It was clear from the early days of the Obama Administration that their fundamental goal was the fundamental repression of American freedom. It came in the guise of the Hope and Change mantra they would relentlessly hustle to the American people for the following six years.

What used to be veiled in the smoke and mirrors of dishonor and disrespect is now blatantly displayed in the arrogance and single-mindedness of those with unabashed power and their unapologetic abuse of it. They took from the American people and gave back nothing. It was shocking and difficult for Americans to finally realize that the Obama Administration had taken advantage of their trust and support. Their contempt for America and the truth inspired these people to so easily go about their business of turning our country into an insignificant, one-size fits all, welfare state. They didn’t care. Consequently, the results of their efforts were politically and socially devastating to a country whose economy had been injured, dismantled and devalued by an administration that insisted on lawlessly bypassing the Congress and a Department of Justice that consistently “had their backs.”

Contempt is a powerful, invigorating and destructive force that insidiously eats away at the very fabric of human decency. It is borne from self-loathing. It is peppered with anger and fueled by resentment. At its core lies a deep-seeded insecurity that seems to be intimidated by the wonderful skills and achievements of others. When combined with unabashed, unearned power, there is no limit to the negative, collective pursuits of those who wish to dismiss, nullify, diminish, and contort to their own self-serving vision, that which was, and can be again, the most magnificent nation on Earth. This administration artfully, and even sometimes charismatically, and most certainly with contempt, took advantage of those very Americans who actually put them into office. Then, this happened:

The majesty of freedom won the day in November of 2014. Americans overwhelmingly voted to protect the hard-fought-for-liberty that has been passed on to them for over 300 years. We did it! We’re a capable, smart, industrious and generous people. Hopefully, we’ve learned our lesson. Because of that, we must work to be more vigilant and be more aware of what is happening in the world around us. We must work to be better listeners. And, we must relentlessly strive to instill in our children and grandchildren an appreciation of the honor and privilege it is to be an American. It is our duty, as American parents and grandparents, to ensure that the futures of our children and grandchildren will not be compromised by needless, politically-motivated restrictions and regulations upon their ability to contribute, to innovate and grow. Surely, we owe them a country where they will be able to grow up in a society that recognizes them for their talents and for the remarkable contributions to society that they can make. At the very least, we owe them a future that is based on liberty, where they will be free to explore and discover their individual potential. This, we can do.

You know, in 1850, Frederic Bastiat, a French economist, statesman and author, eloquently wrote of liberty in his pamphlet, entitled The Law, that we have been given by God all that we need, in order to define our individual destinies. He warned that the interference of the government and its yearning for a society based on the insignificance of the individual will surely lead to the downfall of freedom when he wrote:

“God has given to men all that is necessary for them to accomplish their destinies. He has provided them a social form, as well as a human form. And these social organs of persons are so constituted that they will develop themselves harmoniously in the clean air of liberty.

• Away then, with quacks and organizers!
• Away with their rings, chains, hooks and pincers!
• Away with their artificial systems!
• Away with the whims of governmental administrators,
• their socialized projects, their centralization,
• their tariffs, their government schools, their state religions,
• their free credit, their bank monopolies, their regulations,
• their restrictions, their equalization by taxation and their pious moralizations!

And now that the legislators and do-gooders have so futilely inflicted so many systems upon society, may they finally end where they should have begun: May they reject all systems, and try liberty; for liberty is acknowledgement of faith in God and His works.”

Does that sound familiar? So, now we’ve given ourselves a second chance! Let’s use it to repair our country, starting now. It won’t be easy, but we can do it! We’re Americans!