The Founding Fathers believed that people should be elected to public office, serve for a few years, and then return to their private professional lives. Today, we have a president who has held public office longer than most Americans have been alive. But he is not alone, many politicians make it a career serving in the House, then the Senate, and moving on to other positions in the government. While professional experience often improves decision-making, it doesn’t appear to help in politics.

In May of 2022, someone leaked a draft of the Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court decision. The document indicated that the court planned to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the abortion issue to the states. The news triggered an avalanche of violence and vandalism against pro-life centers and churches that continues to this day. According to the Religious Freedom Institute, since the leak of the Supreme Court decision, “perpetrators have attacked at least 63 pro-life organizations, across 26 states and the District of Columbia.” While some local law enforcement agencies have conducted investigations, the response of the FBI and other agencies to these federal crimes has been impotent.

Many early Americans lived by the creed of self-determination and self-reliance. People like Henry Thoreau, Charles Ingalls, and his daughter Laura Ingalls Wilder come to mind. Homesteaders plowed the soil to raise food for themselves and the country. They raised cattle and chickens for meat, dairy, and eggs. If they didn’t have bacon they might trade for it or buy it from a nearby farm. However, if you try that today, armed U.S. Marshals might bang on your front door and demand entry.