The Words of Freedom

By Marilyn Davidson

On September 17th we will join together as a country to celebrate Constitution Day. Created to honor the timeless principles that govern our country, the purpose of this holiday is to remember the important values that contributed to America's political foundation and to celebrate our individual freedoms.

As a young girl, I traveled to our nation's capitol and visited the National Archives to view our Constitution and Declaration of Independence. At the time, I failed to appreciate the value of these historic documents, but through the years I've grown to cherish the battle fought by our Founding Fathers to secure liberties for America and its future generations. Over two hundred years later, the words found within both our Constitution and Declaration of Independence continue to resonate within the deepest and dearest parts of our being.

As Gary Palmer, president of the Alabama Policy Institute, noted in a recent column, "One of the urgent challenges facing America today is the need to pass on the essential core knowledge and principles necessary for the next generation to successfully lead our nation."

We at OCPA believe in the values that shaped our country's history and recognize the importance of ensuring that they remain in the forefront of all policy debates both at the national and state level.

If you would like to receive a free pocket version of the United States Constitution and Declaration of Independence, please contact OCPA at ocpa@ocpathink.org.

Former Attorney General to Speak at OCPA Liberty Gala

OCPA is proud to announce that Edwin Meese, former United States Attorney General under President Ronald Reagan, will be the key-note speaker at our Liberty Gala in Tulsa.

Mr. Meese holds the Ronald Reagan chair in Public Policy at the Heritage Foundation, responsible for keeping the president's legacy of conservative principles alive in public debate and discourse. He also is the Chairman of Heritage's Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, founded in 2001 to educate government officials, the media and the public about the Constitution, legal principles and how they affect public policy.   

"Ed Meese brings with him a rich collection of experience, wisdom, and an unwavering belief in the conservative ideals that have made our country great!" said OCPA president Hopper Smith.

The Liberty Gala will be held September 18th at 7:00 pm at the South Tulsa Renaissance Hotel.  For more information, visit www.ocpathink.org or call (405) 602-1667.

Liberals Address; Conservatives Fix

By Brett Magbee

Have you ever had the experience of traveling down a road with a preponderance of potholes? Usually, you are so happy when the road improves that your first thought is not to go down that stretch of road again. You think about how jarring the experience was and promise yourself never to risk again the costly repairs such roads can cause. Yet today it amazes me how many tired old public policy potholes liberals continue to promote, everything from "price controls," "socialized medicine," "the windfall profit tax," "the fairness doctrine," "a national speed limit," "bans on energy exploration". . . the list goes on and on . . . but all of them have been tried and have failed.

    Just what is it about those old standards of liberal thought that makes them so alluring? Could it be the idea that all of them necessitate government control? It seems liberals love the idea of controlling an individual's destiny. They basically don't trust people to take personal responsibility for anything. So, in order to control individuals and manage their lives, liberals know it requires them to grow more government.

    As columnist George Will notes, "In America, conservatives much more than liberals reject the presumption of individual vulnerability and incompetence that gives rise to liberal statism." Conservatives like to "fix" problems, while liberals prefer to "address" problems. If you fix a problem the problem goes away. If you address a problem, the problem can be perpetually addressed and never really solved. Read MORE!