The U. S. Supreme Court has definitely become more conservative. The customary 5-4 vote that used to take a lefthand turn now goes toward the right. Whether you think that is good or bad depends upon which way you think we should govern. Ultra liberals would favor government participation or at least regulation in just about every area of human activity. Ultra conservatives would have you believe that government should stay out of everything except the protection of people’s lives and freedoms to do as they please.
Both of the ultras are wrong, of course. If we allowed government to do what it pleased, we would lose most of the freedoms we have. And if we kept government participation out of most everything, we would lose the benefits of education for all, restrictions on monopolistic practices that keep small businesses down and other regulations that help everyone enjoy those freedoms.
But liberal writers would have you believe we are going down the tube because of that recent 5-4 turn. For many years, that 5-4 vote went the other way. If you go back to the beginning of our nation right after our people revolted against a foreign empire running their affairs, the vote would probably have been 9-0 to the right.
At any rate, the current 5-4 vote is not engraved in stone. It could well change the other way within the lifetimes of most of our readers. It depends upon who our presidents will be in the coming years.
Our nation was set up to maintain certain inalienable rights but also to accomodate change in accordance with the will of the people. And to a great extent, it has followed that path in the past.
It is obvious that government does not provide a very efficient form of management in any form of enterprise. Inflated bureaucracy usually takes over, wasting time and money. We have seen such results among federal agencies in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The private sector usually cuts to the chase rapidly in getting a job done. Its purpose, of course, is to make money quickly.
The U. S. has built the greatest economy in the world by giving the private sector the ability to grow and insuring the freedom of all people to participate in it. We would do well to keep it that way.
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