By Brett Rogers
A grassroots activist is someone whom the government finally made mad enough that they decide to get involved in politics.
I watched South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem tell the story of her entry into politics at a young age. When she was a young woman, her father died, and she had to take over the family farm.
As if that wasn’t hard enough, the government came in to extract death taxes from her father’s business, which made keeping things afloat much harder. As she said, “Dad taught me not to complain, but to solve the problem.” And so she set about doing just that.
Today, many people who have never been involved in politics are getting involved. Why? Because the government is too big and tries to do too much. Some think that the government can be a force for good.
Others, having been bit by a do-good government, agree with Ronald Reagan, who said that the most terrifying words in the English language are these: “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”
If you and another person do business together, your voluntary exchange is between the two of you. Any time that the government gets involved, your transaction will be more expensive because the person overseeing the transaction has to get paid for their time.
This is why anything the government touches, it makes more expensive. Any time government spends money, it has to tax you to pay for it – because government has no income of its own. There is no such thing as “public funds.” There is only “taxpayer money,” and too few politicians recognize and respect how hard we work just to put food on the table and keep the lights on.
Over 65% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. This past year, COVID reminded many how perilously close to homeless they were. We were told that our work was either essential or non-essential by the government – while those in government continued to collect their every paycheck.
Today, many are becoming grassroots activists. They probably don’t think of themselves that way. They just recognize correctly that there is a problem that isn’t going away – it’s getting worse. They’ve determined that whoever their representative is isn’t listening to them well enough, and so they’re getting involved.
They look for some way to help change the path of this ship on which we all sail.
Politics might seem to have the word “polite” in it, but politics is anything but polite.
It is the daily struggle over who has control of your life and liberty and property. We constitute a government and elect representatives in the hopes that, in our absence, these institutions and people will protect our lives and liberty and property just as we would. But too often dealings happen behind closed doors out of the view of the public that view us as too dumb to think for ourselves and see our savings and property as “public funds.”
Government is best when government is small. There is no bureaucrat who can make decisions for your life better than you can. No “public servant” should serve themselves first and use government to enrich themselves.
To those of you beginning to get involved, I say “Welcome!” I’ve been involved for 30 years. I got involved long ago to save my children from a government that spends their future income without thought or care. Whatever your reason, “Welcome!”
We all have an oar to pull to set this ship on the right course, and there’s not a moment to waste. The only request I have from you is this: don’t give up. Forty years ago and even twenty years ago, grassroots groups didn’t exist. Today, they flourish and gain more members by the day. You’re not alone, and together, we can right the size and scope of this misdirected government.
Brett Rogers is a well-known political activist throughout Texas and resides in Marion County by Lake O The Pines. He publishes NETX.News and believes that smaller government is better government. He can be reached at brett@rightrally.com. His opinions are his own and do not reflect those of the Jefferson Jimplecute.