To Whom Do You Give Thanks?

Fall is without a doubt my preferred season and November is definitely one of my favorite months, primarily because it seems that people exhibit far more of an attitude of thankfulness than during any other time of the year. Along with my absolute gratitude for all that God has provided, I venture to guess that some of us are more than a little thankful that another election season of road signs, phone polling, and negative advertising is ending. We’ll soon learn if those who are either returned to office or newly elected at all levels of governing will be serious about addressing the current crises that face us.

As the threat of looming debt and spending, unsecured borders, and fear of pandemic disease increases daily, I still want to believe that this current election cycle has resulted in providing some true public servants who see the dangers we all face. We certainly have more than an adequate supply of politicians playing insider games to further their political careers while ignoring these serious threats to our national security, as well as far too many advocating legislation that drives our nation deeper into a labyrinth of oppressive big government.

While recently listening to Mark Levin, my favorite conservative, once again make the case for a smaller and more limited government by giving examples of how our powerful centralized government fails its citizens, a question emerged for our nation that we must address.

Why do we keep looking to government to solve the problems that big government creates?

Our federal government has become so incredibly large that we cannot possibly name all of the bureaus or departments we’ve allowed elected officials to create. Most are now agencies without a sunset provision, existing into perpetuity, and we really have no idea as to their total cost or effectiveness.

If departments are ineffective or unsuccessful in their purpose, we’re told it’s only because they need more money. Only in the world of government are unproductive ventures rewarded with budget increases, and only in government is a reduction in the amount of increased spending considered a cut in spending. It’s not the way to successfully manage a household budget and it’s painfully obvious that it’s a dangerous path in managing government.

Levin’s examples included the fact that when the government says it’s going to end poverty, we end up with more poverty. When government says it’s going to expand education opportunities, it expands illiteracy. When government says it’s going to feed children in school lunch programs, it sends children home hungry. And now that government says it’s going to expand health care, well, you get the picture.

Too many have bought into the lie that big government can do a better job of managing our lives than we can individually, and the worship of government has created a dependency culture that is leading us down a dangerous road that threatens our freedoms and sovereignty as a nation.

How very apropos at this point in time are the words spoken by President Ronald Reagan at his 1981 Inaugural Address: “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Unfortunately, there are too many elected on both sides of the political aisle who want us to believe that Washington, D.C. can solve all our ills if only we put our trust in them. While understanding that words are increasingly cheap during elections, I remain hopeful that there will be some true public servants that emerge from this political cycle. There may be only a small remnant of statesmen who place our state and nation ahead of political careers, but working for their election is crucial and why we must stay involved to continue the fight for limited government.

As we enter into this glorious Thanksgiving season, my humble prayer is that as a nation we take an honest assessment of just who or what we are worshipping. If government is your answer – be careful – idolatry never ends well.

Marcia Chambliss is the Alabama State Coordinator of Smart Girl Politics, a 501(c) (3) non-profit dedicated to the education and training of activists and candidates, and Smart Girl Politics Action, http://sgpaction.com/, a 501(c) (4) which focuses on conservative issues. She can be reached at: Marcia@sgpaction.com. Her views do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Smart Girl Politics Action.