Neal's Soapbox

Imagine for a moment, if you can, what the world would be like if there was no language; no means by which human beings could communicate and share ideas. How would you even know your own name if your parents had been unable to communicate it to you? Words, and I don’t care if they are in French, Tagalog, Russian, English, or Mandarin, are what give us the ability to share ideas; give instructions, express our feelings, and pass down our history from one generation to the next.

When two people carry on a conversation they assume that what they are hearing from each other is the truth. You see, words can be used to express the truth; or to spread lies. When I was growing up it was considered almost sinful to tell lies; hence the old childhood rhyme, “Liar, liar pants on fire.” When I was a kid parents taught their children to tell the truth, and getting caught in a lie often resulted in punishment. Nowadays all that has changed; our politicians lie to us, our news media lies to us, our schoolteachers teach us lies, and we routinely lie to each other.

Yet with all this lying going on, there is one thing that remains constant; the truth. The word truth itself is defined as meaning: that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality. Therefore, if the truth is based upon fact, or reality, then what are lies based upon? Fiction?

In the America of 2017 the people are so accustomed to hearing lies that they reject the truth when it is presented to them. It is as Dresden James said, “When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic.”

This fact is no more evident than when one attempts to explain to people the extent to which the history of this country they have been taught is founded upon lies, or at least misinformation, and that their system of government is so corrupt and bloated that it is beyond salvage.

As Jack Nicholson so famously uttered in the film A Few Good Men, “You can’t handle the truth!” That seems to be the case with a great many people I come into contact with; they simply refuse to accept the truth because it conflicts with all they’ve been taught, and all they believe in.

Try telling someone who supports any measures taken by our government as they pertain to a wide range of issues that what their government is doing is unconstitutional, and therefore illegal, and people will look at you like you’ve lost your mind.

Try telling people that even though they are the ones who go to the polls and choose from whoever is running for office that, once elected, the loyalties of those they elect are to a small group of banking and business interests, and once again people will look at you as if you’ve gone insane.

Try telling people that the federal government has obliterated the sovereignty of the States, and that this has been so since 1865 when the South gave up their fight for independence, and again, people will think you’ve lost your marbles.

Try explaining the limited powers given government by the Constitution, or the nature and purpose of their rights and they will get, what I like to call, the dumb cow look; a blank stare that shows they just can’t comprehend what you are saying.

For so many Americans it is far easier to go on believing lies than it is to accept, or seek out the truth. Yet as often as it is rejected, or ignored, the truth remains constant. It used to be that when debates were held that both sides would offer their arguments in support of a particular view on a subject, and the side which provided the most convincing evidence was deemed the winner of the debate.

Now our political debates are more akin to shouting matches, or mud-slinging events where one side attempts to do the better job of discrediting the opposing speaker; rather than conscientious studies of the facts. When facts cease to matter, what’s the purpose in even having any political discussion whatsoever; be it among political candidates, or among the citizens who vote for them? When feelings take precedent over fact; when emotions take precedent over the law, why do we continue to lie to ourselves that we have a government as outlined by our Constitution? Why can’t we just accept that what we have is NOT the same government our Founders had envisioned back in 1789; that it is far more intrusive and oppressive than the one they sought to free themselves from?

Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World, once said, “Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” They say the truth will set you free; but only if you accept it. I am not making any claim that to accept the truth will not come without consequences; that would be, in and of itself, a lie.

If the truth is what we hope for when we are engaged in communicating with others, then why are so many unable, or unwilling, to accept it when it is presented to them? James Madison left a warning for the generations which would follow him, “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.”

There are always two sides to every story, and if the people of America wish to remain free they must be willing to accept that the story they have been taught, the story they have believed all their lives, is quite possibly a lie. That is the first step. The next is finding how deep the rabbit hole goes, to use the quote from the Matrix. Taking that first step is always the hardest; but once you do the rest becomes easy; because once you accept that you’ve been lied to about one thing, it is easier to accept that you’ve been lied to about others.

As Americans you owe it to yourselves to seek out the truth; you owe it to posterity to seek out the truth for their sake, and you owe it to those who have preceded us, who have fought and died for the supposed freedoms you claim to enjoy.

Otherwise the following quote from Samuel Adams applies quite well to you, “If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”

A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. ~Alexander Fraser Tytler~

In 1776 fifty-six men, acting as representatives of their perspective Colonies, signed their names to a document declaring “That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown…” This was not an act of a people severing ties with another country, it was an act of a people severing ties with a political system which had become intolerable. Therefore, our Revolutionary War was not a war fought to free us of the English people, but to free us from the monarchal government within England. It is important that people understand this distinction.

Thirteen years later delegates would meet again, this time in the city of Philadelphia, to amend the Articles of Confederation; make them stronger and give the Congress they created the necessary power to fulfill its assigned duties. However, James Madison felt that the Articles of Confederation did not go far enough in creating a system of government which would be able to manage the affairs of a burgeoning nation; his goal was to write an entirely new document, establishing an entirely new system of government.

It is interesting to note that the State of Rhode Island refused to send any delegates to this convention, and once Madison unveiled his plans, Robert Yates and John Lansing of New York left because they felt the convention was overstepping its just authority to simply amend the Articles of Confederation. Then of course once the final document was presented to the delegates, the distinguished delegates George Mason, Elbridge Gerry and Edmund Randolph refused to sign it.

If the heated debates of the convention were contentious, they were simply the opening round of the upcoming debates over whether the nation should adopt the system of government they had proposed. The States quickly found themselves divided along the lines of those agreeable to the proposed constitution, and those opposed to it. Those agreeable to it were dubbed Federalists, and those who opposed it were given the name anti-Federalists.

Articles were written and speeches given, all designed to sway the minds of those who might find themselves tasked with making the momentous decision of either accepting or rejecting the plan of government contained within the document being discussed. They say hindsight is always 20/20, so it’s easy to armchair quarterback now and say the anti-Federalists were more right than they were wrong in their fears over this proposed system of government; but nonetheless it is true. Almost all their fears regarding how powerful this system of government would become, all their fears over the security of our unalienable rights being restricted by the government created by this constitution have come to pass. On the other hand, most, if not all the promises and assurances issued by the Federalists have proven to be lies, or at least hollow promises with no substance behind them.

For instance, in Federalist 45 James Madison assured the people, “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected.” While conversely he promised, “The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.”

Now I’m not saying that the basic system of government outlined in the Constitution is bad; it isn’t. However it contains one fatal flaw which doomed it to failure from the get go; it relied upon the people of this country to hold those they elect strictly to the limits established by the Constitution.

In a speech given on June 7, 1788 the esteemed Patrick Henry spoke of this danger when he said, “But in this, there is no real actual punishment for the grossest maladministration. They may go without punishment, though they commit the most outrageous violation on our immunities. That paper may tell me they will be punished. I ask, by what law? They must make the law — for there is no existing law to do it. What — will they make a law to punish themselves? This, Sir, is my great objection to the Constitution, that there is no true responsibility — and that the preservation of our liberty depends on the single chance of men being virtuous enough to make laws to punish themselves.”

Now let me ask you a simple question; who do you think was correct in their statements, the Federalist James Madison or the anti-Federalist Patrick Henry? If you are willing to admit that our government has grown far larger and far more powerful than envisioned by those who created it, then you must be forced to accept responsibility for it.

Yet today when one discusses politics, it is typically along partisan lines; Democrats versus Republicans. Americans no longer discuss government from the perspective of whether or not the Constitution authorizes it to do something, but whether there party supports doing it. What truly despairs me is when I see one party doing something, and being criticized for it by the other party, and then when the tables are turned and their party does the same thing they support it.

Take for instance how Republicans across the land fought tooth and nail against the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. Then when their candidate Trump gets into office they support HIS plan for a government run health insurance program. If I tried I could probably provide two to three pages of instances of the hypocrisy of those from both political parties. Like I said, the constitutional limitations upon government no longer matter to the voters; only what they can get from government which benefits them or their cause.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, the day which Americans honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms. How many Americans are going to take a moment to reflect upon how many of the freedoms those men and women died for that we have lost because we have allowed government to take them from us?

How is it that we can celebrate a holiday, then at the same time turn our backs upon the fact that there is a growing segment of society that is intent upon removing all reference to the Confederate States of America; which fought for the same principles as did the Patriots of 1776?

You may believe that the Civil War was fought over slavery, but it was fought because the government established in 1789 sought to prevent a portion of the Union from severing the ties which bound them to the rest of the Union. The causes which led the Southern States to secede were many, and yes the interference in the institution of slavery may have been one of them; but it was not the cause of the war. The war was fought because the government sought to force the Southern States into remaining in the Union. The Civil War was, in fact, a second war for independence and freedom of government by consent of the people.

But political correctness has taken over and the Civil War is now viewed as the evil slave owners against the righteous North seeking to free them from bondage; when what really happened is that government won and America as a whole found itself in servitude to the government.

Since 1865, when Lee surrendered at Appomattox, our government has steadily grown in size and in power; with a corresponding loss of the freedom it was originally established to protect. No amount of voting is going to fix that. It does not matter if the entire government was comprised of Republicans or Democrats, we would still have agencies such as the DEA, BATF, Bureau of Land Management, IRS, and the NSA, just to name a few, which overstep the limits imposed upon government by the Constitution and violate our rights. How is voting for a Republican or a Democrat for a specific office going to fix that?

If we are to celebrate Memorial Day we must also celebrate what it was those who paid the ultimate price fought for; freedom. If we are to celebrate freedom then we must cherish it to our last dying breath and fight against every intrusion upon it; no matter if it comes from your party or the other one.

In 1944 Judge Billings Learned Hand delivered a speech in which he said, “I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it. While it lies there it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it.”

