bastardizing the Declaration of Independence or Constitution—that our elected officials never reach beyond the scope of limited power they are entrusted with.
This Independence Day, let us remember the Declaration of Independence and how it is still relevant today. Let us remember those that risked everything, even gave their lives, so that future generations would benefit from living in a free and independent nation. On this day, let us celebrate and revere our Independence!