Charlotte Tea Party Headquarters

Of course, Jefferson had his contradictions. All humans do. The Louisiana Purchase, although a shrewd buy, conflicted with his views on enumerated federal powers. His ownership of slaves contrasted with his personal view of slavery. Writing in Notes on the State of Virginia (1781) he called slavery a “great political and moral evil.” Even so, Thomas Jefferson’s insights on 18th Century liberty and tyranny remain a relevant lesson for modern society.

Americans may indeed respect Jefferson’s memory. But how many of us would respect his views on government? How many of our countrymen understand the nature of tyranny? Does 21st Century America comprehend power’s intoxicating affect on both individuals--such as presidents--and groups, such as Congress? Jefferson knew the matter well.

Commenting on British abuses prior to the Revolution he wrote, “History has informed us that bodies of men as well as individuals are susceptible of the spirit of tyranny.” Does it sound like Jefferson was describing our political situation? I should think so.

If our eyes were as sharp and our minds as keen as Jefferson’s we’d have noticed our nation’s slow and steady decline toward collectivism long before now. It didn’t begin with bailouts for banks, insurers and automakers. It didn’t begin with a president who essentially commandeered a private company (General Motors) and fired its CEO (Rick Wagoner) while claiming that government has no desire to control the auto business.

American liberty has gently eroded over the course of the last 75 years. The slide has spanned administrations from both major political parties, encountering only a few brief detours along the way. All the while we were opposing the Soviet Union we were incrementally adopting similar collectivist policies.

Jefferson recognized that singular usurpations of liberty would arise periodically, prompted by erroneous and temporary trends. Yet a methodical march from one tyranny to the next (such as we’ve experienced), “pursued unalterably thro’ every change of ministers, too plainly prove a deliberate, systematical plan of reducing us to slavery.”

I hate to sound conspiratorial, but Jefferson’s warning is undeniably prophetic.

That’s not to label all law as tyranny; nothing could be farther from the truth. Certain laws are indispensable in pursuing a more perfect union. As contradictory as it sounds rules are established so liberty can flourish. A society must adopt law in order to restrain and punish those few citizens who would deny their neighbor’s freedom, and to reflect the character of the citizenry. Does our law stop at these purposes, or has it extended far beyond its legitimate boundaries?

Jefferson realized the value of law. Yet he also recognized that man’s morality served as a superior restraint. Law is a pound of cure whereas morality is an ounce of prevention. When deciding between the excessive and despotic laws of European monarchies and the unwritten, human conscience law of the American Indians, Jefferson preferred the latter.

The moral: excessive law denies liberty just as sure as too little law fails to protect it.

We have descended to our current state from having lost sight of the principles that Jefferson long ago outlined. If we are to protect our selves, and future generations, from the predictable culmination of our government’s excess we must paraphrase and practice one of Jefferson’s most memorable and radical statements: The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the votes of patriots and the seats of tyrants.

Read more from Anthony W. Hager at TheRightSlant.com, http://www.therightslant.com/