Liberty is what those whom we honor fought and died for, and if we are to truly honor them we must honor not only them, but what they fought for. Liberty knows no political parties, it establishes freedom for all. The sooner America remembers this, the better it will be for all.

For nearly two decades now I have been researching the history of this country and spitting out these little commentaries of mine. On a scale of 1 to 10 as it pertains to how much I know and how well I write, I’d say I’m somewhere around a 6, maybe a 7. Along the way I’ve met some interesting people; some of whom are far more knowledgeable than I. I’ve also lost friends I’ve known for years because my ideas and beliefs have shifted so dramatically that they couldn’t stand to be around me anymore.

Some people, especially those I come into contact with on a daily basis, find me outspoken, abrasive and obnoxious. I have lost track of how many times I’ve been warned at work to tone it down because the things I’ve said, or written, have offended someone. While I respect the fact that management has to maintain a work environment with minimal conflict between the workers, the workers themselves need to stop being so sensitive; especially when what someone else says threatens their beliefs, and their precious feelings.

I could care less if people like me, all I ask is that they be willing to consider that what I’m saying, or writing, may be the truth. I’ve never asked anyone to blindly accept what I say without researching the information for them self. Yes it may prove uncomfortable; finding out that everything you had believed was a lie, but would you rather go to your grave having believed a lie, or would you rather someone opened your eyes to the truth?

After a major surgery or injury people often have to go see a physical therapist. During their visits to these therapists they are pushed, often painfully, towards recovery so that they can fully regain the mobility and use of limbs that the surgery/injury caused them to lose. Therefore, I would like for you to think of me as a physical therapist for your minds; as most of the people I know minds have atrophied and are simply incapable of processing complex data and information, and then acting upon that information.

Honestly, if our minds were not capable of changing our beliefs and conceptions then we’d all still believe in Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. As we progress from children into teens, and then into adults, the childhood fantasies and untruths we once believed in are replaced with the clarity only the truth can provide. I don’t know what it is about human psychology, but it seems that once we reach a certain age our ideas, beliefs and values become set in stone, and it takes something much more life altering than facts to change them.

If you’ve been doing something one way your entire life, and then someone comes along and shows you a different way to do it, are you going to ignore them just because that’s the way you’ve always done it? Why is it that so many people still put their faith and trust in a system, [government] that the facts clearly prove is broken beyond repair?

All those years ago when I picked up my first book and began reading about our Constitution and Bill of Rights, I was like almost every other American I meet on a day to day basis; ignorant as hell as to what powers our government was supposed to be exercising. I’m not proud of that, but Ben Franklin once said something that gives me a certain degree of comfort, “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”

Ignorance is only a character flaw when it is willful; when one rejects information because it conflicts with their beliefs. What separates me, and many like me, is that instead of clinging to our beliefs simply because they provided us with a certain degree of comfort, we chose to open our minds to the truth and allow it to take us wherever the facts led.

You see, there is one thing I don’t think many people have given much thought; that being that the truth is constant. If, as a child, you did something and as you grew up you forgot about it, does the erase the fact that it actually happened; that it is a truth? If you grew up and your parents lied to you about what you had done to protect your feelings, does that change the fact that the belief you hold in regards to what you did is based upon lies?

People have this amazing ability to rationalize almost any behavior or belief. The problem for them is that the truth threatens these beliefs because they rest upon no solid foundation of facts and evidence. There simply is no arguing with someone whose entire belief system is based upon rhetoric and emotionally based beliefs. One could provide encyclopedias full of evidence which prove their beliefs to be wrong, and all they’d hear back is emotional tirades against the person who is simply presenting the truth.

How can it be so difficult to take our written Constitution and see what it says are the powers given our government, and then compare that to what our government is actually doing? Either our government is adhering to the Constitution, or it isn’t; and if our Constitution truly is the supreme law of the land, then would that not make all those in our government criminals for violating it?

How can it be so hard to read our Bill of Rights and see which rights are protected from interference by our government, and then see how many of those rights we’ve had legislated into oblivion?

And yet people think the answer to all this is to keep supporting the ‘system’ which is guilty of doing all these things it was never supposed to. Our government be it good or bad; corrupt or pure, is a mirror which reflects the values and attitudes of the people of this country. If people do not like what they see in government then they need to change their beliefs as to what government is supposed to be doing and vote accordingly.

In 1877 James Garfield, (20th President of the United States), said the following, “Now more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature…. If the next centennial does not find us a great nation … it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture, and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”

Why is it that all these Americans focus so much attention on the election of a president, then basically ignore the races for seats in the Senate and the House of Representatives? Could it be because they are under the mistaken belief that the job of the president is to decide what path our country should take; which laws should be enacted? This only shows me that the people have absolutely no understanding of the Constitution; for it says that the legislative, (which is the lawmaking power) shall be vested in a Congress.

Yet how many people in this country can tell me what bills are currently before the House or Senate for consideration? How many can tell me how their representatives voted on a particular piece of legislation? How many can tell me they’ve gotten on the phone or written a letter to their representative?

EXACTLY!!!

The first step if fixing what is wrong in America, if that’s even remotely possible at this point, is to understand how the system was designed to function. That’s like teaching the alphabet to someone before you try to teach them to read or write; it’s absolutely essential. If people can’t learn that, or refuse to accept that the Constitution and Bill of Rights are what they say they are, and that anyone who violates them is guilty of a crime, then there is no point in going any further in this discussion.

The next step in fixing America is for the voters, (you know, the whole We the People thing) must stop voting along party lines and start voting only for candidates who we believe will strictly adhere to the Constitutional limitations upon the office they seek. If that means we stay home on election day because there is no one worthy of our vote, then so be it. But we need to stop voting for people JUST BECAUSE they are either a Republican or a Democrat; or worse, just to prevent the OTHER GUY from winning.

And then, once we’ve elected these people we must keep our eyes peeled for any infractions of the law. We must know what laws these people are proposing, and raise a united voice against any law which exceeds the power given government by the Constitution, or which infringes upon any of our rights.

I honestly think that people would not know what to think if our government truly was to abide by the Constitutional limitations imposed upon it. What a wonderful country this would be if all those government agencies were forced to close their doors and cease operations. But it won’t happen, because people have come to rely too heavily on government to provide all the services these agencies provide for them.

It truly cracks me up, all these Trump supporters who support his plans to ‘drain the swamp.’ I too want the swamp drained, but I’m for pulling the plug on it and letting the whole damned thing go down the drain, not whichever people Trump decides needs to go.

How is it that people can accept that there are special interests which, by way of lobbyists, sway the way Congressmen vote to support the interests of their employers, but they can’t accept that there is a concerted and coordinated effort to infiltrate key positions of power within our government to do the same? If lobbyists can influence Congress, is it too far a stretch to believe that groups like the Council on Foreign Relations can insert people into key positions within our government; positions within the huge infrastructure which actually makes policy and does the governing?

To use an accurate metaphor, our government is like the fictional enemy from the Captain America films, Hydra; cut on head off and two more shall take its place. You cannot vote this problem away; the entire system must be allowed to collapse and everyone in it sent to the unemployment line. Then, and only then, can the system be rebuilt according to the plan; i.e. the Constitution. Any efforts otherwise are exercises in futility.

But none of this will happen as long as people cling to their beliefs like life rafts. Nothing will get better if the people stop believing the lies they are being spoon fed and take some initiative and seek out the truth for themselves.

Our country was founded upon one simple principle; liberty. If you took a see saw and put liberty on one side, then government would be on the other. If one goes up, the other goes down; and so it is with the power exercised by government; if government expands its power, then our ability to live as freemen and women goes down. Although you may choose to ignore this simple truth, you cannot avoid the consequences of it.

Does it really matter if we lose our liberty to a bunch of career politicians who have no idea what the Constitution says, or don’t care what it says, or if it is by the infiltration of our government by power hungry sociopaths bent on the destruction of the Republic established by our Founders 230 years ago? After all, the end result is the same.

Either you can choose to continue supporting government, or to use another metaphor, take the blue pill, or you can stop putting your faith and trust in a broken system and stare educating yourself as to the reasons why the system was established in the first place. It’s your choice, I’m not going to hold a gun to your head and force you to do anything. Just don’t come crying to me if you choose the blue pill and then the whole system comes crumbling down around you at some point in time; which it will if you don’t radically change your beliefs on government.

But whichever you choose, don’t you dare call me a radical or unpatriotic because I no longer support the entity you know as government. You don’t know me, or the first thing about me if you make claims like that. As H.L. Mencken said, “The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.”

You see, if you keep calling me these names I am going to be forced to resort to the same tactic and start calling y’all a bunch of ignoramuses. I have history and the words of our Founders to back up my position. What do you have, a few pithy quotes from Barack Obama or Donald Trump? If it comes down to the court of history, I think y’all are gonna be the ones found guilty of letting our Republic go down the toilet.

Just sayin…

Just out of curiosity I looked up the definition for American in the dictionary. Webster’s defines it as: a native or inhabitant of the U.S. : a U.S. citizen. Is that all there is to it, just taking up space on U.S. soil is all that is required for one to be considered an American? Is all that is needed to call oneself an American is to possess a piece of paper; either a birth certificate, a passport, or a naturalization certificate, and you are considered an American…through and through?

Then, out of curiosity, I did a web search for the legal definition of the word American. I did not get any hits for that specific query. I did, however, get numerous hits for American citizens or citizenship. One of the sites it took me to provided the following definition for an American citizen, “Those who, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, or of a particular community or of a foreign country, owe allegiance and are entitled to enjoyment of all Civil Rights that Accrue to those who qualify for that status.”

I don’t know, that still doesn’t seem to sufficiently describe what I feel it means to be an American. I guess the best way to explain it is by giving my definition for American. I believe being an American means, one who has attained citizenship status; either by birth or naturalization AND supports and defends the core principles upon which America was founded.

