QOTD: Core beliefs

"These things I believe:  That government should butt out. That freedom is our most precious commodity and if we are not eternally vigilant, government will take it all away. That individual freedom demands individual responsibility.  That government is not a necessary good but an unavoidable evil.  That the executive branch has grown too strong, the judicial branch too arrogant and the legislative branch too stupid.  That political parties have become close to meaningless.  That government should work to insure the rights of the individual, not plot to take them away. That government should provide for the national defense and work to insure domestic tranquillity.  That foreign trade should be fair rather than free.  That America should be wary of foreign entanglements.  That the tree of liberty needs to be watered from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. That guns do more than protect us from criminals; more importantly, they protect us from the ongoing threat of government. That states are the bulwark of our freedom.  That states should have the right to secede from the Union.  That once a year we should hang someone in government as an example to his fellows." ~  Lyn Nofziger