All of our current political issues boil down to one question: What is the role of government?

It is the persistent and instructive Locke vs. Rousseau question: Do our rights come from God and celebrate the individual, or do they come from the State and celebrate the group? Locke argued the former, formidably. Rousseau argued the latter, with brilliant intellect.

However, speaking as one who does not have a Mensa-level IQ and cannot safely navigate a simple calculus problem, I nonetheless am smart enough to know that government should  play a limited role,  that solutions should be sought from family and  all corners of the community prior to government ordinance.

 In short, government should always be a last resort and  never a reflexive first response.

Think of how stark this current administration stands in relation to such a concept. In every attempt to solve a problem, the Obama administration has offered only Big Government solutions, without so much as a nod to the pioneering spirit that launched this nation and allowed it to prevail  and prosper. This administration never considers how the landscape of free markets or the nature of communities has, repeatedly, satisfied the problems they endeavor to leave to Bi9 Government.

Indeed, they oddly hold suspect the attributes and underpinnings that have made the United States a beacon of freedom in a world of dictatorships and subjection.

One might assume that the argument against big government would be obvious and not require such  intellectual effort in a day when individual states are going bankrupt and where our  government must now humbly request funding from countries who, at best, are a ‘distraction’ to human rights.

It is challenging to remind people of history and how we arrived at  our current situation. In matters of governance it is instructive to remember that all powers granted to the federal government originally came from the states.  Yet today is seems that states are punished if they do not follow the mandates laid down by the ‘thoughtful’ leaders in D.C.

 Is that what The Founders intended?

Today we are witnessing a massive expansion of the federal government, often conducted through the execution of  arcane laws which have been broadly misinterpreted and in spite of an overwhelmingly disapproving electorate.

When have you seen the current administration encourage,  or even acknowledge,  the brilliant role small business plays in our economy?

If one presupposes that “the bigger the government the smaller the citizen” (Dennis Prager) is true, then our collective voices ring more silent with the passage of each new and massive federal mandate.

So again I ask,  what should the role of government be? Should the individual concede to the group? If so what does that mean for personal liberty and freedom?

Democracy and free markets are an  American hallmark. With a nod to the professorial class, we are a “Representative Republic”, with an active electorate, yes, yes.  Describe it however you wish.  But consider that today, those nations which have a positive GDP are those which have embraced capitalism, even as we shrink from the mere mention of it. Throughout the world, leaders of countries whose economies are growing  have more in common with Reagan than Stalin. Socialism is so very 20th century.

But here in the United States, where it all started, we are regressing. At the helm is a President, a novice to governing,  who believes we are what is wrong in the world.

Expect taxes to increase, liberties to decrease and the further diminution of the individual.

If you believe that the role of government is to provide for a subsistent and safe life for all citizens, so be it. But be warned that such “cradle to grave” thinking renders tepid the dreams of inventors, obviates the entrepreneurs and provides roadblocks to all who dare pursue their dreams.

If you choose government as a solution, be warned that a brave new world is neither.

Until 2012.