Do you consider yourself a true American simply because you work, do your best not to break any laws, pay your taxes and vote? Do you consider yourself American simply because you fly the flag on national holidays, stand behind your government, support the troops, and stand behind law enforcement?

I hate to be the one to burst your bubble, but as far as I’m concerned that doesn’t cut it; not for me anyways. You see, I like to add clarifiers to those things. Take for instance trying not to break any laws; I feel that for laws to be worthy of me attempting not to break them they must be in conformity with the reason laws are supposed to be instituted; to protect your rights from being violated. How does it hurt YOUR rights if I don’t wear a seatbelt or a motorcycle helmet, or if I choose to smoke marijuana instead of drinking a few beers in the comfort of my home?

Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to Francis Gilmer, once said that law is often but the tyrants will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual. Therefore, if government passes a law which violates my rights as an individual, no matter how loud the public clamor for such a law is, I believe I need not obey it, simply because it is unconstitutional from the get go.

If my position is valid, then it also stands to reason that those who enforce such laws are acting in cahoots with those who pass these unconstitutional laws, and are also tyrants.

I think that being an American means standing for the basic values contained in our Founding documents, and those expressed by our Founders themselves in their writings. It doesn’t mean participating in the fraud which is our elections when both parties are guilty of offering candidates who have no intention of adhering to the limitations imposed upon them by the Constitution.

It cracks me up that there is all this uproar over whether Trump was, or was not, involved in this alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. What cracks me up is that if he was somehow involved in all these alleged crimes it only means that he got caught while all the other criminals in D.C. are getting away with all the crimes they commit. You see, I view them all as criminals, and to complain that our precious election process was tampered with, or violated, is a huge joke to me. The two political parties have been tampering with the process for years by not allowing anyone who even remotely stands the chance of repealing the programs they have enacted from getting elected. Just look at how the GOP treated Ron Paul and how the Democrats treated Bernie Sanders. Yet you Trump haters are crying about how he may have fraudulently won the election while there are 535 other criminals going without anyone even looking into the crimes they are guilty of.

I keep hearing from so many of these people who consider themselves Americans that we must be tolerant of other views and beliefs. Yet where is their tolerance for my beliefs and values? Where, may I ask is their tolerance for facts and the truth, versus the sugar coated lies they have been spoon fed since their birth?

This whole idea that we should stand behind our government en masse, waving the banner of patriotism sickens me to no end. Patriotism is not blind support for your government, the policies it enacts, nor is it blind support for the wars it decides to involve itself in. Patriotism is standing behind the principles upon which this Republic was founded.

Let me put it to you this way; I will support my government only to the extent it supports the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I will support those who enforce the laws our government passes, or fight in the wars it sends them off to only to the extent that those laws, or wars, are in accordance with the powers originally granted government; not those they have assumed for themselves by construction of the terms found within the Constitution.

I believe that one of the basic principles this country was founded upon is found in the Declaration of Independence, where it states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

That statement begins with one simple word–WE. I cannot say that what those who affixed their signatures to that document believed are the same as what the people of America believe today; otherwise we wouldn’t be in the mess we are. I say that because the Declaration goes on to say that the truths Jefferson was about to say are self-evident; meaning they need no demonstration or explanation; and again that is not the case with most people I encounter. In fact, most people I encounter refuse to even consider that the things Jefferson speaks of may be, in fact, true.

Jefferson then says that all men are created equal. Although Jefferson was a slave owner, which would seem to disprove that he actually believed what he was writing, many people fail to understand that in his original draft of the Declaration, Jefferson condemned slavery and laid the guilt for it at the feet of King George III. Jefferson also worked towards abolishing it in his home State of Virginia. Jefferson, although slavery existed at the time, was a firm believer in the basic principle that all men ARE created equal. He didn’t say that, at that point in American history all men are treated equally. There is a distinction, and one which is overlooked by those who criticize him and call him a hypocrite for saying that, yet owning slaves.

Next Jefferson writes that our rights are derived not from government, not from society, but from our Creator, or God. Two years prior to his having been chosen to be the primary author of the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson wrote something entitled A Summary View of the Rights of British America, wherein he states, “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure if we have removed their only firm basis: a conviction in the minds of men that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.”

I think I’ve clearly proven that our Founders, or at least the one responsible for our Declaration of Independence, believed that our rights come not from man or government, but from God, and therefore neither man nor government can restrict or violate them, at least not without being found guilty of violating Natural Law.

Now we get to the meat and potatoes of things. Next up Jefferson says, ” with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness…” Life is, I would hope, self explanatory. Liberty is word which encompasses all your rights, such as the freedom of speech, the right to keep and bear arms, and to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Then we get to something most people have forgotten, the right to pursue happiness. Does Jefferson say achieve happiness? No, he does not; only that you have the right to pursue it. It has been said that the Constitution only gives you the right to pursue happiness, that you have to catch it yourself. Although falsely attributed to Ben Franklin, Jefferson did say something similar in his first Inaugural Address, “…a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities.”

It isn’t now, nor was it ever, the purpose of government to provide things which directly benefitted or aided the people who inhabit this land. Anything which takes money from the public treasury and distributes it in the form of grants, subsidies, welfare, or any other form of government payout, was deemed, by Jefferson, to be beyond the scope of powers given government.

Self reliance was what our Founders felt was the key to happiness. James Madison, the purported Father of our Constitution, once said, “The class of citizens who provide at once their own food and their own raiment, may be viewed as the most truly independent and happy. They are more: they are the best basis of public liberty, and the strongest bulwark of public safety. It follows, that the greater the proportion of this class to the whole society, the more free, the more independent, and the more happy must be the society itself.”

Years later, Theodore Roosevelt would say, “If an American is to amount to anything he must rely upon himself, and not upon the State; he must take pride in his own work, instead of sitting idle to envy the luck of others. He must face life with resolute courage, win victory if he can, and accept defeat if he must, without seeking to place on his fellow man a responsibility which is not theirs.”

Those beliefs are no longer considered politically correct. In today’s modern tolerant and feel good about yourself world, society is responsible for providing for the needs of all those who suffer or have failed to achieve happiness and security. But that was not what our Founders envisioned, and it is not what our Constitution authorizes our government to do.

How many people do you know who go to work and then put in the minimal amount of work required to keep their job or earn their pay? I can list dozens myself, and when they are told that they must do what their job title expects them to do they get upset and say “But that’s too hard ” or “That’s too much work.” And the problem is that we have become so tolerant of laziness and substandard performance that, more often than not, nothing is done to make people do what is expected of them to earn their pay. Is it any wonder we have a society which expects government to support them when they fail to achieve success or happiness?

Then we get to the crux of why our government was established, “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” Government, and this goes for government at all levels, is supposed to work tirelessly to protect these basic rights, not to diminish or obliterate them. Yet that’s what government has done and nobody, aside from a few outspoken radicals such as myself, seem to care. Nobody cares that their right to defend themselves has been limited by laws saying when, where, and under what circumstances force can be used to protect oneself or one’s property.

In his Second Treatise on Civil Governments, John Locke expresses the right to defend oneself as follows, “And hence it is, that he who attempts to get another man into his absolute power, does thereby put himself into a state of war with him; it being to be understood as a declaration of a design upon his life: for I have reason to conclude, that he who would get me into his power without my consent, would use me as he pleased when he had got me there, and destroy me too when he had a fancy to it; for no body can desire to have me in his absolute power, unless it be to compel me by force to that which is against the right of my freedom, i.e. make me a slave. … This makes it lawful for a man to kill a thief, who has not in the least hurt him, nor declared any design upon his life, any farther than, by the use of force, so to get him in his power, as to take away his money, or what he pleases, from him; because using force, where he has no right, to get me into his power, let his pretence be what it will, I have no reason to suppose, that he, who would take away my liberty, would not, when he had me in his power, take away every thing else. And therefore it is lawful for me to treat him as one who has put himself into a state of war with me, i.e. kill him if I can; for to that hazard does he justly expose himself, whoever introduces a state of war, and is aggressor in it.”

No government can limit or restrict that fundamental right. Nor can they restrict my speech by making certain speech ‘hate speech’, nor can they invade my privacy for the overall public welfare to keep us safe from terrorists. These are fundamental rights that government is supposed to be protecting, not violating at will. Yet do I hear a massive outcry of public disapproval? No. In fact, when Edward Snowden revealed the extent to which our government spies upon us he was called a traitor and forced to flee the country, eventually seeking exile in Russia.

And finally we get to the closing comment of the opening paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence, “That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

I don’t know, it seems like common sense to me that for a people to know when a government becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established they must first understand those reasons why it was established. How can a people do that when they do not understand what powers the Constitution authorizes the government to exercise, or the purpose for which each of the rights protected by the Bill of Rights were written? Yet ignorance is the byword of most Americans today; they are more concerned with seeking entertainment than they are enlightenment. Most people believe that their political party has the right agenda for America; never realizing, or at least not caring, that both have strayed from Constitutional principles.

Then Jefferson says that it is the right of people to alter or abolish any government which becomes destructive of the ends for which governments are established. This was the justification for their declaring independence from England, and it was the same justification used by the 11 Southern States when they seceded from the Union in 1861. Their reasons for deciding why the government had become destructive of the ends for which it was instituted is irrelevant; it was their right to leave the Union and form a new system which would suit their needs. And the government, led by Abraham Lincoln denied them that right; taking the nation to war and forever obliterating the principle which led to the establishment of America as a free and independent nation.

But honestly, if you want to know what it means to be an American, I believe it means, first understanding what Jefferson meant when he wrote those epic words. Secondly, and possibly more important, it means living your life, and structuring your beliefs upon those principles.

