What is the Republican Party’s guiding principle?

Here is a discussion of principle, understanding, and insights into the newest speaker of the House.  He is quoted as saying: 

Our people are losing their faith in government. … I think we have to be mindful of that. We’re going to fight vigorously over our core principles because they’re at odds a lot of times now in this modern era. We have to sacrifice sometimes our preferences because that’s what’s necessary in a legislative body.

Rather than fighting vigorously for his core principles as a member of the government, the ruling elite, he should adhere vigorously to his core principles, which means he lives according to his principles but does not force others to live to his ideals.  The difference is stark, as I hope to prove.

We have yet to see the core principles of the current Republican party.  We would be so much better off if the Republicans told everyone what they were for and provided solutions, rather than what they are against.  Some of us wonder if they even know.

In what alternate universe does anyone have faith in any government?  At best, government sets a pathway for transaction and interaction, enforces written laws, protects the nation from foreign and domestic invaders, and itself adheres to the Constitution’s restrictions on government actions.  That’s the best that government can do.  It can stay out of the way.

When the speaker of the House talks about restoring the faith, he misses the point.  He needs to restrict the government to a limited set of actions.  If he can do that, then we can have faith in him.  But to assume that anyone should have faith in a formless entity with unimagined power, any government, is absurd.

Until the politicians understands this concept of the sanctity of the individual over government, we will not stand a chance against the left, and we will not, nor should we, be elected to a position of control.

Sadly, the left has infiltrated and now controls the Democrat party.  The solution to this sharp-left move is a balanced approach to providing workable solutions that don’t increase the grasp of our government over our lives (unlike the elite’s constant grab for power, control), but keep the government in check.  

The left believes.  Leftists have a core principle to which they slavishly adhere.  Never mind that their principle is wrong; they believe.  Fundamental Islam believes.  Muslims have another core principle.  The Nazis and communists believe.  They have another core principle.  The point is that just believing is not a safeguard against evil.  As we can see, it allows evil to permeate, to control.

This is where the rational mind comes in.  Rational thinking tells us what works and what doesn’t.  It studies, analyses, thinks in terms of cause and effect, then reaches a logical conclusion.  It has the perceptive mass to hold many conflicting ideas in its grasp, to sort through the confusion, and to bring order. 

This process of rational thinking — putting things and events in order, studying history, reading the great books — leads to a rational conclusion, a core principle that withstands the tests of time.  Every great religion, every great philosopher, our Constitution, reaches the same core principle: the sanctity of the individual.

This is your inalienable right to self-determination — and with that concept, the edict that you not infringe on another’s right.  Try this principle out when confronted with a quandary.  See if it answers the unknown.

The only way to win consensus and the vote and thereby the ability to hold government in check is to move to the center.  The speaker’s MAGA world is hardly centrist, but neither is the NeverTrump group.  

The “fight” should not be among ourselves, but against an overpowering, government-centric mindset in both parties.  The fight is between core principles, freedom versus control.  The individual versus an out-of-control government.  Good versus evil.

Jay Davidson is founder and CEO of a commercial bank.  He is a student of the Austrian School of Economics and a dedicated capitalist.  He believes there is a direct connection joining individual right and responsibility, our Constitution, capitalism, and the intent of our Creator.

Image: Steve Garvie via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.