The impending doom of John McCain

Senator John McCain believes in sacrifice.

That's a problem if you want to live in freedom.

The U.S. Constitution does not call on Americans to sacrifice. It restricts the power of the federal government to butt into your life and seize your freedom and your property.

Take the First Amendment, as John McCain has been trying to do for some time. It reads:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

Although the Constitution plainly says "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press," John McCain pressed for laws restricting campaign ads in the months before an election. He believed that freedom of speech had to be sacrificed to the goal of campaign finance reform.

Do you believe that? It doesn't matter, he doesn't care what you believe. He believes he knows best.

John McCain pressed for a law that would have made web site owners criminally liable for failing to report illegal images posted on their site by someone else. Under his proposed "Stop the Online Exploitation of Our Children Act," individuals who have a web site, or a blog with a comments area, would have to monitor the postings for pornography, determine if the images are illegal, forward them to the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and retain "information relating to the facts or circumstances" of the incident for at least six months. Failure to comply precisely with the requirements would mean a fine of up to $300,000.

Protecting children is a laudable goal. But the Constitution does not allow politicians to do whatever they want in pursuit of laudable goals. You have rights. John McCain believes you should sacrifice those rights for a greater goal, and he wants to be the one to decide which goals merit the sacrifice of your freedom.

The trouble with a belief in sacrifice for the greater good is that it can be used to justify any abuse of government power. Here are just a few examples:

"John McCain's shakedown operation" part I and part II

"Saving children and losing voters"

"Brass knuckles and the First Amendment"

John McCain's web site says this:

"There is no greater nobility than to sacrifice for a great cause and no cause greater than protection of human dignity. Decency, human compassion, self-sacrifice and the defense of innocent life are at the core of John McCain's value system and will be the guiding principles of a McCain Presidency."

In practice, that means his pursuit of whatever he perceives as a greater good will justify any infringement of your rights, any increase in taxes, and any breach of the Constitutional limits on the federal government's power. If you don't agree, he'll call you a selfish special-interest impediment to the American dream and the salvation of the planet.

"To sacrifice for a cause greater than yourself, and to sacrifice your life to the eminence of that cause, is the noblest activity of all," McCain says on his web site.

Think about that before you vote. It's your life he wants to sacrifice.

Copyright 2008

Editor's note: You might be interested in the 2006 post, "The almost pointless fear of global warming."

.