Be afraid. Be very afraid.

As a society, we're becoming more and more afraid. We're afraid of things like bombings, school shootings, abductions and a growing list of other things. But statistically, we're afraid of the wrong things.

You're more likely to be hurt in an auto accident than any of those things. Auto accidents and a whole host of other things like diabetes are more likely to affect you personally than a terrorist bombing or a school shooting will. I could quote a whole host of statistics to prove my point, but I'm going to take a more anecdotal and personal approach.

How many Americans do you know - personally know, not a friend of a friend or someone you encountered once on a plane or at a bus stop - how many do you know who have been seriously injured or killed in a car accident? Now how many do you know who have been killed or injured in a bombing or school shooting?

The vast majority of you reading this will have more of the former than the latter. Those of you who don't probably have a personal connection to one of this nation's tragedies like Columbine or 9/11 or Virginia Tech.

My point in bringing this up is to point out how we tend to deny the most likely bad things that can happen to us. And that leads me to mention another fear that most of us are ignoring. The fear we should have of government.

Whether you admit it or not, we do live and act in fear of government every day. Why do you follow the speed limit? Fear of getting a ticket. Why do you pay taxes? Fear of what will happen if you don't. Etc, etc.

Now, mind you, I am aware it's not all fear - many things we do are also part of social responsibility. And, as I've gone over before in my Cupped Hands Analogy, government is a lubricant that makes society work.

But for the last century or so, we've been slowly and surely handing over our liberties to government "for our safety."  At some point, that willingness to hand over our liberties is going to come back to bite us. If we don't reign in this willingness, we're going to eventually encounter a President who takes the laws we've let Congress enact, and the precedents we've let the government establish to enslave us, much as Hitler and the Nazis took over Germany from the Weimar Republic.

Some people believe that day is already here.  And when you really pay attention to some of the incidents that have happened, particularly surrounding the TSA, DEA, ATF and various "Child Protective Services" agencies, it does give reason to think they may be right. It IS time for a revolution.

I don't believe we've reached the threshold yet where that revolution has to be bloody.  There is still time to fight with votes. An election or two that completely throw the existing parties out of power will go a long way to revitalizing our government "Of the People, For the People and By the People."  All it takes is YOUR vote.  Vote now against the establishment. It's a hard thing to do, but it will take a large number of us speaking up to make it happen without blood shed.

I'll end with a great passage from John G Hemry's bood, Stark's Command:

"If you think you don't matter, then you don't."

Stand up and matter...

The Cupped Hands Analogy

The next time you're in the shower, bath, or even just washing your hands, try the following. Holding your two hands together, try and hold as much water as you can without it spilling or dripping.

As you do this, notice how you have to hold your hands to hold the maximum amount. You can't hold your hands too loosely, as water will spill out, and you can only hold a little. But neither can you hold them too tight – you can't hold water inside a closed fist. Less even than an open hand can hold. Also notice that no matter how well you manage to seal your hands and hold water, a tiny bit always manages to seep out of your hands.

Now imagine that the water is a society, with each individual molecule of water being a person.

Government is like your cupped hands.

Held loosely, government can only hold only a few together in a society, such as a clan or a tribe. Held too tightly, it holds few together as people resist, and throw off the choke hold of oppression. But held just right, it can hold together a lot of people. And just like water, held just right, there will always be a few who slip through the cracks. It is unfortunate, but it is a part of life.

While I believe highly in the value of personal liberty and freedom, I am also smart enough to know that in this crowded world, government is a necessity. It acts as the social lubricant between neighbors, it enables the building of the physical infrastructure that makes modern society possible. Without it, we would have utter chaos and anarchy.

I believe the framers of our Constitution of this United States did a pretty good job of putting together a form of government that doesn't hold too loosely or too tightly. Sure, it has it's flaws, and it lets a few slip through the cracks, but for the most part, it has historically been a pretty balanced government.

Throughout our history, there have always been those who would try and close the hands of the United States government too tightly around the water of it's people. Every time they've tried, we've made made waves, and they have backed off.

We are at another of those crossroads. Those currently in control of government are now trying to close their hands about us, “for our safety.” Many are in opposition to this, and making waves.

This is a time in this country where every suggestion by an elected official needs to be examined by the populous not with the attitude of “is this reasonable?” and in isolation from their other suggestions and laws, but with an eye to the complete whole, and the attitude of “are the hands of government getting too tight?” It is time to stop worrying about the little bit of unfortunate water that is seeping between the hands, and time to start worrying how much chaos will ensue if the hands close too tightly.

We can no longer afford to look at the little details in isolation. It is time that we start looking at the whole picture, at what every new government proposal really means to the future of our country.