Notes and Summary of the Broadcast: The
War in Iraq on the 4th of July
THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Next week, Americans will
gather with friends and family to celebrate the Fourth of July. I look
forward to spending this Independence Day in Martinsburg, West Virginia,
with the men and women of the West Virginia Air National Guard.
On the Fourth of July we celebrate the
courage and convictions of America's founders. We remember the spirit of
liberty that led men from 13 different colonies to gather in
Philadelphia and pen the Declaration of Independence. In that
revolutionary document, they proclaimed our independence based on the
belief that freedom was God's gift to all mankind.
To defend that freedom, the 56 signers of
the Declaration pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred
honor. Their sacrifices built a new Nation and created a future of
freedom for millions yet to be born.
Today, a new generation of Americans has
stepped forward and volunteered to defend the ideals of our Nation's
founding. Around the world, our brave men and women in uniform are
facing danger to protect their fellow citizens from harm. In
Afghanistan, our military and NATO forces are hunting down the Taliban
and al Qaeda, and helping the Afghan people defend their young
democracy. And in Iraq, American and Iraqi forces are standing with the
nearly 12 million Iraqis who voted for a future of peace, and opposing
ruthless enemies who want to bring down Iraq's democracy and turn that
nation into a terrorist safe haven.
LIBERTARIAN RESPONSE: Everyone who signed the
Declaration of Independence would be appalled at the size of America's
peacetime army.
More Detailed Response:
Christianity and War
- Cato on
the Evils of War and Standing Armies by Laurence M. Vance
- Other
Essays on Standing Armies at LewRockwell.com
- Essays
on Standing Armies at Future of Freedom Foundation
- The Bill of
Rights: Antipathy to Militarism
- A Supreme Reason
to Celebrate the Fourth of July
- The Troops Don't
Defend Our Freedoms
- Essays
on Standing Armies at the Independent Institute
- Essays
on Standing Armies at the Mises Institute
The Democrat Party Radio Address: Senate
Democrat Majority Leader Harry Reid
A Libertarian Response to Democrats:
- It is impossible and unnecessary to respond to each item of this
long laundry list of Democrat "achievements." In every
case, government action replaces more efficient and compassionate
solutions that would emerge at the local level in a Free Market.
- All of the Democrats' government programs make us more
dependent on the government, not more independent, and move
us further away from the ideal of Liberty
Under God as envisioned by the Signers of the Declaration of
Independence.
Click here
for a replay of this edition of the Ozarks Virtual
Town Hall