I hear a great deal of talk among many of my fellow Californians about seceding from the Union. Unfortunately their reasons for wanting to secede are all wrong. Sure, I may not particularly care for Trump, but California has become a cesspool of liberal socialist ideology that goes against everything men like Thomas Jefferson believed in. Californians want to secede because they want to push California closer to their Utopian Dream of a Socialist paradise where all are promised success and a comfortable life. They fail the realize that never in the history of man has socialism succeeded in achieving its goals of providing true equality for all; there is always one class which rises above the others who enforces the socialist ideology upon those below it.

The fact is, socialism restricts individual liberty and creates slaves; slaves of the people whose work and the fruit of their labors is taken and given to those less fortunate or in need. Socialism always collapses under this burden it imposes upon those who produce.

I know what I have just said will upset some, especially those much younger than I. But those are my thoughts on what it means to be an American; upholding the beliefs expressed by Jefferson in that one small paragraph. And from what I’ve seen, there is but a small percentage of people living in the U.S. who meet the criteria of what I require before one considers themselves an American.

A real American would defend their liberty to the death, not allow it to be stripped from them to provide them security or comfort. In 1771 Samuel Adams wrote something that, in my opinion, applies even more so today than it did when he originally wrote it, “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks. We have received them as a fair inheritance from our worthy ancestors: they purchased them for us with toil and danger and expense of treasure and blood, and transmitted them to us with care and diligence. It will bring an everlasting mark of infamy on the present generation, enlightened as it is, if we should suffer them to be wrested from us by violence without a struggle, or be cheated out of them by the artifices of false and designing men.”

All I can say is, if you say you are an American, than start acting like one and stop supporting candidates who campaign for things the Constitution does not authorize them to do; stop sitting idly by while your rights are taken from you; start educating yourself as to what the Constitution authorizes the government to do, and what the Bill of Rights prohibits it from doing.

Until you do that you are not Americans, you are nothing better than a herd of sheep being led around by the noses by liars and thieves.

This morning as I was in that trance state, halfway between sleep and being awake, a thought came to me; I suddenly realized why I’m such a big fan of the TV show the X-Files. For the longest time I simply believed it was because of the far out conspiracies; especially those written about by the three members of the Lone Gunman; but that’s not it. I like the X-Files because of Fox Mulder and his dedication to the truth; no matter where that truth takes him.

I can relate to Mulder because I too have been in search of the truth. I can relate to his passion becoming almost an obsession. I can relate because of the problems his unwillingness to stop speaking the truth has caused him with his superiors. And I can relate to Mulder because he has been all but ostracized by those who surround him.

It would seem that life, at least in this instance, mirrors TV; or vice versa. It appears that the quest for the truth is a lonely path that must be walked alone. One might encounter other seekers on that path, but the journey itself is a personal endeavor and each individual must make the conscious decision to accept whatever they find while upon that path.

It would seem that this is a lot to ask of some people. Some people’s beliefs and personal prejudices are so deeply ingrained that no matter how much evidence one provides to disprove them, they simply cannot change those beliefs. I don’t mean to be insulting, but it says a lot about a person’s character that they prefer to go on believing a lie even though they have been presented with facts that contradict that lie.

If only one man on the entire planet spoke the truth in all things would that make him wrong simply because he was outnumbered? You see, that is the very nature of the truth; it remains the truth whether all accept it, or none. The very definition of the word truth states, that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality. If you deny facts and reality then the converse must also be true; what you believe is a lie.

I really don’t want to turn this into a religious rant, but a great many of the people I’m trying to reach with these articles make the claim of being Christians. How can they make that claim yet believe in the things they do? How can one claim to follow the word of God, yet believe, and repeat the lies they have been told/taught without seeking the truth for themselves?

In Proverbs 12, Verse 22 we find the following words, “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.” Like it or not our nation was founded by God-fearing men. The first settlers, and many of those who immediately followed, came here, not for riches, nor the opportunity for success, but for the religious freedom America offered.

Each Colony could be said to have been a distinct and separate religious State. The New Englanders were mostly Puritans who lived very strict religious lives. Those living in the middle Colonies were a bit more diverse, with there being Quakers, Catholics and Lutherans, just to name a few. Then in the South there were the Baptists and the Anglicans. But all had one thing in common; they took their religion seriously and it was the defining characteristic of their lives.

Although there were some, such as Thomas Jefferson who was a deist and did not believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, most were staunch believers and their beliefs were what gave them the courage to stand up to the tyranny of King George III.

I think the quote which explains the people who lived in 18th Century America comes from Dr. Richard Price, who said, “In America, every inhabitant has in his house (as part of his furniture) a book on law and government, to enable him to understand his civil rights; a musket to enable him to defend those rights; and a Bible to enable him to understand his religion.”

Our system of government may not have been written to persuade, or force anyone into accepting any religious faith, but the First Amendment made it perfectly clear that we were free from any interference in our religious beliefs by the government established by the Constitution.

In regards to this amendment, Thomas Jefferson said, “One of the amendments to the Constitution… expressly declares that ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press,’ thereby guarding in the same sentence and under the same words, the freedom of religion, of speech, and of the press; insomuch that whatever violates either throws down the sanctuary which covers the others.” (Source: Kentucky Resolutions, 1798)

Nearly a quarter century prior, Jefferson wrote the following, “God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure if we have removed their only firm basis: a conviction in the minds of men that these liberties are the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever.” (Source: A Summary View of the Rights of British America)

Yet how many Americans profess to be Christians, yet reject the truth when it is presented to them simply because it is uncomfortable, or conflicts with their existing beliefs? How many supposed Christians vote for candidates who campaign on issues that go against their Christian faith? How many of these so-called God-fearing Americans sit idly by while the same rights Jefferson said are given us by God Himself are trampled upon by the government sworn to protect them?

Yet one cannot get in their car and drive 5 miles without seeing at least one bumper sticker that says, “God Bless America.” Why should He when we have rejected Him? Did not Jesus tell his disciples, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”

I am, by no means, saying I am a perfect man. All I’m saying is that these truths are there for all to seek out; if they have the courage to admit that much, if not everything, they have been taught has been a lie. I know I am imperfect; that there are many things I need to work on if I ever hope to return to God’s presence, but I am no hypocrite who claims to love Him and follow his words, then reject the truth simply because it conflicts with what I currently believe.

In closing, I’d like to leave you with a quote, not from the Bible, but from Buddha, who said, “Therefore, be ye lamps unto yourselves, be a refuge to yourselves. Hold fast to the Truth as a lamp; hold fast to the truth as a refuge. Look not for a refuge in anyone besides yourselves.”

As Mulder believed, the truth is out there, and if you find it then it will shine an entirely new light on things which you will be unable to deny; that is if you have the courage to accept it. All I can do is share the truths I find with you. For my purpose in life to have meaning though, (and I truly believe my purpose in life is to share these truths I find), those on the receiving end of these truths must open their minds to them. Once they do this they must be willing to go wherever that truth takes them.

And that, my friends, is your decision, not mine.

If someone were to ask you what defines a nation, how would you respond? If you were to ask me I would say it is the people who define a nation; through their values and beliefs. God may have given us this beautiful country to inhabit; full of an abundance of resources, but it is the people that occupy any country who give it its character; who define it. Simply put, a country is either good or bad based upon the people who inhabit it.
So if it is people who define a nation, then I suppose the next logical question is; what defines the people who inhabit a nation? It is said that a house divided cannot stand; and that is true as it pertains to nations as well.

I hear the argument that diversity makes America strong. While I do not totally disagree, I think that for America to remain strong it must retain the values upon which it was founded, not become a hodge podge of nationalities with their own distinct ideas as to what values America stands for.

In 1917 Theodore Roosevelt wrote a speech in which he said, “From the melting pot of life in this free land all men and woman of all nations who come hither emerge as Americans and nothing else. They must have renounced completely and without reserve all allegiance to the land from which they or their forefathers came.” You can still respect the heritage of the country you came from, but if you wish to live in America you need to respect its values, its culture, and its traditions, and not try to force your own values upon us.

The sad thing is, I don’t see that happening. I see immigrants coming into America and trying to force Americans to accept their beliefs and ideologies, while trashing ours. We are told the multiculturalism makes America strong and that we should respect their heritage. Yet why is it that this idea of multiculturalism does not work both ways; why are they not told that they must also respect our values and beliefs?

What makes matters worse is that our values and beliefs are no longer being taught to our youth. A good many parents now teach their children this multiculturalist rubbish, while our educators fail to teach our children the values which were held by those who first established America as a free and independent nation. What we end up with is a nation populated by people who have no sense of who and what it means to be American; what America used to stand for.

The first settlers who came to what eventually became the United States of America, did so for the promise of freedom. They didn’t come for riches; for there were no riches to be had. They came to shake off whatever shackles had bound them down in regards to their beliefs; be they political or religious. They had never laid eyes upon the land upon which they would settle; they only knew that it offered them something that their native land could not; the chance to start over and live a life free from the restrictions imposed upon them by their government, society, or the religious institutions which surrounded them.

Freedom is what caused the 102 who climbed aboard the Mayflower to risk the perils of a voyage across the Atlantic, then the unknown threats which possibly awaited them in a strange uncharted land. Freedom is what led the additional 2.4 million who followed them in the years which preceded the American Revolution.

It was freedom or liberty as they called it, which led the original 13 Colonies to take up arms and fight for their independence from their government. And whether you believe me or not, it was freedom which led the 11 States of the South to leave the Union and form the Confederate States of America.

Freedom, or liberty is what led men like Patrick Henry to utter, “Liberty, the greatest of all earthly blessings-give us that precious jewel, and you may take every thing else.” That freedom is what defined America; and it is what made us the greatest nation on the planet. Now that freedom is all but gone, to be replaced by something resembling dependency or servitude.

Today we have a nation whose people are aligned long political party lines and who no longer care about the freedom which was fought for at great risk by their forefathers.

What exactly is this freedom I speak of?

