These Things I Believe, Too

I just read an excellent article by Chuck Baldwin titled, "Government Arrogance is Out of Control." He masterfully ended it with powerful quotation from Lyn Nofziger. The late Nofziger served as press secretary in the then California Governor Ronald Reagan’s administration and as a White House advisor during the Nixon and Reagan presidencies.

I added the capitalized titles to Noziger’s belief statements. I must say, except perhaps for his last statement, which was tongue in cheek, I would concur with most of Nofziger’s principled beliefs.

THESE THINGS I BELIEVE

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Franklyn "Lyn" Nofziger

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(1924 - 2006)
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GOVERNMENT’S LIMITED ROLE

· "That government should butt out.

GUARDING OUR FREEDOMS

· That freedom is our most precious commodity and if we are not eternally vigilant, government will take it all away.

INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY

· That individual freedom demands individual responsibility.

GOVERNMENT, A NECESSARY EVIL

· That government is not a necessary good but an unavoidable evil.

AN “EVOLVING” GOVERNMENT

· That the executive branch has grown too strong, the judicial branch too arrogant and the legislative branch too stupid.

POLITICAL PARTIES DEVOID OF PRINCIPLES

· That political parties have become close to meaningless.

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS

· That government should work to insure the rights of the individual, not plot to take them away.

DEFENDING THE NATION

· That government should provide for the national defense and work to insure domestic tranquility.

FAIR TRADE

· That foreign trade should be fair rather than free.

FORIEGN TREATIES

· That America should be wary of foreign entanglements.

DEBT TO LIBERTY

· That the tree of liberty needs to be watered from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS

· That guns do more than protect us from criminals; more importantly, they protect us from the ongoing threat of government.

STATES RIGHTS

· That states are the bulwark of our freedom.

· That states should have the right to secede from the Union.

ACCOUNTABILITY

· That once a year we should hang someone in government as an example to his fellows."

Note: “These Things I Believe” was originally published in the 11/9/99 issue of the Federalist Digest.