Why does this site exist?

What's so bad about governmentisgood.com? Or "big" government in general for that matter?

Although its author has some very valid points on a few topics--he's not all wrong--it's severely misguided on others. And I'm going to show you why; not with opinions or selective evidence, but with hard, historical facts. The saying "those who don't know their history are doomed to repeat it" exists for a very, very good reason.

Why is "big" government bad? Well, because the guys that invented ours told us so. You don't drop into a Ford Motor Co. dealership and tell them how to design an engine, do you?

Who are you, and why should I listen to you?

You don't have to, in fact I think more people should learn history on their own. We'd certainly have a healthier country if more did.

I'm just an average guy that cares about current events. I'm by no means a proper Professor, like Prof. Amy. I'd prefer to be a student of history rather than someone who "professes" (By the way, check the precise, primary definition of "profess", if you'd like a chuckle).

Knowing what you don't know is a sign of true intelligence; or so I've been told. And I sure don't know how to design a country.

This site is ugly. Fix it.

The Content

While I write up in-depth historical counterpoints to most of the content on governmentisgood.com, I'll start with some of his basic idioms that counter statements made by the designers of our government directly. These few points are really all you need to prove Prof. Douglas Amy is horribly incorrect in his views. I think it is most telling that the Resources section of his website contains links only to others reflecting on the current government condition, without a single link to a historical resource or quote.

And there lies the quintessential fault in his reasoning. Exactly like rebellious teenagers driving too fast, talking back, and generally not listening; he ignores the people that have traveled down the same road he's on. He presumes to have "figured it out" anew. Our country's designers separated from a tyrannical government and started a new one from scratch. They risked their lives in doing so. Therefore, I think their opinions and words are quite trustworthy and are worth heeding.

Though I'll drive his opinions directly into their grave, eventually. Trust me. History will always win, so let's begin!

#1 Big Government Is Not Your Enemy

Thomas Jefferson

• "The two enemies of the people are criminals and government, so let us tie the second down with the chains of the Constitution so the second will not become the legalized version of the first."
• "The natural progress of things is for liberty to yield and government to gain ground."
• "History, in general, only informs us what bad government is."
• "A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government."
• "Most bad government has grown out of too much government."
• "The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
• "To compel a man to furnish funds for the propagation of ideas he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical."
• "I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."
• "The majority, oppressing an individual, is guilty of a crime, abuses its strength, and by acting on the law of the strongest breaks up the foundations of society."
• "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all."
• "I am not a friend to a very energetic government. It is always oppressive."
• "The policy of the American government is to leave their citizens free, neither restraining nor aiding them in their pursuits."
• I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it."