Freedom, simply stated, is the ability to make our own decisions without anyone else attempting to aid or restrict us in our pursuits. But freedom has, by its very nature self imposed restrictions upon what a person can and cannot do. Each of us is free to make our own choices in life as long as those choices do not interfere with the freedom of another individual. As our rights are not given to us by government or society, but come from our Creator, (see the Declaration of Independence), we need not ask permission to defend them against attack. This is true as it pertains to the interaction between human beings, and the interactions between human beings and the government.

It’s ludicrous to think that if government is the one violating your rights that you need to ask government for permission to defend them. Did our Founders first send the King a petition asking permission for them to declare their independence, or to take up arms and defend their right to keep and bear them against the Kings men who had been sent to confiscate them at Lexington and Concord? Of course not, they understood their rights supersede all laws made by man and it was their right to defend them against all attacks. As Samuel Adams so eloquently said, “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil Constitution, are worth defending at all hazards; and it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.” He did not place any restrictions upon whom we may defend them from only that it was our DUTY to defend them.

Aside from the right to life itself, what would you say is the most fundamental freedom that a person has? I don’t know about you, but I would have to say the three freedoms of thought, expression and speech are the most important freedoms a human being possesses. Could it be that is why those 3 rights, as they are called, are the first ones protected by Constitutional amendment?

What good is life if a person cannot think without having their thoughts censored; express their thoughts without being told what is and isn’t acceptable, and speak freely without having to worry that every word they say might offend someone? Man might just as well be a lump of clay if he is unable to think for himself; express his beliefs without fear of retribution, or say what’s on his mind without fear of being censored by those who find his words offensive.

What some people fail to grasp is that the root of freedom of speech or expression is the word free; free to speak what is on your mind, and free to express yourself as you see fit. I have spent many years studying the writings of those who originally established our Republic and I cannot recall one instance where they mentioned the right to go through life without having your feelings hurt, or be protected from images and words that offend you.

Yet that is the underlying principle of political correctness; that the feelings of certain segments of society are of more importance than the right of others to speak what is on their minds. Some see political correctness as a means of protecting the feelings of others. I see it as a weapon designed to stifle the fundamental right to speak and express yourself as you see fit.

As I write these words there is a growing movement in many of the southern states to remove all public monuments in honor of those who fought for the Confederacy. New Orleans Louisiana has already removed four such monuments, and there are hints that they are going after the monument honoring former U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Why? They say it is because he was a slave owner and the Civil War was fought between one part of the Union seeking to end slavery and another which sought to perpetuate it.

Even if that were the case, which it isn’t, the right of those Southerners who know the truth about the War of Northern Aggression, or the Civil War as you know it, to honor and respect those who fought for the Confederacy is their right. Just because someone takes offense at a statue due to their misunderstanding of that war does not give them the right to restrict others from honoring those who fought for the Confederacy.

If that is the case, then we need to go to Washington D.C. and tear down the monuments to Washington and Jefferson; for they too owned slaves. The sad thing is, I can see that happening with the pressure being exerted by the politically correct movement against any and all things which represent the basic American values which led our Founders to seek independence from England and form our Constitutional Republic.

The founding principal upon which America was built is found in our Declaration of Independence, where it states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

That is the principal that led the Patriots of 1776 to sever the ties which bound them to their government, and it is the same principal which led the 11 Southern States to sever the ties which bound them to the Union. They did not seek war against the North, nor did they seek conquest or riches; they only sought to be left alone to establish a system of government which would ‘…most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.’ They simply sought freedom from a government they felt had become oppressive. How can you deny their cause when at the same time you celebrate our nation’s independence day? After all, on July 4, 1776 there were slaves all across the nation, both in the North and the South.

How can you condemn the Southern Slave owners while you give the Northern ship owners who brought the slaves here from Africa a free pass? How can you say you honor and respect our Constitution, (that is if you do), when it protects the institution of slavery?

How can you honor and respect the president responsible for this war when that same president said, “I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be “the Union as it was.” If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery.” (Source: Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862)

The Confederate States of America fought for the same principles as did men like Jefferson, Washington, Adams and Henry, for the right to sever the ties which bound them to tyrants and establish a system of government which best suited their needs.

Yet today we have a nation in which the people are divided along political party lines with their party determining what powers government should wield, with no regards for the Constitutional limits imposed upon them. We have people who are more concerned with what their government can do for them than they are the freedoms it was designed to protect. In America today we have people that condemn, and ridicule anyone who dares asking that we adhere to the values and beliefs of those who founded our nation.

In short, everything that America was built upon is under attack; our nation’s very soul is the object of derision and scorn by the forces of evil disguised as the politically correct; and I’ve just about had enough of it.

You don’t know the truth because you haven’t been taught it. I don’t blame you for that, but I do blame you for denying the truth when it is presented to you. Ben Franklin once said, “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”

You see, I understand what freedom of speech and freedom of expression mean; and those who cry that my beliefs and values offend them don’t. I understand that once you begin limiting one group’s freedoms it is only a matter of time before your freedoms come under attack.

Yet attack is what fundamental American values and beliefs have come under; and if we don’t do something about it, and do it soon, all that remains of what America once stood for will be lost; nary a mention made in the history books of the future. Orwell would be shocked to see his Ministry of Truth come to fruition without hardly a peep of protest by the people of this once great nation.

One other thing and then I’ll be quiet. As I said, it’s interesting that the freedom of speech and expression are protected by the first amendment to the Constitution. Do you happen to know which right is protected by the second amendment to the Constitution? If you weren’t aware, it is the right to keep and bear arms. Could it be that they put that one second just in case the rights protected by the first one came under attack?

Think about that before you try to force your views on anyone else, or stifle their freedoms of speech and expression; it might just save your life.

When our nation’s Constitution was ratified the obvious choice for our nation’s first President was George Washington. As the obvious choice Washington did not need to campaign; in fact he was reluctant to assume such a lofty position. He said as much in his first Inaugural Address, stating, “Among the vicissitudes incident to life, no event could have filled me with greater anxieties than that of which the notification was transmitted by your order, and received on the fourteenth day of the present month. … On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my Country called me, being sufficient to awaken in the wisest and most experienced of her citizens, a distrustful scrutiny into his qualifications, could not but overwhelm with dispondence, one, who, inheriting inferior endowments from nature and unpractised in the duties of civil administration, ought to be peculiarly conscious of his own deficiencies.”

After serving two terms, Washington declined a third, instead choosing to retire to public life; opening the door for another to take his place. However, upon making this decision he drafted a letter to be sent to papers throughout the nation; the nation’s first Presidential Farewell Address. In his address Washington discussed many topics, but the point which I would like to focus on here is his warning against the dangers of political parties. Washington warned, “However combinations or associations of the above description may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

Even though Washington offered his warnings against the destructive nature of political parties, the election of 1796 saw the nation already becoming divided along party lines; with John Adams and Thomas Pinckney running as Federalists and Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr running as Democratic-Republicans.

Adams, and his fellow Federalists believed in a strong central government while Jefferson and the Republicans felt the powers given government should be limited; with the reserve being left to the States. Ironically, neither man campaigned for the presidency, with most of the campaigning being done by supporters of the two candidates, and carried out in public discussions and the press.

Also, during this time the French Revolution was in full swing. Jefferson felt that the revolution was akin to the American Revolution which saw the Colonists seeking to free themselves from a monarch. Adams, on the other hand, aligned himself with the British, causing the Republicans to view him as one who supported monarchies over the liberty offered by Republics.

Needless to say, the election of 1796 was contentious, and led to something which has never repeated itself in American History; the election of a president from one political party and a vice-president from another.

Although both men had actively participated in the process which led to American independence from Britain, their differing views on the powers government should wield would drive a wedge between their friendship which would last years after both had retired from public service. In fact, this difference of opinions would cause Jefferson to write the Kentucky Resolutions in opposition to Adams having signed into law the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Jefferson’s Kentucky Resolutions declared a fundamental belief held by Jefferson, that the States had the right to nullify unconstitutional acts of the federal government. Jefferson stated it thusly, “Resolved, That the several States composing the United States of America, are not united on the principle of unlimited submission to their General Government . . . . and that whensoever the General Government assumes undelegated powers, its acts are unauthoritative, void, and of no force. . . . that the government created by this compact [the Constitution for the United States] was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent of the powers delegated to itself; since that would have made its discretion, and not the Constitution, the measure of its powers…”

The next presidential election was just as contentious as the one which preceded it. The election of 1800 saw the Federalists disorganized due to a bitter split between the party’s two leaders; Adams and Alexander Hamilton. This schism was enough to allow Jefferson and Aaron Burr to take the election from Adams; but there was one problem, both Jefferson and Burr got 73 Electoral Votes each…a tie.

Back in 1800 the Constitution allowed for the Electors to cast votes for two candidates for president. The plan was for one of the Democratic-Republican Electors to abstain from voting for Burr, giving Jefferson one more Electoral Vote than Burr; making Jefferson President and Burr the Vice-President. However someone didn’t follow the plan, resulting in a tie. This tie led the outcome of the election to be determined by the House of Representatives. However it took 7 days and 36 ballots before they could reach a decision, making Thomas Jefferson our nation’s 3rd President.

The inauguration of Thomas Jefferson was another historic day, as outgoing President John Adams did not attend the event. This was due to his disappointment at having lost to Jefferson and the fact that his son Charles had recently died due to alcoholism. In any case, it was the first time a living outgoing president did not attend the inauguration of his successor; something which would only take place on three other occasions; John Quincy Adams not attending the inauguration of Andrew Jackson; Andrew Johnson not attending the inauguration of Ulysses S. Grant; and Richard Nixon not attending the inauguration of Gerald Ford.

Jefferson’s Inaugural Address was one in which he sought to unite the country after a bitter election. Yet there are two points which I would like to focus on. The first being Jefferson’s definition of good government. In his address Jefferson states, “…a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government.”

