It takes about 37 seconds of involvement in the political process to realize that most of the players don’t root their actions in any principles.
Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that pragmatism is their principle.
By and large, politics is all about seizing, consolidating and holding on to power.
That’s why I love what I do at the Tenth Amendment Center. Everything flows from our guiding principle: follow the Constitution every issue, every time, no exceptions, no excuse.
I find a great deal of freedom in that. I don’t have to pander to some political figure when he does something gross just because he claims membership in my particular party. I don’t have to tow the party line, and I don’t have to try to spin everything into the silly left-right paradigm. I just have to stand consistently on the principle.
But it goes even deeper than that.
The crew at TAC shares even more foundational principles. We believe in liberty of conscience, and the liberty of action that flows from it. We believe individuals should chart their own paths through life. We recognize the danger of concentrated, centralized power and work for decentralization in order to place more power into the hands of the people.
We believe in freedom.
And we yearn for peace.
When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace. – Jimi Hendrix
