Beyond Biden by Newt Gingrich

Author:Newt Gingrich [GINGRICH, NEWT]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Center Street
Published: 2021-11-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER EIGHT

FREEDOM, WORK, AND PROPERTY

One of the greatest struggles in our generation is the fight between those who believe in work enabling self-reliance and those who believe in relying on the government. This split between opportunity and dependency, self-reliance and bureaucratic dependence, is one of the key division points that will define the future of America.

At the end of the movie Braveheart, after enduring horrendous torture, William Wallace, with his dying breath, shouts “freedom!” The movie ends with the Scots, inspired by Wallace’s courage and dedication, rising and winning their independence. The real Wallace died courageously and became a national symbol. He defiantly argued before his death that he could not be found guilty of treason because no Scot was subject to the crown of England. Wallace’s determination in fighting the English for the previous eight years inspired the Scots to reclaim their freedom.

This thirst for freedom was captured in New Hampshire when, in 1809, General John Stark, the most famous New Hampshire soldier in the Revolutionary War, wrote a toast for an anniversary celebration of the Battle of Bennington. That battle mattered because the Americans defeated the British and helped force General John Burgoyne into surrendering—an event that led to a surge of support for American independence. General Stark’s toast echoed the sentiments of Wallace when he said: “Live free or die: Death is not the worst of evils.” Today, “live free or die” is the New Hampshire state motto.

Thomas Paine captured the cause of freedom in his two widely read pamphlets Common Sense and The American Crisis. Paine’s argument for freedom and justification of the Declaration of Independence in Common Sense made it (on a per capita basis) arguably the most widely sold American book in our history.1 For Paine, the revolution was a moral cause and freedom was at its center.

Being free requires a work ethic and an ability to acquire and maintain property. If you do not have a work ethic you will not be able to acquire property. If you have no property, you must depend on the government for your survival. A government that can decide your fate is the opposite of freedom. You cannot personally guarantee your God-given, inalienable rights “to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” unless you can work and earn property rights (or some other kind of your own capital).

For a long time, the left in America and Europe has worked to make people comfortable with relying on government, getting something for nothing, and being told they are entitled to whatever they want. One of the key tests for the survival of American civilization will be whether we are going to continue to slide into a Bernie Sanders–Joe Biden style of learned helplessness (in which everything is provided to us by bureaucrats and politicians) or whether we are going to reassert core American values and habits of independence and self-reliance.

Do not be confused: Dependency vs. opportunity; work vs. doing nothing; earning your own way vs. other people taking care

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