When, if I may be so bold to ask, is the last time you heard a candidate for president, or a sitting president, state that the sum of good government is to leave the people free to manage their own lives without governmental interference? Some of you may say Reagan, but did Reagan actually live up to that principle, or did he just pay it lip service?

Secondly, and more importantly I might add, Jefferson told the American people, “If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.”

If you recall, Jefferson, in opposition to President Adams having signed into law the Alien and Sedition Acts had said that the States are under no obligation to obey unconstitutional laws. This belief in the concept of nullification was to be tested just 30 years from the time Jefferson made those comments.

As our nation grew during the period after ratification of the Constitution it found itself divided into two distinctly different regions having different beliefs. The North was primarily industrial and adhered to the principles regarding the role of government shared by men like Adams and Hamilton; with large banking interests and the liberal use of debt. The South, on the other hand, was primarily agricultural and adhered to the principles of Jefferson. Yes, the South primarily relied upon slave labor to run the large plantations, but it was the imposition of protectionist tariffs upon the South which led to the period known as the Nullification Crisis.

When Abraham Lincoln was elected President the South was paying a 40% tariff upon all goods they exported. This was done to protect Northern business interests; a power given government which James Madison himself supported. Madison’s push to include the Commerce Clause in the Constitution gave the government the authority to impose taxes, or tariffs as they were called, upon whatever goods it felt was in the best interests of the country. Unfortunately it was left to the government to decide what was in the best interests of the country; and in the years prior to the 1830’s the best interests of the country referred to the best interests of the industrial North.

South Carolina was at the forefront in fighting these overbearing tariffs, and it was these tariffs, along with the overall difference in beliefs as to the role government should play in relationship to the States which led them to secede. The North’s meddling in slavery may have played a small role, but if slavery were the only reason South Carolina seceded, why would they risk the ire of the North, or the government for that matter, if all they wanted to do to keep their slaves was ratify a proposed Constitutional Amendment?

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities which inaugurated the Civil War, the 36th Congress passed a Constitutional Amendment which was posed to go to the States for their ratification when the fighting broke out. If all the South was concerned with was slavery, why didn’t they just ratify the amendment and then return to the Union content to have the Constitutional protection for the institution of slavery?

The text of this amendment, known as the Corwin Amendment, is as follows: “No amendment shall be made to the Constitution which will authorize or give to Congress the power to abolish or interfere, within any State, with the domestic institutions thereof, including that of persons held to labor or service by the laws of said State.” Abraham Lincoln referred to this amendment in his Inaugural Address, saying, “I understand a proposed amendment to the Constitution—which amendment, however, I have not seen—has passed Congress, to the effect that the Federal Government shall never interfere with the domestic institutions of the States, including that of persons held to service. To avoid misconstruction of what I have said, I depart from my purpose not to speak of particular amendments so far as to say that, holding such a provision to now be implied constitutional law, I have no objection to its being made express and irrevocable.”

Not only does this prove that all the South would have had to do to protect slavery was ratify a proposed Constitutional Amendment, it shoots down any belief that Abraham Lincoln fought his war to end slavery?

The cause of the Confederate States was not to defend the institution of slavery, but to defend the institution of government as designed by those who drafted it; and had been perverted and the limits imposed upon government violated to the detriment of the South. This is affirmed by a statement made by Robert E. Lee, “All that the South has ever desired was that the Union as established by our forefathers should be preserved and that the government as originally organized should be administered in purity and truth.” (Spoken by Lee when he turned down command of the Union Forces raised by Lincoln to suppress what Lincoln considered rebellion)

You see, Jefferson had stated that should any wish to dissolve the Union the people should let no man stand in their way; even if they did so in the error of judgment. Yet one man did stand in their way, at the cost of over half a million lives, the total devastation of entire regions of the South, the subjugation of the Southern people, and the complete obliteration of the Jeffersonian belief in limited government and States Rights. Not to mention the fact that Lincoln imprisoned journalists in the North who opposed his war; trampling upon the 1st Amendment; arresting the Maryland State Legislature before they could propose their own declaration of secession; disobeying a ruling by the Supreme Court in regards to his unconstitutional suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, and the issuing of an arrest warrant for the Chief Justice of said court when he sent Lincoln a copy of his ruling.

Oh, but Lincoln was a great president and those leaders of the South who only sought to exercise the very principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence were evil, racist and prejudiced. The South sought no glory, they only sought to be left alone from an intrusive and oppressive government, “We feel that our cause is just and holy; we protest solemnly in the face of mankind that we desire peace at any sacrifice save that of honour and independence; we ask no conquest, no aggrandizement, no concession of any kind from the States with which we were lately confederated; all we ask is to be let alone; that those who never held power over us shall not now attempt our subjugation by arms.” (Jefferson Davis, 29 April 1861)

If you deny the right of the Confederate States to secede you deny the principles contained in the Declaration of Independence, “Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

From the time Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse to the present day, the principles held by men like Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Jackson, and Buchanan has been replaced by a government which adheres to the principles espoused by men like Adams and Hamilton. Sure the Republicans claim to be conservatives, but were one to read what the Constitution says and compare it to what our government does, the title of conservative is merely a guise used to get gullible voters to vote for them instead of the liberal democrats.

There’s something else you should know about before I close. Many of you take offense at the displaying of the Confederate Battle Flag. Yet most of you do not know what that flag represents.

How well do you folks know your Bible? After Christ was baptized and tempted by the devil, He came back down and was walking along the Sea of Galilee when He encountered Andrew, who then went on to get Simon Peter. Andrew was the first Apostle. Andrew was later crucified on an X shaped cross; causing that symbol to be named the St. Andrews Cross. If you can, find a photo of the flag of Switzerland, it is a St. Andrews Cross; a blue background with a white cross.

The Confederate Battle Flag is the same image, only different colors. Those colors were chosen for a reason. The red background represents the blood of Christ. The white border along the cross represents the protection of God, and the blue cross represents the cross upon which St Andrew was crucified. All those symbols represent Christian principles and values. Basically, the Confederate Battle Flag represents, “Through the blood of Christ, with the protection of God, We, the 13 States, are united in our Christian fight for liberty.”

If you oppose that flag you oppose the very beliefs held by the men who fought for our nation’s independence way back in 1776. If that flag offends you, then the idea of liberty and a limited government also offend you; because that’s what that flag stands for; not slavery. That is just the lie you have been taught to keep you from rising up against a government which is far more tyrannical than the one our Founders fought to free themselves from.

History, the true history that is, will reveal the truth to you. But as long as you remain ignorant, or apathetic, you remain susceptible to lies and manipulation. If you are a true American patriot you would know what the monuments and the Confederate Battle Flag truly stood for, and you would do all that is in your power to defend it.

James Webb, Secretary of the Navy under President Reagan spoke of them in these terms, “To tar the sacrifices of the Confederate soldier as simple acts of racism, and reduce the battle flag under which he fought to nothing more than the symbol of a racist heritage, is one of the great blasphemies of our modern age.”

The monuments to those who served in the Confederacy, and their flag are not racist things, they are not Southern things either; they are things that pertain to the love of liberty and constitutional principles. Either you love those, or you love being a slave under an oppressive and overbearing government; which is the true legacy of Abraham Lincoln and his War of Northern Aggression.

Any society which suppresses the heritage of its conquered minorities,
prevents their history or denies them their symbols, has sown
the seeds of their own destruction.
~Sir William Wallace~
(1281 A.D.)

It’s easier for most people to believe a lie than deal with the truth.
~Willie D.~

I remember a time in America when the truth was something to be sought after and cherished once obtained. Not anymore it seems; people are more than willing to accept whatever official narrative they are told and then accept that as the gospel truth without any effort to verify its validity.

Take for instance how quickly people accepted the fact that on 9/11 the two airliners which crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City were responsible for bringing those buildings down at free fall speed; which, considering they were built to withstand direct hits by airplanes, goes against almost every law of physics regarding a falling object. But the horror of watching those buildings come down, (which was played over and over again by the media), and the tragic loss of life which that event caused was enough to cause the people to accept whatever explanation which was provided them by both the government and the news media.

Thus the lie became our truth, and anyone who sought to expose it became a tin foil hat conspiracy theorist; one to be condemned and ridiculed. It did not seem to matter how much evidence one presented contradicting the ‘official’ story, the lie had become people’s truth and once that lie took hold there was no dispelling it.

But 9/11 was not the only time the tactic of obscuring the truth and replacing it with lies has taken place; no, this has been going on for generations as it pertains to our nation’s history and the values held by our forefathers. Just as the job of the news media is to provide an accurate and unbiased accounting of local and world events, the job of our educators is to provide us an accurate, thorough, and unbiased account of our nation’s history. I can tell you firsthand that this is not what they have been doing; yet there are millions of Americans who accept as the truth the lies they have been taught in school.

How many of you reading this are aware of what is currently taking place in New Orleans Louisiana? Are you aware that, due to politically correct pressure, the city of New Orleans is tearing down 4 monuments honoring their Southern Heritage, including the Robert E. Lee memorial, the Jefferson Davis memorial, the PGT Beauregard memorial, and the Battle of Liberty Place monument? Two of these monuments, the PGT Beauregard and the Battle of Liberty Place monuments have already come down; taken down by masked workers under the cover of darkness; leaving only the Lee and Davis monuments standing…for the time being.

Now this anti-Southern heritage fever has spread; as there is now talk that the city of Orlando Florida may begin removing monuments honoring Confederate heroes in their city as well. It’s insane; especially when one considers the facts regarding the entire period known as the Civil War.

