What Is Important About Sovereign States?

Column 2017-8 (3/13/17)

       When the Revolutionary War ended, the colonies didn't
automatically become one nation.  Each colony became an independent,
sovereign nation.  The leaders of the new nations realized that alone in
the world each would have a difficult time.

     The new nations banded together under The Articles of
Confederation.  Each nation retained its sovereignty, except for a few
matters delegated to the government of the federation.  The present US
Constitution was born when the convention called to propose
amendments to the Articles of Confederation instead drafted the
Constitution.

     The Constitution didn't end the sovereignty of the member
nations.  The Bill of Rights was added to make it clear that the states
and their citizens weren't to be ruled by the federal government but to
be served by it.  Over time, particularly at the time of the Civil War,
the federal government has morphed into a national government seeking
to rule rather than serve the states.

     In large part the states have surrendered their sovereignty in
exchange for return of some of the wealth taxed away from them by the
federal government.  There is nothing like being bought into servitude
with your own money.  That is worse than making Mexico pay for
Trump's wall.

     Many today want the states to be little more than administrative
districts of a national government.  Should all laws be uniform across
the entire country?

     If someone devises perfect laws that are best for  everyone, it
might make sense to apply them to everyone.  So far I'm waiting to see
the first such law.  Someone may say, What about a law against
murder?  My response is, when someone comes up with a definition of
murder that is agreeable to everyone, let me know.

     Not everyone wants the same lifestyle.  What gives one the right
to impose his lifestyle on another?  With different laws in different
states, we can vote with our feet for the ones we prefer. Individuals
have been voting in this election for all of history.  The colonists who
settled in the new world voted against the old world.

     Some people want to stop the voting with our feet by imposing
the same destructive laws on everyone.  Interestingly, when their
favorite laws don't win, they don't smile and accept someone else's
favorite laws.  We need no further proof of this than to observe how the
so-called progressives are melting down over Trump's election.
 
      I'm not all that pleased with some of Trump's ideas.  So far I have
avoided having a temper tantrum and beating my head on the floor.

     Success is the product of experimentation.  Many experiments,
probably most, don't yield good results.  Those failures are the price we
pay for progress.  The fewer people harmed by failed experiments, the
better.   That experiment called Obamacare should not have been
inflicted on the entire nation.  For one thing, it denied us the
opportunity of seeing 49 alternatives, one or two of which might
actually have worked.

     The attempt to impose one size fits all education on the all 50
states is another on going disaster.  Let 50 flowers bloom and then pull
up the ones that turn out to be weeds.

     Let state sovereignty and diversity flourish.  Then pick the
winners after they actually win.  Quit relying on politicians and
bureaucrats to pick winners from untried rookies at the beginning of
spring training.

     I'm not suggesting that more government at the state level is a
good thing.  We can at least hope that one state will give freedom a
chance.  Faced with success from freedom the other states will be
forced to get on board the freedom train, or be left behind.

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Copyright 2017
Albert D. McCallum