The Pagan Path

Those who wonder are not lost; they are trying to awaken! 'The Sleeper must awaken!'

Wednesday, January 08, 2014

The Freedom & Responsibility of Man, Versus State Licensing

The issue of State Licensure is very widespread! From the operation of a simple lemonade stand ( in some states ), to getting the state's permission to wed, from having to receive license to drive a vehicle to buy a permit ( license ) in order to make improvements on your own home, not to mention the property tax, which could be a whole other issue itself!

The most obvious reason for this licensure, like all other forms of taxation,  is of course the generation of revenue. It could be argued that this revenue is of the utmost necessity for keeping the wheels of the Federal or State Government running like a well-oiled machine. This is somewhat true, the money must come from somewhere; the revenue generated from this and other forms of taxation is necessary to pay all the State & Federal employees. But even here though, the question might be asked; 'are all these Federal & State Government employees necessary?'

Let's look, for a minute, at the issue of the Driver's License; is it really necessary? There is no doubt that it helps, at least that's the idea, to 'weed out' those who may not have the maturity to properly operate a motor vehicle on the road, much less on a major highway at high speeds, and along with other drivers who may or may not have the necessary skills, licensing, and insurance ( there's a whole other issue )! That, along with the revenues that must be generated for the necessary up-keep of the Highway System and other important considerations could give plenty of pause to most who might balk at these issues!

Freedom is a gift from God! It is a natural aspect of man's creation, of his very being! With freedom, though, comes responsibility, and so the greater the freedom exercised, the greater must be the responsibility shown. When freedom is taken or exercised without the necessary responsibility being shown, then not only is the freedom of the individual put in harm's way, the freedom and safety of all those around him is put in jeopardy, especially concerning driving without the necessary skills on major highways!

It is a sad fact of modern life that many people do not exercise the necessary responsibility that comes with freedom, so therefore, we find that the State & Federal Governments have taken this responsibility upon themselves! It's been said that if one does not govern himself, someone else will do it for him ( or her ), and this, unfortunately, is what has happened all too often! Most Americans are more than comfortable allowing the State & Federal Government to exercise their responsibility for them, while these Governments are more than happy to take this responsibility from them!. They realize, unlike too many comfortable Americans, that if they take the responsibility, they can also take the freedom!

There is no true freedom without responsibility!

Because then, for instance with the Driver's License, many Americans do no show the necessary responsibility to exercise freely the right to transport themselves and others, it may well be viewed as necessary for the individual to be tested for and obtain a permit from the Government before they can validly do so. Here, I believe, is one area in which the Church has failed! This is a long-running problem, and so it would be difficult to pin-point exactly where we went wrong, but because the Church has alienated so many people over the ages, many people have lost, not only their responsibility, but their respectability as well!

Americans, especially Christians, have been told by the Church for so long that 'you're not good enough', that it has become a fact, and so it is better that someone else govern them. This again is a sad fact, but a fact that need not be, and in some cases is becoming less and less of a fact!

Over the past few years especially, the American people, the younger generation in particular, and thanks in large part to the efforts of people like Ron Paul, have begun to wake up to this sad fact! In large part, this Great Awakening has not advanced very far beyond the 'disgruntled stage', and because much of this Revolution is not altogether based on True Freedom, it will likely end badly for some! If the Church will take Her part though, and begin to teach and show responsibility, instead of ceding Her God-given Dominion to the State & Federal Governments, we will begin to see Christians take a greater hand in their own responsibilities and learn to exercise True Freedom!

Listening to the ( relatively ) old folk ballad, 'Alice's Restaurant, by Arlo Guthrie, we are reminded how, not only must one have a permit ( license ) at times, to do something as simple as dumping garbage, this song also reminds us of the irresponsibility of many Americans, 'because, 'if they did it, why can't we'! It is this attitude that has pervaded Americana, and so we have what we have today; the Federal & State Governments making statutes saying, 'you can't do this, and you can't do that'!

Right is right, and wrong is wrong! People are free to do what they wish, but unless they exercise responsibility ( ie, love for neighbor ( and enemy ) along with that freedom, it is not True Freedom!

When men and women begin to take responsibility for their own actions, and love their neighbor ( enemy too ) as themselves, then we will see the exercise of True Freedom! As the Law of Love permeates the Church, and begins to flow even more freely throughout the society & culture in which we live, we will begin to see more and more self government, and less and less of the corrupt State & Federal Governments!

As go the people, so go the politics!

May it ever be,
Charles Haddon Shank



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