Liberals and conservatives are missing the point when they argue about the size of government, according to Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
After being delayed by important votes on Capitol Hill, Lee arrived at the 2013 Conservative Political Action Conference and gave his speech, focusing on the importance of talking about civil society, instead of the need for more or less government.
“The opposite of bad government is not good government.” Lee said. “And it isn’t even just limited government. The opposite of bad government is civil society.”
The Senator said that civil society is enacted not by government, but by societal structures, such as families, schools and churches. These institutions uphold the morals and behaviors that instill trust in American government, Lee said.
“‘We the People’ does not mean a collective adherence to the agenda of the ruling class,” Lee said. “It instead means that as Americans we share basic values and principles, that when viewed as a whole, form and protect a more perfect union.”
Lee said that while government cannot create civil society, it can destroy it. He added that over the last 80 years, the U.S. government has grown beyond what is legally allowed by the Constitution, limiting self-governance and therefore limiting those institutions crucial to civil society — and democracy.
“Civil society is where free individuals thrive and communities flourish,” he said.
Lee criticized progressives for shrugging their shoulders when government goes wrong as a result of their failed policies, instead of squaring their shoulders and doing what is needed. He called their approach “un-American.”
“In this country, results matter,” he said, later adding, “Today, we’re witnessing what happens at the end of the progressive big government approach.”
But despite the bureaucracy, Lee said there are still signs of the backbone of America, still ways in which citizens step up and and preserve the tenets on which civil society is built.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSHJxa6MOjk&w=560&h=315]
