Is government getting too big? I think it is. Ever since the “progressive” administration of Theodore Roosevelt in the early 20th century a mindset has developed that government knows best what is best for citizens.

Back then Roosevelt recognized there were serious issues having to do with food quality and patent medicines that resulted in the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. This legislation was necessary to protect the public. But Roosevelt didn’t stop there. He had an expansive view of presidential and governmental power. He and many future presidents saw these powers to include whatever the national interest required unless specifically prohibited by law or the Constitution.

An example of this attitude was displayed in 1903. Colombia rejected a treaty with the United States to allow a canal to be built in Colombia’s province of Panama. To circumvent the Colombian rejection Roosevelt undertook executive action to literally create a Panamanian revolt against Colombia so he could build a canal across the isthmus, an action he saw as in our national interest. The Panama Canal may have been in the national interest but Roosevelt’s actions have colored Latin American attitudes toward the United States ever since.

Elected in 1912, Woodrow Wilson followed in Roosevelts “progressive” footsteps, while breaking new ground. He instigated the income tax and pushed the Federal Reserve Act, to control the money supply, through Congress. Both were major extensions of governmental power.

During World War I, after previous chief executives had fought wars without strictures on free speech, Wilson supported and enforced the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918, both of which restricted free speech seen as damaging to the war effort.

In 1933, another “progressive,” Franklin Roosevelt was elected President and brought with him his “brain trust” who were a group of mostly “progressive” intellectuals and academics who saw government intervention, central planning and tinkering with the economy as a way of solving the Depression. Unfortunately, the Great Depression, beginning in 1929, did not end until 1942, but that’s another story.

The Roosevelts, Wilson and other “progressives” would move beyond what they saw as the outdated thinking of the founding fathers. Rather than seeing the Constitution as an ageless contract between government and governed that could not to be amended at whim, they viewed the Constitution as a “living document” that could and must be malleable to fit changing times. In their view, and in that of many future presidents, this view of the Constitution would allow for a growth in executive power they saw as necessary for the nation to achieve national greatness. “Progressives” saw the state as supreme with protection of individual rights guaranteed by wise and just ruling elites. That this has not always been the case is all too evident

Following World War II government continued to grow under both political parties. Contrary to what they sometimes say, most politicians like big government, because that’s what we, their constituents seem to want. All too often we ask government to solve all our problems, little realizing that each time we ask for something a new law is passed or a statute is enacted, and we lose another small slice of our liberty.

We have to stop always looking to government because that only fosters the creation of bureaucratic monstrosities like the Department of Education, that intrudes in our schools to ensure no child is left behind while subjecting them to Common Core. It helps create an attitude at the IRS, that based solely on how you make bank deposits, all your assets can be seized on suspicion of money laundering with no assurance you will get them all back if found innocent. It fosters an attitude that can lead the Environmental Protection Agency to declare a farmer’s property a protected wetland baring its use for agriculture, to say nothing about the violation of property rights.

We have to return to the philosophy of the framers of the Constitution that the purpose of government is solely to protect our God given rights, property and liberties. We are not servants of government, rather we are served by government. We must never forget that.

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com