By Selwyn Duke

If I were a governor, the first thing I’d do is scrutinize
the school curriculum in my state. For the teachings in the schools today will
be the ideology of tomorrow, to paraphrase Abraham Lincoln.

I’d review as much of the material as I could myself, and if
the volume was too great, I’d appoint like-minded traditionalists to help with
the task. But gone would be the revisionist history, radical environmentalism,
feminism, multiculturalism, politically correct teaching models, and most other
pseudo-intellectual “innovations” of the last century. Tradition would be
resurrected and exalted, the classics would be taught, and the moral supremacy of
the old Western civilization emphasized. I would be mindful of G.K.
Chesterton’s words: “It ought to be the oldest things that are taught to the
youngest children, the assured and experienced truths that are put first to the
baby. But in a school today the baby has to submit to a system that is younger
than himself.”

I’d also do everything in my power to identify and eliminate
teachers and college professors who instill the young with soul-scorching lies.
This task would be approached with unyielding fervor — just imagine the House
Committee on Un-American Activities on steroids. If most all the educators had
to be replaced with people lacking in formal education but overflowing with
wisdom and actual education, that would be fine (those with “education” majors
need not apply). You can have more degrees than a thermometer but not a lick of
common sense.

If I were a governor, God would be in the public square,
just as He was when the founders were there. Organizations such as the ACLU and
Americans United for the Separation of Church and State would object, I’m sure.
But they’d have their hands full already, since I’d be doing to them what
they’ve long done to American culture. You see, leftists are corrupt, and
corrupt people generally have skeletons in their closets. So these
organizations would be investigated relentlessly and their lives made very
uncomfortable. Oh, I realize they know how to play hardball. I’d play
harder-ball.

If I were a governor, I wouldn’t just oppose ObamaCare. I’d
also inform the central government that henceforth my state will no longer
abide by any unconstitutional federal laws, mandates, or regulations.
Furthermore, any federal agent who crossed into my state to enforce such would
be arrested, thrown in jail, and charged. And, yes, we’d find something to
charge him with.

If I were a governor, illegal aliens would receive neither
education nor benefits nor jobs. Most would then leave my state voluntarily,
and the rest would be rounded up and bussed to Washington, DC. If the feral
government complained, I’d just say that we’re doing the jobs un-Americans
won’t do.

If I were a governor, foreigners would be guests, not
guides. Government documents and services would be provided in English only,
though I might offer the telephone option of pressing two for deportation.
After all, if you love your culture enough to want to impose it, you’ll perhaps
understand that we love ours enough to want to protect it. If this meets with
your disfavor, there’s a simple solution: it’s rumored that there is more of
your culture than you’ll know what to do with in the place you came from.

If I were a governor, life would be protected from
conception to natural death. If your name was Dr. Kevorkian or Andrew Cuomo,
you could take your ideology elsewhere.

If I were a governor, I’d ensure that there no longer was
that one exception to the eternal law “It is easier to destroy than create.” Many
big-government programs and bureaucracies would go the way of the dodo. The
state “human-rights” commission and social services agencies would be first on
the list, but, well, I’ll put it this way: I’d do to most government programs
and bureaucracies what an asteroid might have done to the dinosaurs.

If I were a governor, I’d recognize that we’ve been
gradually losing liberty through the continual institution of laws and
regulations. Thus, if the total number of these removals of freedom wasn’t
reduced during my tenure, I’d consider it a failure. I’d also want this to be
mirrored by taxation levels. If government can’t get by on a reasonable amount
of money, well, it’s time to say, “When in the course of human events….”

If I were a governor, the courts would be brought to heel. They’d
surely object to most of my program, and I’d certainly take note of that. I’d
then echo Andrew Jackson and say that the courts have made their decision — now
let them enforce it. Lawyers exist to be made as unnecessary as possible, not
to rule as an oligarchy over the people. Most of them are educated beyond their
intelligence, anyway, and I’d remind them that, as Thomas Jefferson warned,
judicial review is un-American and a threat to the republic. I’d inform them
that judicial review has been reviewed — and ruled suicidal.

If I were a governor, I’d do what all governors should do: I’d
build a future for all, not just a career for one. I’d stand up for truth, not
bow down to tyranny. And I’d encourage people to cultivate the temperate minds
that allow for freedom and that extinguish the passions that forge
fetters. 

If I were a governor, I might not last long. But I would
certainly start a fire.

                              Contact Selwyn Duke, follow him on Twitter or log on to SelwynDuke.com

                                                     © 2013 Selwyn Duke — All Rights Reserved