I smell a rat...

Such was Patrick Henry's observation when the Federalists (really, centrists) began pushing for a revision to the Articles of Confederation. He uttered these words after declining an invitation to represent his state at a Constitutional Convention, to draw up a new agreement between the states, The U.S. Constitution.

When I was kid I didn't really pay much attention to politics. Playing with my friends, dreaming of being an astronaut or a submarine commander occupied more than a little of my time. I remember family skirmishes between democrat and republican factions of my family, but for the most part it was low key (or kept from me so as to appear low key).

As I grew older I began to learn more about the history of the country and also of the rest of the world. It became clear that our country was not as descibed in history books or classes and, in fact, took on the aspects of many of our enemies. I turned toward libertarianism. I believed in the Constitution and felt that if government could just be made to obey its clear restraints, all would be well with the nation. And therein lies the rub,...restraint of government. The centralization of power is exactly what Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson feared most. In fact, they, and a few others made such a convincing argument about it that the result was the The Bill of Rights. Without it, the Constitution would never have been ratified.

I still support libertarianism as a rule, but no longer believe the system can be fixed within itself. It is too corrupt and too far gone to save. The only solution is a new, fresh start. I don't know if it will be by a constitution or by Articles of Confederation or a gentlemans agreement to abide by the Zero Aggression Principle. But, it will be based in liberty, and it will have the results of the first great experiment to draw from.

Ol' Patrick Henry would be horribly surprised to see how much the rat has grown. The Bill of Rights is dead. And we are now cursed with a living, growing, constitutional government, without restraint.

Is it Clarie Wolfe time yet???