To the editor:

We don’t know how many of you saw the piece on a recent Opinion Page by Walter Williams titled “Show of Constitutional Contempt.” It was about how the Executive and Congressional segments of our government are ignoring the constraints the Constitution puts upon them and are passing laws that are not in their power to pass. And we, the people, also ignorant about the contents of the Constitution, are allowing them to do it because, although these actions take away our freedom and liberty, do not want to take on the individual responsibility ourselves.

It is not the federal government’s job to bail us out of all our problems. That was to be ours and the individual state’s job. The trouble with a centralized government controlling everything is that there is no provision for individual circumstances. It is a one-size-fits-all approach, which open up the process to fraud and deceit and in some cases forces people to lie in order to get any help at all. And as the aforementioned piece points out, if we are forced to buy health insurance, what else will the government force us to buy?

It is true that we have to buy car insurance to drive. But it is not mandated on everyone and people are not charged a tax if they don’t purchase it. They just don’t drive.

Mr. Williams also made mention of a bill introduced by John Shadegg R-Ariz. requiring that Congress specify the source of authority under the Constitution for each bill introduced. Unfortunately, it has never garnered much support from Congress. So members of Congress either do not know what the Constitution says or wish to remain ignorant of the constraints that document places upon them.

We have read the Constitution and if Congress followed it they wouldn’t be in Washington for very long each year because there wouldn’t be much for them to do. Most of the work of government would be done by the individual states.

As an example of government intrusion into our lives, think of the Dept. of Education. Education was the soul responsibility of each state. But when the states saw the money, they abdicated the right to educate their children as they saw fit, to the federal government and we can see the results. Once we were near the top in the world rankings, and now we are near the bottom.

Europe is used to a father figure government that takes care of you from birth to death. We are used to doing our own thing, being in charge of our own affairs without government interference. We don’t like being told what to do. Government has intruded into our lives in more ways then we are aware of. Health care is another layer of governmental control. What will they try to control next?

Bill and Doris Heyns

Cape Coral