States’ rights
Slim Smith got a couple of things right in his column 01-25-13, “What were they thinking?” For one thing, no state needs a commission or committee to determine if an act of Congress or the president or anybody else is unconstitutional. Anybody with half a brain and no political bias can determine that for themselves. Our governor and state attorney general should be able to handle that little chore, if they just would.
Next, he hit the nail on the head! When Lee surrendered to Grant in April, 1865 at Appomattox Courthouse, he effectively surrendered all claims to states’ rights, and the federal government has been usurping more and more of the rights reserved to the individual states ever since.
There was a time when citizens took great pride in the states they called home. No longer. The government that governs best governs least. I don’t remember who first said that, but it’s more true today than then. Our federal government has grown out of control, and voters who hope to get “free things,” like cell phones, or those who are too lazy or ignorant to know how our government is supposed to work, or just what the Constitution says and means, are largely responsible. Special interest groups with pet peeves that have absolutely nothing to do with America’s survival can claim a big chunk of the responsibility, too.
This country would be a lot better off if we would return to a limited federal government with more powerful state governments, as the founding fathers intended. Then states that wanted to be “progressive” or liberal could be and those that wanted to be more conservative could be.
Cameron Triplett
Brooksville
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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