Horses are amazing, beautiful, and useful animals. They’re also very powerful – and a whole lot bigger than a rider on their back. That’s why bits exist. (The bit is attached to the reins, and it goes into the horse’s mouth; it’s small, but integral to controlling the horse.)

The United States Constitution established an amazingly beautiful and effective form of government. But the power necessary to make it functional could easily threaten the very citizens of the nation it was designed to serve. Thus, the Founding Fathers gave us the Bill of Rights.

One might say that the Bill of Rights functions like a bit in the mouth of America’s government. And the Constitution gives the voters the reins attached to that bit. If people fail to vote, the bit is useless, and the result is power that does anything it wants.

But there is another, more subtle, danger: “There is a widespread idea, sometimes hazy and indefinite, and sometimes distinctly articulate, that if we have majority rule then we have freedom. It sounds good. It looks good. It tastes like unadulterated truth… But it is not… We have a wonderful system in America. But there is no eternal protection in a mere system… the majority has power to destroy the limitations placed on its own power. It can take the bit in its teeth and run away.”¹

Only when we place good leaders in control does the privilege of exercising the precious freedoms given in the Bill of Rights endure. And vigilance is always necessary. As James Madison wrote in 1785, “it is proper to take alarm at the first experiment on our liberties.”² Why? Because as soon as one freedom is attacked, the others are in danger. Madison was speaking specifically to freedom of religion, but the principle applies to all our freedoms, which stand like dominoes.

There is a level of freedom beneath the Bill of Rights, however, and it’s not granted by men or their governments. As the Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Life is first in the list, and this is the truth that West Virginians for Life exists to defend and protect. To that end, we encourage voters to visit LifeVote.net – which allows anyone to simply type in their physical address and view the pro-life candidates specific to their ballot. West Virginians for Life reports that the tool is available in 18 states. Please encourage friends and family around the country to check LifeVote.net for guide availability in their state.

Vote like your freedom depends upon it – because it does.

Visit LifeVote.net
Visit West Virginians for Life

Sources

1. A. E. Lickey, “Horse-and-Buggy Freedom,” Liberty, A Magazine of Religious Freedom, April–June 1945, pp. 12–13. Read the original issue.

2. James Madison, Memorial and Remonstrance against Religious Assessments, June 20, 1785.

Editor’s note:

And here’s the Good News: We can put our convictions into practice by learning about the people who seek public office and taking our responsibility to vote seriously. The freedom to act calls for care as well as conviction. LifeVote offers a practical place to begin that work, while the article reminds us that a sound system of government still needs people willing to use it wisely. What will you do to become better informed before casting your next ballot?