A Tale For Two Cities

It has become quite clear to me that the people of this nation are dividing into two distinct camps. One group wants the federal government to control and regulate everything; wages, salaries and profits while providing everything from health care to food to housing to transportation to education and beyond. The other camp wants exactly the opposite. "Don't tread on me!" They want the federal government to do no more than is expressly authorized in the Constitution. Period. The first group doesn't even know what the Constitution is, have never read it, couldn't find a copy if their life depended on it. And they don't give a rip. To them the nation is the federal government and the federal government is the nation. Some dusty old scrap of paper written by racist, slave-owning rich white men over two hundred years ago has no relevance for their lives. Constraints upon the power and size of the federal government seem strange and ridiculous to them. They don't understand all of the fuss about "States' Rights" and can't quite grasp why some states allow things and others don't. To them this whole business of dividing the country up into different states with different rules and laws makes no sense; it confuses them. I believe that many of them really believe that the states are merely administrative subdivisions of the federal government, that they in essence work for the federal government much like counties are subdivisions of state governments. This first group doesn't understand why anyone would want to limit the scope and power of the federal government. Why, isn't that just limiting what it can give you and do for you? This is what decades of pathetic (intentional or unintentional?) education of our children in the areas of American history, heritage, economics and government has led us. Sadly, far too many people have no idea how or why this nation came to be. They have no concept of what is required for successful self-government. They do not understand how wealth is created or exactly what money is and where it comes from. The relationship between business and labor and capital completely eludes them. This first camp is the 'entitlement at any cost' camp. They willingly surrender all of their freedom, liberty and wealth to the federal government in exchange for a guarantee (now that's rich) of security and provision (however meager) for their entire lives. They wind up with no control or responsibility for what happens to them. Like lemmings over the cliff. As the old saw says, the man who surrenders freedom in exchange for security will have neither. The federal leviathan will never look after their personal best interests as well as they would. They become assimilated into a huge amorphous mass of people, leading dull and boring lives simply serving the beast. That may be existence but it is not living.
Some in the press say that we are more divided now that during our Civil War time. While I don't foresee another civil war, I do believe that we as a nation must decide if we intend to remain the constitutional republic we were founded to be and commit to following the Constitution. Or do we make a deliberate decision to jettison our constitutional moorings and launch out into the darkness with no map or compass, destined to become like the failed socialist societies of Europe? I certainly hope not. It does seem to me that time is short and we freedom-loving remnants have a very tight window in which to reclaim our national freedom and liberty and greatness or risk irretrievably losing them forever. It is time for bold action!