The Daily Signal - 'Eternal Vigilance' Required to Maintain Freedom, Author Says

Episode Date: October 26, 2020

“The price of liberty is eternal vigilance” goes the sentiment often ascribed to Thomas Jefferson. The spirit of those words never may have been more important than today.  Ralph Bayrer, author of the new book “Eternal Vigilance: Guarding Against the Predatory State,” joins the podcast to discuss the future of our nation and how we can defend our freedom.  We also read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a recent victory for female athletes amid the fight to defend women’s sports from the agenda of the transgender movement.  Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Monday, October 26. I'm Robert Blewe. And I'm Virginia Allen. On today's show, we talk with Ralph Bearer, author of the newly released book, Eternal Vigilance, guarding against the predatory state about the future of our nation and how we can defend our liberty. We also read your letters to the editor and share a good news story about a recent victory for female athletes amid the fight to defend women's sports from the agenda of the transgender. movement. Before we get to today's show, Rob and I want to take just a moment to encourage all of you to exercise your right to vote on Election Day. The right to vote is among the most sacred rights we have as Americans. It is fundamental to our democracy that every eligible citizen exercises their duty and makes their voice heard. The Heritage Foundation is encouraging everyone

to make sure your vote is counted and cast your ballots in person this election day. protecting the integrity of our elections should matter to everyone, and there is no better way to ensure that your vote counts than by going to your polling place to vote. Your vote is sacred, as Virginia said, so don't give it up. Now stay tuned for today's show. Coming up next. We are joined today by Ralph Bearer, author of the newly released book, Eternal Vigilance, guarding against the predatory state. Mr. Bearer, welcome to the Daily Signal podcast. Well, thank you, and I appreciate the opportunity. need to share the book with you and your audience.

Well, I love how you begin the book. Right at the top, you have this excellent quote from Thomas Jefferson, which is the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. And I assume that that is where the title of the book came from. So let's unpack this idea a little bit, that in order to maintain freedom, we have to maintain vigilance. So what did Jefferson, and what do you mean by that? Well, I mean that we've got to be alert to what I call the darker side of human nature when it comes to government.

I'm not talking about necessarily vigilance on the everyday legislative process. That's simply too complex and too easily obfuscated for the average person. I'm really talking about a deeper vigilance with regard to constitutional principle and structure. Something that is a precious inheritance of our country is embedded in our Constitution and something that actually, as I show, comes from over two and a half millennia of human evolution. So in maintaining that vigilance, you know, like you said, it's this sort of larger, picture and we have to be acutely aware of what is happening in our country. So how do we recognize what actually is a threat to our freedom? Well, maybe it's a little pretentious. I try to establish

what I'd call an empirical principle in that regard, an argument that facts and results are what count, not sentimentality. And we've got to get people attune to that. And I must say in this regard that the Heritage Foundation, along with Dow Jones, puts out this marvelous work every year, the index of economic freedom. And that takes an empirical approach to looking at the performance of a country and what policies, what institutions are absolutely essential for producing the best outcomes. So, you know, I think many Americans look at what's happening in our nation right now, and there is concern for the future. There is concern that, you know, we were losing freedoms or that certain liberties are at risk, but not everyone will actually sit down and write a book

about what they're seeing and their concerns. So why is this issue so important to you that you actually took the time to write this book? Well, the growing problem has been around for some time before I started writing the book. Things, I guess, have just gotten worse as we've proceeded, but it was so alarming to me, and it was so puzzling to me, that we really do know what needs to be done, what policies work. I mean, not only do we have heritage, we have Kato and Mercatus and all sorts of people that have analyzed this. And yet it somehow was not getting through or not getting through enough to people at large. And I thought that I could connect the dots perhaps in a way that would be more engaging. Plus, I wanted to understand it myself

as to exactly what seemed to be going on. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we're certainly thankful that you did take the time to write the book, Eternal Vigilance, guarding against the predatory state. I want to read a quote from the introduction of your book. You say the book's central argument is that man's discovery of ways to successfully cooperate with his fellow man on community, national, and global scales in the face of ubiquitous predatory instincts is his greatest achievement and the foundation for all advanced. civilizations. So do you think, are we losing that ability to successfully cooperate in America?

Well, the more intrusive government gets, the more they inhibit our ability to function freely. Now, it might only have a downside economic consequence, but I think ultimately we'll have a consequence in terms of our liberties, our ability to meet our own needs. individuals. I think we've had a steady encroachment by the government over the last hundred years or more. I believe that the progressive left has undermined constitutional protections, and we've been fighting a rearguard battle ever since. Well, and I want to ask with that, because, you know, like you said, this hasn't happened overnight. This has been a gradual instance that we've seen of kind of slowly, but surely just the government growing larger and

more and more freedoms kind of being placed at risk. So I think there's such a need to really understand history. We have to understand how we got here. So what shifted in the nation to where it is increasingly difficult, you know, to work together, to find those commonalities even in spite of differences and to guard against, you know, the continued growth of the government. Well, we clearly have a contest between world views going on. I think one can be empirically defended and the other one. cannot in the longer run.

