One of the axioms of America's Founding Fathers was: The best government is the least government. To this principle we shall return in the New Renaissance.

The Role of Government

Since the basic motivating Law of this coming age will be Personal Responsibility, this concept of government should be easily realized. THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE EMPOWERED ONLY TO DO THOSE NEEDED THINGS THAT A CITIZEN CANNOT DO HIMSELF. Furthermore, even these functions should be carried out on the most local level possible.

National defense, for instance, must be regulated and administered by the federal government. But the school system can and will be directed at the lowest local level in order to involve those most concerned, the parents. Cities and states will have their responsibilities, and they will retain their proper sovereignty and control without federal help.

Today much lip service is being paid to the traditional form of government, that is, to states' rights and local autonomy, but the theory all too often meets strong bureaucratic roadblocks as soon as attempts are made to implement these concepts. Much of this has come about through a misconception promulgated in this century by politicians, that is, the erroneous principle that the government owes each citizen a living. In the New Renaissance the truth of Divine Law will be taught. Each citizen will realize that NO ONE OWES HIM A LIVING. He will understand the Law that ONLY the laborer is worthy of his hire.

Promises of the Declaration of Independence

Our forefathers were fully cognizant of this Law when in the Declaration of Independence they promised that the government should attempt to provide its citizens with three things: LIFE, LIBERTY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS.

LIFE. To guarantee LIFE the government must have the power to protect its citizens from all foreign invaders and from domestic disorders and violence. Armies, navies, National Guard, police, and so on fall into this category. Serious epidemics, environmental pollution, and other NATIONAL emergencies that may endanger the lives of citizens are the responsibility of the government, as they cannot be controlled on a local basis. Again, the following cardinal rule must be applied to all such actions to see if they truly fall into the province of the national government. The GOVERNMENT, ANY GOVERNMENT, HAS THE RIGHT AND OBLIGATION TO ATTEMPT TO CORRECT ONLY THOSE HEALTH MATTERS THAT CITIZENS CANNOT, BECAUSE OF THE BASIC NATURE OF THESE PROBLEMS, CONTROL FOR THEMSELVES. No government, for instance, under this caveat has the right or necessity to force immunizations or general fluoridation. But it does have the obligation to see that toxic wastes are corrected and that air and water are not polluted, thereby depriving its citizens of their right to life.

LIBERTY. LIBERTY is the pivotal right between LIFE and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. It is here that most governments fail the Divine Law and their people. Even in the most totalitarian societies most citizens are guaranteed LIFE (at least as long as they agree with the government or remain silent), and to the extent possible many of these governments encourage their citizens in the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, as this tends to produce a content population. The one right that these governments CANNOT extend, however, is LIBERTY. TRUE liberty, held by a people, makes any form of despotism impossible in the long run. Therefore, ALL despotic governments, of the right or of the left, must limit the liberty of their citizens if they are to remain in power. There has never been an exception to this rule. Liberty, thus, is the most valued and sacred of all the rights Americans enjoy. It will take on a vital new significance in the New Renaissance.

As envisioned by our Founding Fathers, there is but one restriction upon this liberty. That is, it must in no way interfere with any of the same rights and liberties shared by all other citizens. The standard to which we are all held was succinctly stated by a dedicated American when he said, "Your right to swing your arms ends at the tip of my nose."

Some further insight into the intended nature of these liberties may be gathered from the comment of Benjamin Franklin. When asked what should be allowed to be carried by the new postal service he had established, after pondering a moment, he said, "The postal service should carry everything but perishables goods (like fresh foods) and gunpowder, both for obvious reasons." In other words, censorship has no place in the American system. All censorship is based on a premise that is odious to all real Americans: the premise that one group of citizens has the right or the wisdom to tell another group what they may or may not see, read, or do. Any part of this concept is antithetical to the American Way and the New Renaissance.

Admittedly, in the name of freedom many Americans are seemingly flailing their fists very close to our noses, but there is always a better answer than censorship. To repeat: EDUCATION NOT LEGISLATION HAS THE POWER TO OVERCOME ALL EVIL. This is the answer to censorship. Legislation will never work, because it is a basic human trait TO TAKE THE GREATEST DELIGHT IN DOING EXACTLY WHAT SOME POWER IN AUTHORITY TELLS US NOT TO DO. Examples from the past as well as the present are rife.

Everything in our Universe was made by God; therefore, nothing is inherently evil or harmful. Only the use of which it is put determines the goodness or evil of a thing. This being true, what right have we to deny anything to a free American citizen? God denies man nothing. He has given man all he can make use of and even honored him with free will to use these gifts as he sees fit. Are we so much greater than God that we have the wisdom to do more?

