It just doesn’t add up. For four years we’ve heard the cries during Trump’s presidency. Authoritarian. Fascist. Totalitarian rule. Trump has to be guilty of all of the above. Orange man bad.

But if this were true, I would expect that this type of governance would result in a noticeable increase in the powers of government. That just hasn’t happened. The Trump administration may have failed miserably when it came to spending less money, but they did an admirable job of reducing the scope and regulations of the Federal Government.

Overreach of power within the branches of government? Yes, somewhat. Trump functioned much like his predecessor, with an “up yours” attitude toward the opposing party (toward both those in government and those in public). Obama just did it with more finesse.

So where are we now? With Joe Biden seemingly ready to take over the presidency, the strangest things are happening. Many of those who cried out against excessive presidential power are suddenly licking their chops at the prospect or surrendering ridiculous amounts of power over to the government.

Hey, let’s let the government completely take over health care (Medicaire For All).

Hey let’s let the government take over higher education (student loan forgiveness and free college…..for some, of course).

Hey, even though we called Trump an illegitimate president for four years, yelled of Russian interference, and thought the 2016 election was rigged, we don’t want anyone to question the 2020 results. Let’s collude with media and big tech to silence dissent. Free speech is overrated.

Hey, even though free market capitalism has proven to be the greatest path toward lifting massive amounts of people out of poverty, let’s pretend like government planning is a better path toward a strong economy. How about a $15/hour minimum wage during a pandemic when businesses are failing all around.

Hey, even though I’m the mayor in a huge mass of people yelling through a bullhorn to celebrate the victory over the bad orange man, you people need to not have visitors over for the holidays from other households.

Why? I guess people tend to get huffy about being governed by someone they don’t like. I get it. Trump is hard to like. But it doesn’t explain why someone would suddenly be willing to be RULED by someone they do like. Yeah, that’s right…….RULED.

Why? The allure of free stuff. If I’m struggling to afford medical care, I can’t turn down free. If I’m making $10/hour, $15 is going to sound great. If I owe $100,000 in student loans, debt forgiveness sounds pretty appealing. It’s hard to turn those prospects down. They all sound really good. But what sounds good often isn’t what is best. And following the path of what sounds good often ignores future consequences.

Beyond the questions of how much will these things cost and who will pay, there are other more pressing questions to consider:

-Is this really the role of government? If so, then we’ve reached the peak of voting money out of other people’s pockets into our own.

-How much liberty are we willing to sacrifice to get what we want? Once it’s handed over to government, it may be difficult to get back. Government programs tend to last forever, no matter how destructive they are.

Regardless of what we may have been led to believe, rich people do not get rich at the expense of poor people.

But the government does gain power at the expense of the people. Some people are willing to give up increments of liberty in order to have the government provide for them things that they need. Others are not.

Most institutions in the USA today are left-leaning or left-dominated (media, big tech, woke big business, public education, higher education, Hollywood, and celebrities in general). That’s a powerful wealth of influence. What’s the direction and results of that influence? Bigger government, more favorable views on socialism, hostility toward religion, and the undervaluing of liberty, personal responsibility, and the importance of traditional family units.

What institutions stand firm in opposition to this shift?

-The Church

-The nuclear family (a mom and a dad raising children together)

-Private enterprise

Big government and far left political positions tend to attack all three of these institutions consistently. Why? Because they are filled with people who refuse to surrender power to “The State”. Filled with people who value liberty, personal responsibility, freedom of speech, and freedom of religion. Opportunity over arranged results.

So pay close attention, my friends. Any push towards socialism or Marxism or even BLM teachings is a push toward giving up to “The State” things that should not be given to the state.