I don't want to cast aspersions on the arguments of the left. I'm sure most of those people are very sincere. They somehow want to do better for the average person. They think government is the vehicle to do that, whereas my book argues that there's a lot of uverse in that, that the government simply isn't smart enough to do better than the distributed intelligence of people and their own ability to pursue their own needs.

And we once believed that in this country when the Constitution was formed, and somehow in the last 100 years there's been a gathering view that no, the individual can't direct his life's efforts to meeting his own needs adequately, but the government has to intervene. But my book also looks at examples around the world. where other people have dealt with the very same problems and have come up with better solutions. Well, I'm glad you mentioned that because I did want to ask you about those other countries that you refer to in the book. So what are other instances throughout history around the world that we

can look at and say, okay, you know, this country, whether it be 50 or 100 or 200 years ago, however long ago, was in a similar position. And this is, you know, either what they did right or what they did wrong. Well, if you allow me, I'd like to come use four of the examples. The book actually looks at 13 in total. Please. Not all of them are good examples, by the word in the book. But why don't we start with what I think is the most startling in that most people

don't know about. Let's take Singapore, for example. Singapore is a country with no natural resources, though it does have a good port. at the end of the Second World War, it was dirt poor. It seemed to have nothing going for it, but it follows all the principles of, say, the Index for Economic Freedom very closely. It pursues the worldview that I outline, and by golly today, they have a higher standard of living GDP per capita than the United States.

I find that totally astounding, given all the advantages we once had in this country, going forward. I think another example I would use, maybe less dramatic, but equally telling. Let's take a look at Switzerland, for example, that if you go back to the end of the 16th century, Switzerland was sort of in the same position as the United States at the time of the revolution. They had to create a military alliance among the cantons to fight enemies. they didn't trust one another particularly, and they came up with a constitution of limited government, saying government can only do these things and everything else is reserved to the cantons.

That's actually what our original constitution said, that it had enumerated powers. The central government could only do certain things, and everything else was left to the state and the people. That worked pretty well for Switzerland. Now, Switzerland had faced some of the same phenomenon that we do. The world grew. We had an industrial revolution, but they changed their government in the way it should be done. They debated every issue along the way, whether it was health care or Social Security, other things. And if they had to modify their constitution, they did it in a constitutional way.

And the net result today is they have a much firmer fiscal situation. They have much more intelligent pension programs, health care programs and other things than we do. and they certainly don't have the horrible looming and unfunded entitlements that we have in this country. And they have a great growth record, and they have a great protection of individual liberties. The other two examples I would bring in my book are Sweden and New Zealand, which might not leap to everybody's mind right away. But both of those countries went down the same path that we've been going down with very bad results economically. They both hit fiscal crises.

They could no longer continue on the path they were on, and they both proceeded along marvelous reforms. In my book, I consider New Zealand to be the poster child of how reform should be undertaken. And as a result, they have fast growth now. They've corrected all of their problems. They maintain their liberties. And I think those are wonderful examples for the reader to see. So then what does America need to start doing tomorrow? in order to get back on the right path of moving towards economic growth and more economic

freedom and more freedom and liberty in our nation in general? Well, that is indeed the question. I mean, the programmatic things that we need to do are self-evidence. I mean, we've got to downsize government, reform the entitlements from ground up. We've got to balance the budget. We've got to deregulate. we've got to get a Supreme Court that's willing to enforce the Constitution as written. But the question is, how do you get from here to there, given the stalemate that we have?

I guess my book argues that we're going to obviously need a seat change in the electorate. Enough of the electorate's got to be brought to see the arguments that I bring forth in my book. But once that's so, there are lots of things that can be done. Now, I say that if you can't do it through the normal electrical process, the chances are we're going to have a major fiscal crisis on our hands. We're going to hit the same walls that Sweden and New Zealand hit at one point, and then we're not going to have a lot of choice in the matter. And the hope is that, as Milton Friedman once said, that we've put enough things in play that we'll know what to do. do. And in fact, I summarize the book at the end with what some of the more dramatic things might be. For example, there's a book by Levin, the Liberty Amendments that indicate what amendments

the Constitution would address all these problems, the balanced budget amendment being obvious. Cato has also come out with a list of amendments that would do the job. But those are only two sets of examples. I mean, the ideas are almost obvious at this point if there's a political will to proceed along those lines. So are you optimistic as a scholar and as a historian? Are you hopeful for America's future? Well, you know, that's an interesting question. My very best friend who I have lunch with every week is very pessimistic. I, however, have believed in a sort of evolutionary development that societies have evolved in a saner, more powerful direction, which is why we live in a more affluent world today. I also strongly believe in the wisdom of the people. I think ultimately

