Photo: Editorial cartoon about the Perdicaris Incident; public domain
A big part of politics is problem-solving. When issues threatening the rights or safety of the citizens arise, our elected officials must solve those problems. National defense is a must, and limitation on the government’s ability to protect our rights is critical. Frequently, though, our elected leaders fail to follow the basic and simple solutions to problems we face, instead choosing to hem and haw in vague political language.
Often, this is because the politicians have something to gain from the problem’s existence, or it is because they are not brave enough to bear the risks of facing the challenge head-on. Phyllis Schlafly recognized this longstanding issue with our politicians in her book A Choice Not an Echo. She emphasized how often the best solution is the simple solution.
Phyllis wrote, “When an American citizen named Ion Perdicaris was captured and held hostage by a bandit named Ahmed Raisuli, President Theodore Roosevelt had a simple solution: just send out a cable reading ‘Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead.’ And it got results.”
Phyllis went on, “There are numerous simple solutions for most of the problems that confront our country today.” Phyllis wrote this in 1964, but it still holds true today. Many of the issues we face in modern America have very simple solutions, whether they are foreign or domestic issues.
With wars in Israel and Ukraine, it is necessary to have a decisive commander-in-chief who is respected by the fighting parties in these conflicts. President Joe Biden does not fit the bill and has repeatedly failed to deploy simple solutions.
Many issues could be solved by simply closing our border. The open border means terror threats, infiltration by our enemies, and a free flow of drugs and trafficked people into our United States. The solution is simple: Close the border!
Americans face higher prices week after week. The solution is simple! Stop inflating the money supply.
Phyllis was right, we should do the simple solution for important problems.
This post originally appeared at https://www.phyllisschlafly.com/constitution/congress/government-resists-the-simple-solution/
