This past Monday, Jason Lewis reminded me of a couple of socio-political truths that are worth a mention.

1. “Political freedom means the absence of coercion of a man by his fellow men,” – from Capitalism and Freedom by Milton Friedman. This is the kind of basic definition that seems obvious at first glance and but has a lot of implied meaning the longer you think about it. By this definition, the surge in Iraq has increased freedom in that country by permitting Iraqis to collaborate more freely with U.S. forces to suppress terrorism.

2. And what are our “rights” as Americans anyway? “The way our Constitution’s framers used the term, a right is something that exists simultaneously among people and imposes no obligation on another.” – Walter E. Williams. We have the right to freely cross state borders, speak freely about whomever we want whenever we want. We have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, so long as we aren’t depriving someone else of his/her own rights. However, don’t say anyone has a “right” to universal health care. The only way that “free” health care can be providing is by imposing the obligation of higher taxes on me to foot the bill. No, thanks. My first obligation is to me and mine. I need the $$ I make to keep a roof over my family’s head, buy groceries, put gas in the car, and maybe put some dollars back for my kids’ college days. I think the founding fathers knew better than to make the gov’t a nanny state, punishing those who make money to provide for those who don’t. I need to do more research into the matter, but I think the founders wanted private institutions and churches to provide for the poor. BTW, it’s illegal for a hospital to refuse emergency room care.

This is getting lengthy, so I’ll call it quits for now. The truth is out there. You just have to dig a little for it. But don’t take my word for it. Start digging.