people are very wise. They're not so easily misled as you might think in a given election cycle. And in my own mind, I think that's what brought Ronald Reagan to the presidency for all of problems. I think Trump has reflected that unease in society. Who would ever guess that Trump would come to power? And I think there are further positives of crises in our future. But that's just me. I tend to be optimistic by nature. I think that's a good thing. That's a good way to go through life, being optimistic. Well, the book is called Eternal Vigilance, guarding against the predatory state. You can find it on Amazon, wherever books are sold. Mr. Bayer, we just really appreciate your time today and appreciate you as well writing this excellent book. Well, I appreciate the opportunity just as much to talk about it. So thank you also. Conservative women. Conservative feminists. It's true. We do exist. I'm Virginia Allen, and every Thursday morning on problematic women, Lauren Evans and I sort through the news to bring you stories and interviews that are a particular interest to conservative of leaning or problematic women. That is women whose views and opinions are often excluded or

mocked by those on the so-called feminist left. We talk about everything from pop culture to policy and politics. Search for problematic women wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for sending us your letters to the editor. Each Monday we feature our favorites on the Daily Signal podcast. Virginia, who do you have first? In response to the problematic women podcast interview with Doreenny, discussing the battle over women's sports. Agostino writes, The answer is simple, but expensive. What's needed is a new transgender category of competition,

one not based on biology. And Brian Terry writes to us in response to Fred Lucas's article, Fill the Seat, Barrett Backer's rally as Senate panel advances her nomination. He says, The Democrats have shown disgraceful treatment of a nominee that is most qualified and deserving, and have been disrespectful of Republicans and the Senate overall. Your letter could be featured on next week's show, so go ahead and send us an email at Letters at DailySignal.com.

What the heck is trickle-down economics? Does the military really need a space force? What is the meaning of American exceptionalism? I'm Michelle Cordero. I'm Tim Desher, and every week on the Heritage Explains podcast, we break down a hot-button policy issue in the news at a 101 level. Through an entertaining mix of personal stories, media clips, music, and interviews, we help you actually understand the issues. So do this. Subscribe to Heritage Explains on iTunes, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcast today.

Virginia, it's always great to hear the good news stories that you bring us over to you to tell us about today's. Thanks so much, Rob. You know, one of the issues that we follow very closely right here at The Daily Signal is the battle for the future of women's sports. More and more biological men who identify as women are entering both female high school and college athletic teams, taking opportunities from women and girls to compete and to win. Last year, a biological male from Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire won the NCAA Women's Track National Championship. So Concern Women for America, they saw what was happening at this small New England University, and they filed a civil rights. complaint with the Department of Education, arguing that by allowing a biological male student to compete in female sports, that the university was in direct violation of Title IX,

which is actually intended to provide and protect equal opportunities to both men and women in the field of athletics. So Concernment for America, they just recently received some good news for female athletes not only at Franklin Pierce University, but around the country. And Doreenny, Vice President of Government Relations for Concern Women for America, join me on the Daily Signals Problematic Women Podcast to discuss. Our case was just resolved. We just heard about it last week, and we realized that, you know, what the Department of Education determined was that, yes, in fact,

what Franklin Pierce University did with its transgender policy was a violation of Title IX. And the thing to understand is that policy reflects the NCAA policy. It reflects many policies that universities have across the country. And because of what the NCAA has done and even the International Olympic Committee and the U.S. Olympic Committee. So we're hoping that this case really does send the kind of warning signal to universities and colleges that they have a responsibility under federal civil rights law to ensure equal educational opportunities for women in sports. And that is based on sex. It's not based on gender identity.

This is a really important victory to move this fight along in the right direction and ensure that women now and for generations to come are able to compete on an equal playing field. So we do hope that we can share more good news like this with you all soon as groups like Concerment for America and the Heritage Foundation fight to protect every woman's right to play and win. on an equal athletic playing field. Virginia, as the father of a very young daughter, it's really encouraging to me to see people fighting for this. Thank you for bringing us the story and also for the work that you do with the problematic women podcast.

We don't talk about that enough, but it is a phenomenal show, and I encourage our daily single podcast subscribers to check it out and subscribe to it as well. Thanks, Rob. Yeah, Lauren Evans and I have a ton of fun hosting that podcast, and it's always nice with important topics, like women's sports where we have, unfortunately, seen quite a bit of discouraging news. It's great to see a victory like this.

Well, we're going to leave it there for today. You can find the Daily Signal podcast and Problematic Women on the Rikershay Audio Network. All of our shows are available at dailysignal.com slash podcasts. You can also subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or your favorite podcast app. And be sure to listen every weekday by adding the Daily Signal podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing.

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