My daughter came to me this morning to tell me about an essay contest she was going to enter for “Law Day.” The subject chosen was to discuss the meaning of the lines from the Gettysburg Address, “... and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” particularly to focus on the meaning of the words, “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
I found this to be very interesting and so we looked up the Gettysburg Address and read it together. We then both recited from memory the Preamble of the Constitution, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
I then asked my daughter why the civil war was fought and she, quite predictably, gave me the standard grammar school answer, “to free the slaves.” I told her while slavery was a symptom of the Civil War, it was NOT the reason, the real reason was the ongoing debate of the powers of the Federal Government versus the powers of the States and the people. I explained that President Lincoln did not issue the Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves until AFTER the war was well under way.
We then had a discussion about how this SAME issue of States Rights & Rights of the People vs. the Power of the Federal government is STILL being debated and tried TODAY in the halls of Congress, the White House, the Federal & State Courts, on radio, on TV, on the internet.
Interestingly I do not believe that ANY other country in the world has this same debate! Only the United States of America. Why? Because of the 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution. Yes, that’s right, THE Bill of Rights. Now everyone knows they can “take the 5th” and not answer questions that will incriminate them. And everyone knows about Freedom of Religion, Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Assembly, and the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Most know that the police (unless in “hot pursuit”) must have a warrant to enter or search your home or business, but despite the fact that the 9th and 10th amendments face challenges EVERY year since the founding of this country, most people do not know what they say. So here they are:
“Ninth Amendment – The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” Unfortunately this amendment is often forgotten by many of my conservative friends when they are so fond of saying that there is “no right of privacy in the constitution.” Yes, my friends, ALL human rights were protected in the constitution by this amendment, “RETAINED BY THE PEOPLE” it is one source of our power.
“Tenth Amendment – The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” Unfortunately our schools teach children about the 3 branches of the Federal Government, but rarely teach them the THREE DIVISIONS OF POWER within the United States: First The People, Second: The States and Third: The Federal Government. Why did I list them opposite of the Tenth Amendment? Because the people are the final repository of ALL rights not specifically granted to the Federal Government or the States.
The United States of America is unique among all nations. Our Government was SPECIFICALLY designed from the very beginning to protect the people FROM the government! Now, many other countries have grown into that mind set to one degree or one form or another, but ours is that way BY DESIGN. The Founding Fathers wanted to LIMIT the power of the Federal Government in order to protect the people.
People complain about how difficult our government is, how hard it is to get things done, how minority parties can prevent majority parties from accomplishing what they want. GUESS WHAT? That IS what the founding Fathers intended! They wanted the “various factions” to have a say, they knew that the more difficult the operation of government was, the less likely it would be that the rights of the people would be trampled.
So, what is my point? I go back to Mr. Lincoln in those few moving words he reminds us that the thousands who have died to protect and defend the rights of the people, all people, those soldiers, seamen, airmen and marines, civilians and military alike, who have given their “last full measure of devotion” must be remembered by US giving OUR devotion so “... that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
WE THE PEOPLE must not give up our power. We must NOT let it be usurped by the Federal Government in the guise of national emergency or anything else. We must hold our power to be sacred and guard it with our lives and our treasure. We must not let fear of the loss of comfort guile us into giving up the power the constitution guarantees us. We MUST continue to “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity” by protecting and defending the constitutional rights guaranteed to us.
It saddens me to see that using our national financial crisis as an excuse, Mr. Obama has done just that, in the mis-named “Economic Stimulus Bill” he has usurped powers from the People of the United States and from the States themselves. He is actively seeking to expand the powers of the Federal Government. That can only happen at the expense and diminution of the powers of the people and the States.
In other times of economic difficulty, Presidents have advocated reduction of taxes thereby freeing the people to do what they do best, provide for themselves and their families by using their time and talents and money to build businesses to employ others and provide goods and services needed and wanted by the people.
President Obama thinks he is smarter than you. Rather than letting you keep your money to save and invest as you think best for you and your family, he wants to take more of it and spend it for you. Mr. Obama, you swore an oath on Lincoln’s Bible, to “Protect and defend the Constitution” it is your duty to preserve the rights of the people in the 9th and 10th amendments. Do not let history find you wanting.
Think my friends, think.
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