With his gifts God did bestow upon man certain responsibilities, and these are an integral part of his freedom. Man may use the good gifts God gave him as he will. If he uses them for the benefit of himself and others, he will reap accordingly. But if he uses them for ill, the reaction of this misuse will bring him much sorrow. So it must be with the government of the New Renaissance. Nothing will be disallowed citizens of this time, but heavy and prompt punishment will be the lot of all who would use these gifts of God for mean or injurious purposes toward their fellow citizens.

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS. Concerning the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, please note the word pursuit. The government did not intend to make its people happy. It only guaranteed their right to seek that happiness. The good men who founded this country were wise enough to know that no government or other earthly institution can provide happiness; that must come from within the heart and Soul of the individual. What the government can provide is an environment in which all citizens are allowed to seek this happiness unrestricted as long as their actions in no way interfere with the same right by their fellow citizens.

Early in this century with the influx of socialistic ideologies from the decadent societies of Europe, the American's concept of himself and his relationship to his government began to change. His own greed let his expectation of government change from a defender of his personal freedom to a supplier of his desires and wishes. What he failed to understand was that with this change he gradually lost much of that freedom his ancestors had labored so diligently to acquire and was, in essence, now a slave of the state. And so he has remained.

The most ironic part of this scenario is that the government of America has no money or wealth of its own and therefore must confiscate everything it provides from its own citizens. In this way, it uses the citizens' own hard-earned funds to enslave them. Why, you may well ask, would any citizen of a free country allow himself to be placed in such a precarious position? The answer is as simple as it is sad: GREED. The mass of voters vote for candidates who support such programs because they hope they will be forced to give in taxes. In other words, they hope to soak the rich and share the benefits among themselves. of course, such greed always backfires. The wealthy find ways to avoid the taxes, and the slightly larcenous citizen ends up paying for his own slavery, as has been usual throughout history.

Freedom to be left alone to work out one's own happiness is the only material salvation for the average citizen. Those who populate the New Renaissance will make sure their government holds to the principles of our Forefathers and guarantees only the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS - neither more nor less.

After so many years of governmental meddling it is difficult for many citizens to understand the nature of true freedom. In the same way that many Soviet defectors desire after a short time to return to Russia (they cannot adapt to a society that does not tell them what to do with their lives), many native Americans have lost the ability to use their imagination and incentive. One can only wonder whether these will survive to become part of the New Renaissance, because that will be a time when these qualities will be absolutely essential to survival.

TAXES IN THE NEW RENAISSANCE

As mentioned, governments have only the income they derive from their citizens. In almost every case, it is the middle class that pays for most of the peccadillos of a government, whether that government is run by a king, a dictator, or a duly-elected president. The poor don't have money for taxes, and the rich know how to avoid payment.

Taxes cannot be avoided, and even in the New Renaissance they will exist, but they will be as fair as possible under Divine Law. Every effort will be made to see that the taxes are really needed and are not just to be used as the plaything of political reformers, as is so common today.

The basic Law of Taxation, and the Law of America until the time of President Wilson, is equal share for equal rights. The original Constitution limited all federal taxes on people to a per capita tax. The philosophy behind this was that each citizen was by this tax paying for an equal amount of government service, as we are all supposed to be equal. This served our country well for almost one hundred and fifty years. But it was not to the liking of the international bankers who realized that they could not hope to gain control of America until they had first destroyed the integrity and ambition of its people. The universally recognized procedure to accomplish this end was the advocacy of a progressive income tax. So, with the aid of Wilson and a greedy population the Sixteenth Amendment was adopted. I say "greedy," because the propaganda used to sell this progressive tax was the old chestnut, "Soak the rich," The income tax was perceived by most Americans as a way to get something for nothing, and so they voted for it. Only later did they realize the truth of the poem, "Ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."

It is simple to establish honest taxation if there is no attempt to protect a special interest group. In the New Renaissance every effort will be made to have just taxation. It cannot happen, however, unless all citizens are willing to pay their honest share. If we are all willing to accept this principle, we shall find, surprisingly, that our taxes will be lower than ever before. Honesty, it would seem, is still the best policy.

The income tax will be thrown out as the destructive force it is and will be replaced once again by the constitutional per capita tax. Most other taxes will be levied directly on an evil in order to compensate for its deleterious effect. For instance, heavy taxes on alcohol will be used to compensate those who are victims of drunk driving and other alcohol related crimes. It is well known that the yearly cost to the economy from cigarette smoking is enormous. An even heftier tax here will help to compensate for the various losses to the economy due to this habit. The practical factor about such taxes is that the funds will always be collected in direct proportion to the need. If the use of the substance decreases, so will the revenue, but with less use there will be a reduced need for the monies.

