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« Back to Opinion & Analysis
Back to Basics
Steven F. Hotze, M.D.
January 17, 2008
It is election time and promises are flying through the air. The people are lifting their open hands toward the candidates who pledge to fill them with goodies. It's like having Halloween and Christmas all rolled into one holiday which lasts over a year.
People don't seem to be able to solve their problems so they turn to the federal or state government. Is your economic welfare really dependant upon civil government? Don't we have the major responsibility for determining the course of our lives? Are the words "self-reliance" and "personal responsibility" out of date?
In his first inaugural address, Ronald Reagan stated "the government is not the solution to our problems." He was speaking of civil government, more specifically the federal government which had increased its power and authority over the lives of every day citizens. Reagan was right. Civil government cannot solve our problems and shouldn't be expected to.
The civil government did not invent the light bulb, car, television, telephone, printing machine, cellular phone or the computer. These, and thousands of other inventions, rose from the innovative desires of self governing individuals who took risks and ultimately changed the course of history.
Think of the dramatic changes Bill Gates has made in the lives of every American. His vision was an affordable personal computer in every home and his entrepreneurial leadership made this happen. Amazingly, it was accomplished without any blue ribbon governmental commission, bureaucrats or federal dollars. Yet it has led to enormous efficiencies which have dramatically increased our nation's productivity in every industry. This in turn has improved the quality of life and created wealth for every American.
It is the free market capitalistic system that allowed Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Bill Gates and others to improve our lives through their inventions and their businesses. Each man practiced the principle of self government. They wrote out their goals, knew what they wanted to accomplish and took charge without holding out their hands for government aid.
Reagan was right: civil government is the least important of all government institutions. But we do need good government at the more important levels. To govern is to control, direct or influence behavior or conduct. Who can do that better than yourself?
The 1824 Webster Dictionary defined government much differently than we define it today. The order of definitions was as follows: 1) self control; self government, 2) family government, 3) church government, 4) institutional government (such a schools or businesses), and finally 5) civil government. When the other governmental entities functional properly, then there is not a need for an all encompassing civil government presence. That is why our founding fathers promoted a limited role for civil government.
The current Webster dictionary mentions moral conduct or behavior as a definition of government but notes that this definition is obsolete.
It is high time we get back to basics by governing our own behavior and stop depending on Washington to take care of us.
About Conservative Republicans of Texas
Steven F. Hotze, M.D. is president of Conservative Republicans of Texas and founder of Hotze Health & Wellness Center in Houston, Texas.
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