“Marijuana is a gateway drug.”
“Marriage is between one man, one woman.”
“Bars, strip clubs, casinos and cigarette companies should pay higher taxes.”
All of the above are examples of “affirmative-action” statements. That is, they are statements that deal not with individual rights and justice, but instead, deal with society as a whole. The well-meaning misguided who make these statements are concerned with what is called “the greater good.”
And what is so wrong with that? After all, the Bible calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves and the Constitution speaks of the “general welfare.” Shouldn’t we, as good citizens, be concerned about our community? Of course.
The danger is when we begin to legislate ways to create the society we envision — Prohibition anyone? Walking an old lady across the street is admirable, but how many of us would point a gun at someone’s head and force him to take her hand?
Government “affirmative action” is that gun.
To further illustrate this point, it’s important to understand what government is. Government is force. It is nothing more than group of individuals with designated powers created to protect us from the school-yard bullies. More eloquently put, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
It follows that the only just usage of government (force) against our fellow man is a negative one; after an individual has infringed upon our natural rights. Using government as a positive and preemptive tool is not only dangerous, it’s wrong.
Government rightly only has the power to do what we as individuals already have the right to do.
Jessica Schreindl was Opinion Page editor for The Chart, Missouri Southern State University’s newspaper. Her blog, “Redheaded Politics” can be read on the Globe’s Web site, www.joplinglobe.com.