Gasoline and car taxes will be used, as now, for road and bridge systems. School taxes will be paid only by those with children in school. If they do not wish to send their children to public school, they will pay no taxes. This type of program will meet with strong opposition from present school officials, but most of that is because they have been so used to playing fast and loose with public money that they will at first find it difficult to function on a reasonable budget. They soon will learn, and our children will be the better for it. We have yet, in this century, to produce, by our consolidated schools, the quality of leaders in any field that were generated by the small local schools of earlier days. It does not take a great deal of money to teach children - only love, desire, and integrity.

When all is said and done, the only way the tax system will become honest is if the government stops using tax monies to redistribute the wealth of the country. As measures are instituted to help all to comprehend the real Laws of their being, there will be little need for the excessive taxation of today.

We should not expect to be free of taxes, however, until we leave this sphere and ascend to the next world. Even then, in time, we shall again reincarnate to Earth, and without doubt the tax collector will be here to greet us. The best we can do concerning taxes is to make sure they are levied in accordance with the Divine Law.

WELFARE IN THE NEW RENAISSANCE

Does the world owe us a living? Is it the responsibility of government to see that its citizens are never in want? What obligations do the rich owe to poor? Where is the line between rich and poor? Is it being favored of God to be poor or is it sin?

These and many other similar questions have puzzled man since his earliest days. Each civilization has developed its own answers, and frequently its successor has reversed the thinking because of the seeming lack of success experienced by the previous approach. This is easily understood, as even the words of the Nazarene present apparent paradoxes. At one time He told a rich young ruler that, if the desired to enter Heaven, he should sell all he had and give to poor so he could follow the Way of the Nazarene. Yet, at another time, when His disciples wanted a woman to sell an expensive ointment she had and give the proceeds to the needy. He castigated them, saying, "The poor you have always with you."

Once the basic rules of Divine Law on this matter are understood most of this confusion will lift and a constructive attitude toward the poor and indigent can be formulated, as must be done for the New Renaissance.

First, there is no such thing as happenstance. Every event from our birth to our death is according to the exact functioning Law. The stage each person fills in life - rich, poor, or in between - is exactly what he has built for himself either by his thoughts and actions in this life or in past lives. The Nazarene knew this Law well; therefore, He knew it would be eons before mankind would advance to the point that all would have sufficient control over their lives to so think and act as to not produce the state we call poor. Therefor, He felt safe in His prediction, "the poor you have always with you."

Second, whenever you do something for others that they can do for themselves, you beggar them, destroy the incentives built into the Divine Law, and cause them to resent you for your patronization, even though on the surface they may seem grateful. The majority of our governmental welfare, public assistance, and affirmative action programs fall into this category. They have created havoc and social polarization due to ignorance of the above Law.

Third, whenever you give something to someone who has not honestly earned it, you must first take it away from someone who has honestly created this wealth. This act counters every Law of God and Nature and as such is doomed to failure even before it is begun. Under Divine Law, that which we may possess, but which we have not earned, will be taken away from us. We see this happen in our world. Have you ever seen a poor person given money who did not waste it away in short order?

Forth, it is a Manistic quality to help someone who truly cannot help himself. These efforts should always be directed toward helping him to "get on his feet" so that he can once again become a creative, productive member of society. There may be times when this is not possible and only some sort of custodial care is practical, but these cases are rare if all the possibilities of the Divine Law are considered.

In the New Renaissance the Laws of Reincarnation will be understood and accepted by the majority, allowing an honest non-guilt-ridden attitude toward the poor. They will be seen as Souls still on the lower rungs of advancement and will be instructed and given support necessary to help them LIFT THEMSELVES UP FROM THEIR CONDITION TO A MORE PRODUCTIVE LEVEL. In the New Renaissance, any other philosophy will be considered irrational.

Because we all come to Earth to learn many lessons, undoubtedly some persons may reach a point in this life where they cannot proceed on their own power. They are of such age or weakness that they require permanent care by society. There are many such as these today, but in the New Renaissance they will be rare, as the factors of governmental paternalism that now help create them will no longer be in effect. There will always be a certain number, and they must be served if we are to call ourselves civilized. We have not yet arrived at that time when the words of the Nazarene, concerning the poor always being with you, are passe.

Such individuals would be best served by homelike centers in the country where they can take advantage of the bounty of Nature as much as possible. These would probably be best founded by state or local governments, although private foundations would serve as well and offer a humanitarian outlet for some of the profits of business, if they so desired. These homes would be excellent places of first employment for youth, in that this system would provide-low-cost help and give youth a chance to learn compassion.

SUMMARY
In short, the basic principle of the government that functions under Divine Law is: The government has an obligation to protect its citizens from each other and outside inimical forces. It is NOT the duty of the government to protect its citizens from themselves. Under the first method, it protects the freedoms of its people; under the second, it takes their freedoms from them.
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