Mark West
March 8, 2008
The "big" bad word
By Mark West

"On the other hand, big government, which so many liberals adore, represents a usurpation of the allegedly inalienable rights of individuals." — Burt Prelutsky

Watching the big game a month ago gave me a chance to see history, and see it I would. I would either see the culmination of the greatest season in NFL history or the sport's greatest upset. Why do you think they call it the big game? Various reasons apply from the game's importance this season to its place in all of sports history. The same goes for the big day. You know what day I'm talking about and why it is so important. If you don't, just look at your left hand. Either you've got a ring or you don't. If you do, you know it. If you don't, you know it. That's why it's called the big day.

I watch my own children use this word to describe things that have massive size. Of course, from their perspective, a lot of things tend to be pretty "big." Whether it is a toy or a plate of food, my children tend to throw that word around at everything.

Unfortunately, in some circles of national politics, big is given a negative connotation. How long has it been since you heard a speech on the evils of what is called big oil or big business? While I do agree that not everything that the oil companies and businesses in our nation do are right, I don't agree that they are evil simply because they are big.

This is why Burt Prelutsky's article titled, A 12 Step Program for Liberals stood out to me. The above quote is from Step #7 of his 12 step program. NOTE: I have both mentioned Mr. Prelutsky's name and linked to his article. I also requested his permission to do so in this article that is intended to be an expansion on his writing. We conservatives try to rise above the plariaristic tendencies of our liberal counterparts.

Big is not and should not be a vulgar and pejorative reference to successful companies. If it weren't for their success the unemployment rate would be much higher than the 4.8% it is as of February 2008. Whenever a liberal wants to denigrate an entity in America they use the simple adjective...big!

That seems to apply across the board. Liberals hate successful business! Why? Because such disprove and delegitimize their reason for existence. Think about it this way, what better way to destroy a philosophy that prides itself on the perception that people cannot succeed without their help than to highlight the individual successes that exist in successful business!

Let me explain...most major business in our country begins with an individual or group of individuals who take an idea and a huge chance, step out on their own and build an organization from the ground up. Liberalism believes such is impossible without its own big government taxation, regulation, and subsidization.

This unveils the liberal mindset. The only thing the liberal calls big in a good sense is the government. If the government can expand, the liberal is happy. Liberals are excited about the opportunity of being the biggest business entity in our country. Liberals want more of your money to spend however they want. Liberals believe that you aren't qualified to properly spend your own money, but they are!

Big government sucks the success right out of our economy. It does so by rewarding sloth and punishing success. The more money you make the higher your tax rate. This means you pay more taxes and a larger percentage of the total tax load. Just take a look at this chart and compare the percentage of taxes paid by those in the top 1% of income earners versus that of the other categories. People earning less than $31K pay just over 3% of total taxes.

I think what it boils down to is envy. Liberals seem to envy the aggressive entrepreneurship that is at the heart of our economy. They want the success that stems from business building without the effort it takes to create it. It's lazy! I guess that is why they want to share that wealth with their lazy legions.

Lazy liberal legions hinder economic success in our nation. They use Robin Hood (actual voodoo) economics to stifle business growth. The bigger the government gets, the smaller your freedom becomes. Big government and individual freedom cannot coexist. Government grows at your expense. How much more freedom are you willing to surrender before you say that enough is enough? How much more tax money will it require for big government to fix every ill in our nation? Honestly, probably a lot more than you are willing to pay.

Big government isn't like the big game. Well, it is only in the sense that a lot is on the line. Let's make history and turn the government back the other way. Remember the principle: Bigger government, smaller individual freedom. Smaller government, bigger individual freedom.

Let's make big government the big, bad word.

© Mark West

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Mark West

Mark West is Corporate Office Manager for Mechanical Construction Services, Inc., in Newark, Arkansas, and serves in an evangelistic preaching ministry. He is a devoted husband to his wife Kristy and father of three children. As a political analyst, he devotes his writing and speaking to the social and financial impact of public policy. Mark is a member of the Constitution Party, serving in public relations for Arkansas.

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