Timothy Birdnow

Tomorrow will be Easter Monda, and the traditional White House Easter Egg Roll. The roll is a tradtion on the White House lawn since Rutherford B. Hayes offered his yard to children who had been kicked off of the Capitol grounds by Congress back in 1878.

It has grown to be one of the largest annual events in Washington.

This year President Donald Trump appears to want to scale it back, and the media - ever on the lookout for a negative word to say about The Donald - is apoplectic. What Ebeneazer Scrooge or Mr. Potter are to Christmas Trump now is to Easter, a killjoy who wants to take Easter eggs from little kids and cook the Easter Bunny.

Unlike the Obama Administration which found new ways to waste taxpayer money, Trump appears to want to scale this thing back. In recent years it had gotten totally out of hand, with live entertainment (Behonce' is a fairly regular performer) cooking demonstrations, and sporting events, and it is hideously expensive. Trump, who won't get any big name performers anyway since they are boycotting him, will use military bands and whatnot for music. In short, he's cutting back.

And well he should; there is no reason to take money from taxpayers to throw these kinds of lavish parties. Obama didn't use his personal stash of cash for it, and Trump is recognizing a cold, hard fact. Yes, it's a lot of fun, but government is not about fun but about providing for the common defense and regulating interstate commerce. Fun wasn't in the deal.

Oh, I realize I will be called a killjoy, but we have gotten far, far away from the type of government originally sold to the colonies. It was a classic bait=and=switch, with the central government growing despite the checks and balances put in place. Now our government is a true leviathan, sucking up much of the wealth produced by Americans for fun and games like this tradition. We have enslaved those very young children who will be rolling eggs on the White House lawn with crushing debt, debt that they will ultimately never be able to repay. But, heck, we gave them a big, fun post-Eaaster party! Somehow I think that is a Pyrric comfort.

I hear the objections; it's only once a year, we can't become skinflints, etc. But anyone who knows anything about budgeting their money knows you cut the frills first. Government is so used to unlimited funds that they are unwilling to cut anything at all, and so we waste our national essence in all ways. An Easter egg roll is a frivolity, and one that the White House SHOULD cut back on as a way of showing they mean business. Average Americans are always being asked to make sacrifices - it's time government did the same.

At least Barack Obama didn't rename it the Spring Roll or whatnot.

I leave you with this final thought; according to the Bible government has the power of the sword to punish evildoers, and it is clear that government was instituted by God for a limited purpose.  Yes, Easter egg rolls are fun, but well beyond the scope of purpose set down in the Bible and in our Constitution. Until we return to that frame of reference we will find ourselves wandering in a wilderness of despair and red ink.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 10:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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