The Unlucky 436!!

Isn’t it a shame State Legislatures can’t hold “General Sessions” more often? But then again what type of elected body needs multiple opportunities when looking to “over-kill” the legislative minds of a given constituency? But when have you ever heard of, let alone experienced, a State or Federal legislature that was really all that genuinely interested, let alone concerned, about the impending short and long term needs of a given population? And the Utah State Legislature is no exception.

Having just recently passed a total of 436 “new” legislative measures, the Utah State Legislature has officially made its annual contribution to of all things….decreased political inclusion. By not catering to a society already plagued by the overwhelming forces of political division and economic hardship, the Utah State Legislature, instead chose to focus on the concept of never-ending expansion, and with it the unremitting realization often associated with government generated and enforced regulatory intrusion.

This tax based means of state enablement becomes even more tragic when you consider it takes even more time, money, and yes regulation in order to sufficiently put into practice the regulatory controls deemed necessary when looking to properly attain expected outcomes and/or results. But then again, in a country whereby the merits of one’s political aspirations have come to outweigh the validity of one’s realistic scope of proper implementation, who’s to concern themselves with cyclical antics and unequivocal disregard? Umm, something tells me this isn’t exactly what the founders had in mind when they instituted a federalist system of localized problem solving, which when paired with the US constitution, produced a unifying force of constitutionally infused collectivism.

So what are we to make of this political craftiness? And how are those affected by its confining grasp supposed to interpret this blatant abuse of legislative authority? Well for starters I believe it:

· Greatly Reduces political interest and involvement. The sheer size and complexity associated with most if not all of our governmental entities is simply too much. Now days those responsible to act and participate within the confines of American democracy too often find themselves either overwhelmed or fundamentally misinformed by a system they see as being any thing but responsive and practical. Thus, it is largely believed that in order for one to demonstrate sensible political inclusion one must either be a full-time member of the systems exclusive class, or an over engaged, politically enthused, self proclaimed pundit.

· Severely Increases governmental dependence at the expense of personal duty. Upon returning from his studious adventure into the very fabric of American Democracy, the famed political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville, observed in 1840 this aboriginal flaw inherently woven into its very political make-up.

“The American future is an innumerable multitude of men, all equal and alike, incessantly endeavoring to procure the petty and paltry pleasures with which they glut their lives. Government becomes the parent, as “it provides for their security, foresees and supplies their necessities, facilitates their pleasures, manages their principal concerns, directs their industry, regulates the descent of property, and subdivides their inheritances: what remains, but to spare them all the care of thinking and all the trouble of living? Such a power does not destroy, but it prevents existence; it does not tyrannize, but it compresses, enervates, extinguishes, and stupefies a people, till each nation is reduced to nothing better than a flock of timid and industrious animals, of which the government is the shepherd.”

Enough said!!

· Overextends the original intent of democratic self-governance. By continuously enlarging the scope of state and/or federal authority, modern day politicians find themselves at the helm of today’s political control tower. In doing so, and for reasons of sustained elect-ability, they have willingly risked the founding principles of self-governance, personal freedom, collective independence, and individual happiness. And looked to replace them with an institutionalized, largely dysfunctional system, based upon dwindling levels of personal action, accountability, responsibility, and above all sovereignty. Which leads me to recall the day’s of Henry Thoreau’s poignant charge of how “people should not permit government to overrule”. Because it is widely believed that efficiency and effectiveness are not marked by government overextension, but rather in the esteemed belief that a government governs best when it governs least.

While it remains to be seen what affect if any the latest Utah “general session” will have upon the everyday lives of those living under its reign, one thing is all but certain. The American political landscape, built upon the founding principles of democratic - republicanism is in series jeopardy. By enacting another 436 law-binding measures, Utah state lawmakers like other local, state, or federally elected officials, find themselves on the wrong side of constitutionally established precedents. And in doing so, wound up being victimized by the very master in whom President Washington foresaw when he stated that a “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.”