Principle #4 - The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.

“It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” Thomas Jefferson

When it comes time to make major decision in our lives, who do we normally turn to for advice? Our parents or other family members? Friends? Clergy? Perhaps leaders or teachers we respect? I’d say if we exhaust all of these options then what we’re doing is either incredibly complicated and personal, or so vile that we dare not mention it to anyone else. Would you ask the government? Perhaps if it’s on a legal matter. Now, when it really comes down to making the decision, who do we usually pick to make it? The vast majority of people would say that they make their own decisions. Why then would we ask anyone else for input? We ask because we want another perspective, affirmation about what we’re already thinking, or someone to talk us out of it. We do no ask because we want them to make the decision for us because in the end, WE know what’s best for us. Unless you’re a child, then I’ll admit, your parents probably know what’s best. When you allow someone to start making decisions for you, especially someone who doesn’t know you or your situation (i.e. the GOVERNMENT) then you’re giving up your right to complain about the outcome. If you give up accountability and responsibility then you are no longer a player in your own life.

Even worse than giving someone the authority to make your decisions is allowing someone to do so without your consent. Would you let someone walk into your house uninvited and tell you what to eat for dinner or what to tv show to watch? If you said yes, then you deserve only what you get, which won’t be much. Would you let someone tell you where you had to go to buy clothes? How about letting someone dictate which bank to use for a loan? Which car to buy? No? Then why would you allow the government to do any of those?!? If you sit idly by and let the government soak up enough power to dictate the details of your life, then you deserve exactly what you get whether you like it or not. The only one that should be making your decisions is YOU or your spouse. It’s time we as a nation stepped back up to the plate and take responsibility for ourselves. Only then do we truly control our fate as a nation and as a society.