Johnny on the Spot: Is Our Generation Relevant?

Is our generation relevant? Looking back over my life so far, I struggle to find any significant contributions or events that occurred during my lifetime that have truly shaped our country. It seems like all of the important stuff happened before I even got here. The Civil Rights Movement, World War II, the Great Depression, the American Civil War, and the American Revolution – all of these profoundly impacted this great nation that we call home. But what have we done lately?

One could argue that since I was born, in 1965, America has fought in Vietnam, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq – and that these are certainly significant events. Actually, I was just a baby during the Vietnam War and have only vague memories of it – mostly towards the end of US involvement in the mid 70s. Not to diminish the huge sacrifices made and the service of our armed forces, these wars somehow paled in comparison to earlier wars in terms of how they impacted our nation's development or American life in general.

I'll admit that we have seen the fall of the Soviet Union, bringing an end to the Cold War - oh yeah, and men on the moon! What else, the Internet? I'm sorry, but I can't help but feel that my generation has lived on the spoils of those that came before us, all the while, doing little to earn or even preserve it. Or perhaps, our turn has yet to come.

Let me be totally honest with you. I started writing this article almost 8 months ago but set it aside because I didn't know where I was going with it. It was only today that I realized that I already know the answer. Until recently, our generation hasn't really been relevant all that much - but finally, the relevance of our generation is at hand. I believe that we are once again at a perilous juncture in our nation's history. Our system of government, and thus our cherished freedoms of which it was designed to protect, is under attack. But this time it's not England or Germany - it's a far more formidable enemy. And what's more shocking is that many of us are completely oblivious to this threat. That's because this enemy doesn't wear red coats or swastikas - they look just like you and me. They live right next door, go to your schools, work in your workplace, some you even call friends. Some don't even know themselves that they are soldiers in an army that is set on a path to destroy America.

The enemy is the Progressive. The Progressives think that government knows best and that more and more government is the solution to all problems. In all that you hear in this election year and certainly in 2012, there is one fundamental question that is the basis for most of the controversy between the parties. It is the question of Big Government vs. Limited Government. The Progressives want a big government, which is the complete antithesis of the founding principles of our country. A limited central government is the basic premise of the U.S. Constitution and is absolutely necessary to guarantee the protection of our liberties and freedoms.

When was the last time that you read the US Constitution? For most people the answer would be somewhere around the 10^th grade. I can remember having to memorize the Bill of Rights, a handful of dates, and the names of some people who had something to do with the whole thing. But, unfortunately, I can't say that I remembered much of it. I guess we all had different priorities back then. Now that I'm much older, I think that I would really appreciate most of those things now, if only they were not taught, memorized, and then soon forgotten. Maybe there should be some sort of a condensed high school refresher that everyone should take around age 30.

If you haven't read the Constitution as an adult, please read it here. In a nutshell, the document grants the federal government exactly 17 specific powers (called the enumerated powers) - no more, no less. All other powers are reserved for the states, except those expressly prohibited by the Constitution. This is by careful design to prevent the government from becoming too powerful, which is why we fought for our independence in the first place. Progressives fail to see the logic in this.

The Progressives sit on both sides of the fence (Democrat and Republican). In their defense, most Progressives honestly feel that there is a just and moral rationale to their cause. However, their policies and short-sighted "solutions" have steadily been growing our government and gradually eroding the basic underpinning that is uniquely American.

The challenge facing our generation is the restoration of this nation back to its founding principles and to renew our faith in God. This is our Iwo Jima, it's our Bunker Hill. For ours is no longer the lost generation, but the last generation. We are the re-founders!

"I hope to see our happy country restored to its former peace and happiness, and once more redeemed from tyranny and despotism, which, I fear, we are on the very brink of. We see the whole country in commotion: and for what? Because, gentlemen, the true friends of liberty see the laws and constitution blotted out from the heads and hearts of the people's leaders: and their requests for relief are treated with scorn and contempt. It has been decided by a majority of Congress that [the president] shall be the Government, and that his will shall be the law of the land. He takes the responsibility, and vetoes any bill that does not meet his approbation. He takes the responsibility and seizes the treasury, and removes it from where the laws had placed it; and now, holding purse and sword, has bid defiance to the Congress and to the nation."

- Congressman David (Davy) Crockett, 1834