The first comment that I received here was on the first comment that I posted on this site, and it asked this question: "Are you sure you want to keep that username?"
The person who asked is a kind person and had good intentions. She was warning me that I'd probably get a bad reaction from a lot of people because many Republicans have used "limited government" as though it means a specific type and size of government that matches their views.
Well, I'm taking the meaning of "limited government" back from that small group of people.
"Limited government" is not some in the GOP's idea of "small government"; it is a form of government in which only necessary intervention in the lives of citizens is allowed by law, and in which careful processes are created in order to allow the people to determine what is necessary. It stands in contrast to arbitrary governance - like that by many kings, dictators, and oligarchs.
The U.S. Constitution was created to establish the United States Government as a limited one in which only certain powers were available and future powers had to be added by the will of the people. Our constitution also put limits on the branches of our government, so that one would not dominate. Most importantly, the document was drawn up in an attempt to make it more likely that no minority or majority group could dominate the rest.
Many people - Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Third Partiers, and apathetics have forgotten what "limited government" originally meant. I'm making this post to remind them - and to build a coalition of those who want to honor the limited government foundations of our country.
If you believe that Executive power has gotten out of control, that Congress no longer is set up as a body for deliberation, or that the Judiciary has become a political body rather than a check on the other powers, then you might be a supporter of limited government.
If you believe that we should have supreme rules about the fundamental equality of all people, that local governments should be the seat of the majority of legislation, and that we need to re-create the old concept of the public square, then you might be a supporter of limited government.
If you just plain think that there's something wrong with the way that our government functions, think that people at some level of government or another are taking illegal actions, or believe that laws have become too complex to sort through, then you might be a supporter of limited government.
To put things in perspective, here's the preamble to our US Constitution.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
My views after the jump.
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