Be Good

Ah, I'm tired but content. The convention was certainly an experience. I also discovered that Houston is best city in all of the state of Texas, but I will have to consolidate my thoughts and words at another date to explain how I discovered this fact in an eloquent fashion; I have another scholarship I have to tend to so this will have to be short - although I might edit it later.

Of all the things I learned during the Convention one presiding philosophy takes precedence and defines my modified outlook on the Republican party; the true conservative officials of the as well as those grassroot supporters all want one simple thing which is perhaps not so easy to achieve - a good government.

Google has a motto that serves as the antithesis to the corporate legacy of corruption immortalized by scandals wrought by Enron and Worldcom; Be Good. Not do good, but be good. I'm not calling for a good government that doesn't do anything but I'm recognizing that the best way to complete an action in a competent fashion is to be good at it. If the government is dysfunctional to begin with it is nearly impossible for it to provide the people with the services it was designed to distribute amongst the people. Being good at what you do is a preresquite for creating good things. If one reads the writings of Aristotle and other philosophers concerning what is "good" in the aspect of actions, then you find the same sentiment being echoed. FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina is a prime example of what happens when the government is not focused on being good but just on doing; bureaucratic fallout hinders real progress from being achieved and precious lives can be lost.

The government too often tries to do everything and the Democrats seem to believe that having the government do everything for the citizens of America is a healthy proposition. As a conservative, I'm proud to say that I don't want the government to be involved in every iota of my life. This doesn't mean that the government doesn't have a place in our lives; we need border security, we need national security, we need equal protection under the laws (at times, federal law must intercede in order to make certain that this occurs when state law fails; Truman's response to the Little Rock Nine incident for example), we need government intervention in the financial sector at times as well.

However, the Democrats have a disheveled view; to them, the government must tell us that we must all have healthcare and have ours provided by the government. Healthcare is important, but it is the belief that we must be forced to do so that worries me. A competent and compassionate government does not mean an inflated government that believes it knows better than the people who allow it to exist.

From Micheal Williams to Dale Wainwright, to Mike Huckabee to Kay Bailey Hutchinson, this is the principle of republicanism I sensed; that as American individuals we have control over our destinies and the right to be protected by our government not dogged or harrassed by it. We have the right to demand that our government be good and not be so focused on doing good in a self-righteous fashion. Government must be chained by the good sense of the people so it does not run amok.

As George Washington stated, government is like fire; I'll admit to not remembering the full quote exactly, but I remember reading it and coming to the conclusion that government can be both an asset and a detriment to our liberties. We cannot bow to the siren song of larger government - we must instead confront issues like social security and healthcare with a pragmatic view, one which doesn't answer each and every problem with a new department of the government or, for conservatives, leaving it up to the market to fix in some occassions. One of the biggest examples to me is social security, which will be bankrupt and yet Democrats wish to cash the check and are disturbed when the President tries to find a solution in lieu of a better option. It's as if they prefer inaction to action if they don't come up with the idea.

It's quite perplexing.