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The Executive Branch Must Act Within Its Authority

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Published in The Post Newspaper July 14, 2025 Why did our forefathers leave their homes and come to the new world to start over?  What is American exceptionalism and what’s its foundation?  Let’s take a look. Our founding fathers came from countries where their kings or rulers made decisions for them.  This included what they did for a living, how they advanced – if they were allowed to advance at all – and even what their faith could be.  In some cases, when the rulers changed from Catholic to Protestant and back again (i.e., England) how and where people worshipped flipped back and forth.  They were willing to leave their homeland and take the long arduous voyage across the Atlantic just so they could decide for themselves how they would live and worship.  They believed that God -- not man or human rulers -- gave them the right to use the talents He provided and to make their own choices on how to use them.   Today we call that “Freedom.” American exceptionalism’s foundation is having that freedom.  People still want to come to the USA because they repudiate the concept that others (i.e., government and/or politicians) should make decisions for them.   They want to make their own decisions.  To the extent that our freedoms are restricted or taken away, we see an adverse impact on our quest for exceptionalism.  For example, what happened over the past four years under the Biden Administration?  What was a vibrant economy under Trump 1.0 took a major downturn.  The rulers (government officials, elected and nonelected) made decisions that the average American would never make.  Example, forcing auto manufacturers to move toward only producing electric vehicles -- vehicles the vast majority of people didn’t want.  Or banning the sale of gas stoves and water heaters and investing in solar power that only produced electricity when the sun is shining.  Now we see a person running for the position of mayor of New York City who wants to close down private grocery stores and have the city government provide food for NYC residents.  This is a road to disaster.  It won’t work.  And yet there are those who are still willing to vote for this person.  Some more reasonable Democrats are ducking for cover, not being willing to stand up against this lunacy.  But the ultimate result will be the same, disaster and collapse.  Already New York City is seeing a mass migration of people leaving for states like Texas, Florida, and Tennessee.  As they leave, their wealth goes with them and so does the corresponding tax base needed to support all these government-controlled programs.  Stand by and watch;  their next step will be for them to ask for federal government funding to help bail them out of the mess they have created. So, what is the foundation of American Exceptionalism?  It’s the freedom to make choices and the freedom get out from under government oppression.   We are saying that everybody should have the opportunity to fail or to succeed.  The outcome of personal choices is the responsibility of each individual, but government should not – except in limited circumstances such as national security – be able to bridle individual choices and decisions.
	About the Author 2025 Bill Sargent has written over 300 guest columns and editorials over the last ten years for numerous publications and continues to do so. Bill lives in Galveston, Texas
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