Those behind this move to eradicate all things honoring or representing the Confederacy are basing their entire justification on the lie that the Civil War; especially the Confederacy, was a war fought to either keep, or free the slaves. On the one side, we are told, there was the racist Confederacy who fought to keep their slaves. On the other side we are told the Union fought a righteous war to free the slaves. But do the facts support this narrative?

Let me make it perfectly clear, I think slavery as an institution was a crime against mankind and should never have existed on American soil. Yet the fact remains that under the Constitution slavery was perfectly legal. Those who both wrote and pushed for ratification of our Constitution knew that any effort to end slavery would doom their precious Constitution; so they let slavery stand as an institution.

Thus, as the Constitution was the supreme law of the land, any effort by the federal government to restrict slavery, or any move by those opposed to its practice, would have been in violation of the Constitution. Whether South Carolina’s secession came as a result of the federal government’s interference in the institution of slavery, or if it came as a result of their having grown weary of the excessive tariffs imposed upon them, or if it was a combination of the two, their having issued a Declaration of Secession was no less their right than was the right of the Colonists in 1776 from issuing their Declaration of Independence.

Thus, as secession was their lawful right as a sovereign State, neither the Northern States, nor Abraham Lincoln had any lawful right to raise an army and invade them in an effort to compel them into remaining a part of the Union. In 1801, when he delivered his first Inaugural Address, Thomas Jefferson said, “If there be any among us who would wish to dissolve this Union or to change its republican form, let them stand undisturbed as monuments of the safety with which error of opinion may be tolerated where reason is left free to combat it.”

Less than twenty years earlier Abraham Lincoln himself stated, “Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable, most sacred right- a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world. Nor is this right confined to cases in which the whole people of an existing government may choose to excercise it. Any portion of such people that can, may revolutionize and make their own, of so much territory as they inhabit.” (Source: The War With Mexico Speech, U.S. House of Representatives, Jan. 12, 1848)

So you tell me, purely from the standpoint of whether South Carolina had the right to leave the Union and resume their status as a sovereign and independent State, who held the lawful position; South Carolina, or Abraham Lincoln? The facts would seem to support South Carolina, and all the other States that followed her in seceding from the Union; no matter what led them to do so.

The Civil War was not a war fought for power or conquest, it was a war fought because one segment of the nation sought to restrict another from exercising their right to form their own nation and establish their own system of government; the very foundation enshrined in our Declaration of Independence. So, in essence, the Civil War was a Second War for Independence; it is just that this time those seeking independence lost.

Perhaps that is why none of the leaders of the Confederacy were ever brought to trial after the war; because the fact that the legal right of a State to secede would have come under judicial scrutiny, and the courts would have been forced to place the blame for the Civil War directly where it belonged; on the shoulders of Abraham Lincoln. In fact, in Volume 3 of his books on The Civil War, author Shelby Foote quotes Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase as follows, “If you bring these [Confederate] leaders to trial it will condemn the North, for by the Constitution secession is not rebellion. Lincoln wanted Davis to escape, and he was right. His capture was a mistake. His trial will be a greater one.”

It is not only a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who held these views, a former president also held them. Prior to becoming president, Woodrow Wilson wrote a lengthy series of books on American History. In them he states, “It was necessary to put the South at a moral disadvantage by transforming the contest from a war waged against states fighting for their independence into a war waged against states fighting for the maintenance and extension of slavery…and the world, it might be hoped, would see it as a moral war, not a political; and the sympathy of nations would begin to run for the North, not for the South.”

In 1864, as the Civil War was nearing its end, Major General Patrick Cleburne of the Confederacy stated, “Every man should endeavor to understand the meaning of subjugation before it is too late… It means the history of this heroic struggle will be written by the enemy; that our youth will be trained by Northern schoolteachers; will learn from Northern school books their version of the war; will be impressed by the influences of history and education to regard our gallant dead as traitors, and our maimed veterans as fit objects for derision… It is said slavery is all we are fighting for, and if we give it up we give up all. Even if this were true, which we deny, slavery is not all our enemies are fighting for. It is merely the pretense to establish sectional superiority and a more centralized form of government, and to deprive us of our rights and liberties.”

All that we know about the Civil War comes from the textbooks used in our public schools, or what we hear from those in positions of trust and authority. We accept this information as the truth and we base our opinions upon it. Yet if everything we have been taught or told was a lie, what does that say about our opinions upon the subject; are they not lies as well?

We believe that the North held the moral high ground because it fought to free the slaves, and that the Confederacy represents slavery and prejudice. But was Abraham Lincoln and the Northern States any better in that regard? Let us once again turn to the facts.

In his debates against Stephen Douglas for the presidency, Abraham Lincoln said, “I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.” (Sept. 18, 1858)

When Alexis de Tocqueville travelled the United States in preparation for his two volume set, Democracy in America, he noted “In that part of the Union where the Negroes are no longer slaves, have they come closer to the whites? Everyone who has lived in the United States will have noticed just the opposite. Race prejudice seems stronger in those states that have abolished slavery than in those where it still exists, and nowhere is it more intolerant than in those states where slavery was never known.”

Yet we are seeing monuments being torn down because people have become so indoctrinated into the lie that they are allowing their heritage to be erased. Yet at the same time our nation’s capital holds a monument to the man responsible for the war itself, who held racist views, and was responsible for the eradication of many a constitutional principle; Abraham Lincoln. If it weren’t such a travesty and injustice to the truth I could almost laugh at the irony of it.

The following question was posed by my friend Michael Gaddy in an article he wrote, “What would be the reaction today if a sitting president was to order the military into a state and destroy all forms of civilian authority? What if he/she confiscated the firearms of anyone they thought to be disloyal to the central government? What if local and state police were relieved of their duties and put out of work? What if the military went into a courtroom in said state and arrested the presiding judge and when that judge resisted and questioned their authority to do so, he was attacked, pistol whipped and put into prison without any charges being filed—ever? What if the mayor of a city was arrested without charges? What if civilians who openly protested such actions were shot in the streets? What if the military closed or suppressed any factions of the press who were deemed disloyal? What if many more unconstitutional, criminal acts were perpetrated on the citizens of a state?”

I pose that question to you now in the hopes that you will see Abraham Lincoln for what he was; a tyrant; for aside from being the direct cause of the death of over half a million people, Lincoln was also responsible for doing all those things during his war for the unity of his Union.

But maybe the truth does, in fact, no longer matter. Maybe the official narrative is all that people care about. Maybe Dresden James was right when he said, “When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic.”

But, as John Adams said, “Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” You can choose to either accept the truth, or go on believing the lies you have been taught.

The sad thing is that we supposedly live in an age of so-called tolerance; where the beliefs held by others are supposed to be tolerated without condemnation. Yet that tolerance only seems to apply to those whose beliefs are among those held by the politically correct; anyone else is viewed as intolerant; no matter how well supported they are by facts and evidence.

Each of you reading this are going to have to make the decision whether to go on believing what you have been, and continue to be told, or you are going to have to choose to start questioning everything and seeking out the truth for yourselves. I can point you in the right direction and provide facts for you to consider, but you alone must make the decision to either accept the truth, or reject it, and continue believing lies.

It all boils down to that simple scene from the Matrix when Morpheus offers Neo the choice of the red or blue pills; one offering the truth, the other offering the continued belief in a lie. I suppose it all boils down to the question: Do you have the courage to accept, and then defend the truth in an age where the goal of those in power has been the perpetuation of the lie?

The pathway to knowledge is, in some ways, akin to climbing a mountain. First of all, when climbing a mountain you must first make the conscious decision to take that first step. Secondly, you must realize that the journey might prove difficult. Thirdly, you must realize that once you undertake this journey you may encounter obstacles which impede your progress. But if you succeed, if you reach the top, you will see things from an entirely new perspective.

Why do I compare mountain climbing to the quest for knowledge? Well, for one thing, in an age when information is but a few mouse-clicks away, all you have to do to find it is have the desire to seek it out; you have got to want to obtain knowledge first; it isn’t going to come knocking on your door and find you; you have to go out in search of it.

I say the quest may be difficult because, as I have too painfully learned, there is a lot of false information out there. If your quest is for the truth then you are going to have to use that old grey matter between your ears and analyze the information you find; search for the source of the quotes you encounter, and toss out as rubbish anything you cannot verify to your own satisfaction.

I say that quest might find obstacles which impede your progress because often the hardest obstacle to overcome is your own personal prejudices. Once you undertake a journey of such importance you must be willing to admit that everything you had once believed had been a lie. If you cannot do this then what good is the knowledge you gain on this journey? If climbing a mountain is a journey which takes your body to a specific destination, then the quest for knowledge is a journey that takes your mind to a specific destination. If your mind is unwilling to go to that destination, then what’s the use in beginning it in the first place?

Finally, when you get to, or near the summit of a mountain you are able to see things from an entirely new perspective. So is it when you have reached a certain point, or level of enlightenment. Engraved into the floor of the Central Intelligence Agency is a passage from the Bible which states, “The truth shall set you free.” I am not saying that if you obtain vast amounts of knowledge you will be totally free; but at least you won’t mistakenly believe that you are; you will know that you are not, nor have you ever been, free. And knowing this is the first step towards developing the courage to fight for your freedom.

The Scottish judge and historian Alexander Fraser Tytler once wrote, “The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”

If you think about that quote then you may come to realize that America followed a very similar path; from subjects under a king to a free people; from free people to a nation of abundance and power; from abundance to selfishness; then on to apathy; to where we are now, dependence upon government for much of the things a free people at one time provided for themselves. The next step in the cycle is back into bondage; and unless the people of this country make the conscious decision to educate themselves; bondage is but an inevitable step in a logical progression of events.

One of the biggest obstacles I had to overcome on my own personal journey was putting my trust in a system that is totally corrupt and beyond repair. For the longest time, although I continued to expand the knowledge I was obtaining, I still trusted that if we could just get the right people elected to office we could fix all that was wrong in America. I have come to realize, and to accept, that the system is beyond salvage, that no matter who we elect things are not going to get any better.

