Moving forward, looking back

In trying times of self or country most find solace in looking to the past for answers. I challenge America to not only look to the past but also consider the future in today's troubled times. Alexander Hamilton, when lamenting his thoughts on government, wrote in the Continentalist, "too much power leads to despotism, too little leads to anarchism, and both eventually to the ruin of the people." We as Americans have come once again to a crossroads in our history where we will decide if we have the courage and fortitude to do as past generations have done and maintain that delicate balance. It seems there are many who are all too eager to upset that balance and trade our precious liberty for the false promise of economic security provided by the government. We should be very leery of these calls, for history has shown that liberty and this form of economic security never have nor ever shall walk hand in hand. Liberty by nature allows risk for those willing to take it and in return doles out rewards and sometimes failures. Although the failures may serve hardship they are also a teacher that makes us try harder and succeed even greater. This is the true spirit of the American way. If this spirit becomes eroded under the guise of security and failure is never allowed to follow its proper course we deny future generations the liberty and freedom to take risks and be rewarded justly, instead we have relegated them to mediocrity.

When our children and grandchildren face hard times of their own they will look back at our generation. They will ask themselves if we held true to the principles of the republic that were bestowed upon us by our founding fathers or if in the name of security and out of our own selfishness to avoid any hardship we forfeited our liberty and ensnared them in the shackles of economic servitude.

David Schaffrath

Round Lake Park