Elections always have consequences. And down through the years, the consequences have become ever more consequential. 

Government now reaches into individual's lives beyond acceptable limits. 

Some shrug their shoulders – others throw their hands in the air – anything to show despair that nothing can be done. 

I reject that and affirm that something can be done.

First, some historical perspective:

Consider Abraham Lincoln, who as a retired congressman practicing law in Illinois and imagining his time in politics to be over, was roused to speak against the Kansas-Nebraska Act. 

In those historically famous debates with then U.S. Senator Stephen Douglas, Lincoln commented that, "No man is good enough to govern another man, without the other's consent. I say this is the leading principle—the sheet anchor of American republicanism."

Amen.

Lincoln lost that 1858 election and Douglas returned to the Senate. 

But by standing up for what was right, by recognizing what was an egregious legislative act and by standing against it, Lincoln set the stage for his ascendency as the first Republican to be elected to the presidency two years later.

This is not to equate slavery with the excessive taxation and overly-burdensome regulation Americans must deal with today. In today’s America, the rights of the individual have been trumped by a tyranny of the majority. 

Yes, all of us understand that majority rule is the way our politics proceeds. Yet, majority rule, in American politics, must recognize minority rights. And put plainly, the world’s smallest minority is the individual citizen. 

Though the individual citizen is ignored by today’s identity politics, it is the individual citizen who must stand up and say:

This isn’t about the haves versus the have-nots. This isn’t about black versus white. This isn’t about gay versus straight.  This isn’t even liberal versus conservative. 

This is about individuals and the God-given rights each citizen is entitled to enjoy. This is about the natural rights affirmed in the Declaration of Independence. This is about justice that is – or should be – blind. No one is above the law and no one should be below the law.

Once we allow or embrace the politics that pits some Americans against others, we let insiders manipulate us in order to assign people a station in life. That ignores the complexities of human nature and the free-will that each of us posses. Paradoxically, it protects the powerful.  Thus, the parallel to be drawn is the scope and reach of government at the state and federal level today. 

If government can mandate how a private enterprise offers benefits to its employees, what can’t it mandate? 

If government can mandate that companies cannot locate work in certain states, what can’t it do? 

If government can mandate that individuals must purchase health care insurance or face a fine and jail time, what can’t it tell us to do?

The answer, of course, is that we must assert our rights as individuals. 

Our God-Given individual rights must have primacy over that which binds only some of us as separate groups. 

Richard Olivastro is president of Olivastro Communications and founder of Citizens for Change. A professional member of the National Speakers Association, he is available pro bono for charitable fundraisers and public forums and can be reached via email at richolivastro@gmail.com or by phone at 1-877-RICHSPEAKS.