For years, many of us have been arguing that omnipotent government in foreign affairs is just as evil and dangerous, if not more so, than omnipotent government in domestic affairs. But our arguments met with indifference from some devotees of freedom and limited government, because while they could see the evils and dangers of the welfare state, the absence of war made those of the warfare state seem remote and irrelevant. With the Persian Gulf War, this is no longer the case.
No one can now deny: that the President of the United States has the unfettered and uncontrolled power to send this nation into war; and that the United States government has the unfettered and uncontrolled power to use the lives, savings, and earnings of the American people to police wrongdoing all over the world. What does the future hold for a people whose government has omnipotent power over their lives and fortunes in both domestic and foreign affairs?
What does the future hold for a people who fail to see that individual freedom and omnipotent government are mutually exclusive? What does the future hold for a people who believe that the omnipotence of their government is more important than their own individual freedom? The aftermath of the Persian Gulf War will bring a renewed opportunity to convince our fellow Americans of the vital importance of constitutionally limiting the power of our government — not only in domestic affairs but in foreign affairs as well. While our task will certainly not be an easy one, we must not shirk from attempting it. For if we are to avert the catastrophe which inevitably awaits us at the end of this treacherous road, we must fearlessly and uncompromisingly confront both the welfare state and the warfare state. The freedom, well-being, and perhaps even the survival of the people of this nation depend on it.