The above words were spoken by Patrick Henry at Virginia’s convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution.  Of course, his ‘country’ he refers to was Virginia, not the United States.  Some of the framers of the Constitution had the idea and desire to build an empire, while many of the founders understood the problems with empire, and even democracy.  That is why republicanism (http://www.oycf.org/Perspectives/2_110299/republicanism_

and_democracy.htm) was so heavily pushed by most of our colonial forefathers.

Republicanism vs. centralization, or consolidationism, has been the on-going battle within the American union since the colonies won their independence from the British Empire.  On the one hand you have the Hamiltonians, represented by Alexander Hamilton, and followed by the likes of Henry Clay, Abraham Lincoln, and ultimately most every politician today in both the Republican and Democratic parties.  On the other hand you have the Jeffersonians, represented by Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, John C. Calhoun, the Confederates, and only a handful of politicians in the establishment parties, but widely followed in the Libertarian and Constitution Parties, as well as those in the various Southern Parties and other independents.

The Hamiltonians believed, and still do, that power should be centralized and controlled by a few, who then dictate to the masses.  The Jeffersonians believed, and still believe, that people’s lives are best attended to when they are tended by themselves, with minimal influence by government, and that devolution is the key to addressing the needs of people.  The Jeffersonian ideals have been out of favor since 1865, and only occasionally used by Republicans or Democrats to brow beat their opposition when it suits their purposes.

As I’m not a power-hungry individual, and would prefer a live-and-let-live approach to life, I naturally see myself as being in the Jeffersonian camp.  This is the camp of true republicanism.  The advantages of republicanism, as the founders envisioned it, is that each region, each state, each community can determine how best to address the issues of their time, and how they affect them personally and locally.  This is true diversity and allows for more creative thinking in addressing problems and meeting the needs and desires of people.

Consolidation is the ‘pet project’ of the Hamiltonians (who are made up of the Democratic and Republican Parties, liberal/socialist organizations and neo-cons).  The only advantage of consolidation is to the benefit of those in power.  For the average person it is nothing but a huge negative.  Consolidation ensures oppressive government that isn’t flexible enough to meet local needs.  It guarantees a one size fits all solution to ensure the widest possible dissemination of dissatisfaction across the greatest spectrum of people while wasting the largest volume of money (your tax dollars) possible.  And then some.

Some people will hate what I’m about to say, because most people hate to hear the truth when it is uncomfortable, but Ronnie and Donnie Kennedy were right on target with the title of their book ‘The South was Right!.’ (http://www.kennedytwins.com/publications.htm)   Confederate Vice-President Alexander Stevens was prophetic when he said, “The great vital question now is: shall the federal government be arrested in its progress and be brought back to original principles, or shall it be permitted to go on in its present tendencies and rapid strides until it reaches complete consolidation?”

The federal government has not been ‘arrested,’ and we have leviathan.  I’m afraid that as our republic morphs into an empire of sorts that it will collapse under its own weight.  This collapse will only be hastened by the pervading influence of political correctness, which has caused our society to become incapable of reacting to events in our land due to the rampant fear of being politically incorrect.  Jeffersonians don’t have this problem, as we know what needs to be done to ensure true liberty as well as our freedom and security.  We are simply too small a minority at this time to stop the train wreck that is coming.

However, if you like the ‘popular democracy’ (a.k.a. ‘mobocracy’) that America is morphing into, then thank a Hamiltonian.  Consolidationism may have won the day back in 1865, but it is true republicanism that will be the salvation of this once great republic.  That is if people stand up and demand it.