Sure, your taxes may go down, more jobs might be created, and we may even enjoy periods where we are not at war with anyone; but are those the reasons our government was established for in the first place? The only people who knew what our government, or the system if you prefer, was supposed to do are the people who created it all those years ago. Anyone who has ever sought, or occupied an office within the system since have been those who have sought to expand the power they held beyond those given them by the charter which established this system of government.

How many of you reading this can list the specific powers given Congress by the Constitution, or how many of them there are for that matter? I’ll bet you did not know that there are only 17 of them. I’ll bet that you also didn’t know that none of them pertain to taking money from the taxpayers and giving it to others, or for projects and programs which benefitted the people of this country in their day to day lives.

I know I’ve used this quote many times, but I will keep using it until it sinks in, “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected.

The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.” (Federalist 45)

That quote was written by James Madison, the driving force behind our nation’s Constitution. As to whether he was lying outright to appease the people and ensure ratification, or if he was telling the truth, those are the separations of power between the various State governments and the government created by the Constitution. Why is it that you never hear that coming from the mouths of those seeking your votes? Why is it that you never hear the news media decrying all the programs which overstep the legitimate powers given our government? Why is it because you rarely hear of the State governments telling the federal government that the laws it passes have no authority within their States because they violate the Constitution?

The reason why is because the people in this country put their trust in political parties and not the document which established our government in the first place. They believe the Constitution is either a hindrance which gets in their way, or it is a living document open to modern interpretation.

In 1905 the Supreme Court ruled, “The Constitution is a written instrument. As such, its meaning does not alter. What which it meant when it was adopted, it means now.” (Source: South Carolina v. United States)

Then 24 years later the Court would rule, “The values of the Framers of the Constitution must be applied in any case construing the Constitution. Inferences from the text and history of the Constitution should be given great weight in discerning the original understanding and in determining the intentions of those who ratified the constitution. The precedential value of cases and commentators tends to increase, therefore, in proportion to their proximity to the adoption of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, or any other amendments.” (Source: Powell v. McCormack)

After reading those two quotes how can you tell me that what a Barack Obama or a Donald Trump says they are going to do if elected are closer to the original intent than the words of say, a Thomas Jefferson or a James Madison? You can’t, unless you also are willing to admit that you are not being true to the purpose and intent of the Constitution itself.

Your loyalty is not to the Constitution, but to a political party ideology which twists and perverts the original intent of those who established this system of government in 1789. George Washington warned us of the dangers of factions, or political parties, in his Farewell Address to the people, “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

Yet you believe so strongly in what your particular political party stands for that you will vote for a less than worthy candidate from your party just to prevent someone from the other party from being elected. If I may be so bold to ask, how is it that you claim to have any integrity at all when you do this year after year?

I can at least understand the liberals, or Democrats; they play on people’s greed and laziness and offer them things which others are forced to pay for. But you so-called conservatives sicken me. How is your precious Republican Party any better than the Democrats when nearly all the things they do exceed the powers given government by the Constitution?

You people don’t even realize that the president has no authority to do the things most of these candidates promise to do on their campaigns; and this goes for both Democratic candidates and Republican ones. The president can only suggest to Congress things he would like them to do; but they are under no obligation to act upon those suggestions, nor can the president usurp the power to sidestep the authority given Congress. After all, the Constitution clearly states that all legislative authority shall be vested in a Congress; and legislative means the authority to enact laws.

The Congress, on the other hand, cannot divest themselves of the authority given them and pass laws which grant the executive branch any of their powers; such as the power to declare war. Yet how is it that, not since World War II, we have seen our young fighting men and women sent all over the globe without a formal declaration of war from Congress?

You may not know it, nor care to know, but the powers given each branch of government are specific to each branch and cannot, without the grossest of violations, be given to another branch by the branch to whom they were originally given. This legal maxim states, delegata non potestas non delegari, or no delegated powers can be further delegated.

As it stands now our Congress is bogged down by partisan bickering; the president uses Executive Orders to bypass the powers given Congress, or refuses to enforce laws which he disagrees with; and the Judiciary legislates from the bench by declaring what laws are, and which aren’t Constitutional. It’s a total mess and if you think your vote is making a difference you are only fooling yourselves.

Yet you voters continue to believe in your party and vote accordingly. Even this past election which saw two political outsiders; Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, vying for the Oval Office, the people doing the actual voting still voted along party lines; the idea of voting outside their party for a true constitutionalist never once crossed their minds. That alone ought to prove that the Constitution is of little concern to you.

You see, when you vote along party lines without regard to what the Constitution says, you are allowing the party’s to dictate policy; and that is exactly what George Washington warned about when he spoke of, “…potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

Yet that is not all which proves our system is broken. Our system is not just those who reside and work in Washington D.C., passing the laws which we must obey. No, our system includes us, the voters, and if we are uninformed, ignorant, apathetic, or simply adhere to party ideology and not the Constitution, then the system will not work as designed. You see, there is something else Washington said, this time in his Inaugural Address upon assuming the office of our nation’s first president under the newly ratified Constitution, “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the republican model of government, are justly considered deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”

It was up to us, the voters, to ensure that our system worked as designed. As we were the ones to choose those who filled the various seats of power within this system of government, we were the ones whose job it was to also ensure that our government stuck to the specific powers delegated to them.
Our system is broken because you believe what you have been taught, or told, about the things our government is supposed to be doing without once ever checking to see if what you have been told matches what those who established this system of government wanted. Our system will remain broken as long as you choose ignorance over knowledge. And unfortunately, as long as it remains broken it will continue on that cycle Tytler described; eventually leading us right back into bondage.

It’s your choice, you can either choose to remain a sheep, led around by the nose by your political party and its perverted ideology, or you can turn off your TV’s, put down your iPhones, get off your Facebook and start seeking out the truth. But there’s one other thing I didn’t mention at the beginning; just as a mountain is wide at the base and narrow at the top, so will be your list of friends depending upon which choice you make. Should you choose to remain ignorant you will be assured many friends; but make no mistake about it, the more you learn, the smaller your list of friends will become. But, as George Washington also said, ” Associate yourself with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation. It is better be alone than in bad company.”

So go ahead and choose, and as the Canadian rock band RUSH say in their song Freewill, “If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.”

I’m pretty certain that there is not a sole alive who was present when our Constitution was written or argued for, or against, in the State Assemblies. I’m also pretty certain that there is not a sole alive whose parents, or grandparents for that matter, were alive at that time either. What this means is that everything you know about these things is what some textbook, or educator has taught you.

What if they were wrong? What if everything you had been taught was not designed to educate you but to condition you to not to think; to accept the continued expansion of your government and the repeated infringements upon your rights without question or resistance?

How, if I may be so bold to ask, is this any worse than slavery? If your mind is not free to pursue the truth; not free to question the status quo; not free to disagree without your voice being silenced by the politically correct, are you any less a slave than one who is held in chains and forced to serve another?

From time to time I hear people laughing at others who have fallen victim to scams, saying, “They should have known better; that would never happen to me.” Is that so? Yet the majority of America falls victim to a scam every couple of years when they go to the polls and vote; thinking that the people they elect will go off and represent them in a government that understands, and adheres to the Constitution.

I would venture to guess that if you were to go out and ask most people, 99 out of 100 could not tell you what our nation’s Constitution says. Yet of those who are ignorant as to what the Constitution says, most would tell you they are making informed decisions when they vote. Furthermore, if were you to demand that a thorough understanding of the Constitution be a prerequisite prior to being allowed to vote they would tell you that you are violating their right to vote by placing restrictions on the Constitutionally ignorant.

Why is it that we require those assuming office to take an oath which states that they will support and defend the Constitution, but not require that the people voting for them be educated as to what the Constitution actually says? Does that make any sense to you?

But what good is knowing what the Constitution says if you aren’t going to vote only for candidates whose track record proves that they too understand it, and will adhere to the limits it imposes upon the office they seek? I don’t care which political party you most closely affiliate with, if that party does not have a platform of strictly adhering to the Constitution, then that party is not going to get my vote. If that means I have to stay home on election-day because there are no candidates who pass my litmus test, then so be it. I would rather go to sleep knowing that I stood for my principles than to go to sleep knowing that I sacrificed them so that my team could chock up another win.

I don’t want to make this a religious commentary, but Jesus says “You cannot serve two masters.” Well the same principle applies when you vote, “You cannot serve your political party ideology and serve the Constitution.” You must make a choice between one or the other; and it would seem that a majority of the people in this country are perfectly fine with serving their political party while ignoring the Constitution.

Over the course of the past two decades I have heard all manner of justification, from both those on the right and those on the left, for the things our government has done. But if you think about it, there is one common belief held by all; that the Constitutional limitations upon government are no longer of any relevance. All that seems to matter is that it is YOUR party that is in control and passing all these unconstitutional laws.

I wonder do people even know what the Constitution is; aside from the fact that I’ve explained what it is countless times? Do they realize that it was an act of the people creating a system of government; and bestowing that government with certain specific powers? Do they realize that the people, not the government, are the holders of the true political power and authority in this country; the very definition of the word sovereigns? Do they realize that without a Constitution there would be no government?

Why is it then that those few of us who decry the abuses of power by both the left and the right are looked upon with such disdain by a majority of Americans? Is it because your party, or more specifically your party platform is of more importance to you than the actual reasons for which our government was created all those years ago? Could it be that you care more about comfort and security than you do the precious liberty our Founders fought for; and hoped to secure for you by establishing this system of government?

I have been asked, often sarcastically, if I’m so smart what would I do to fix what is wrong in America. The best way to answer that question is that one man alone, even a President, cannot fix what is wrong in America. What is wrong in America is a complete and utter abandonment of the love of individual liberty. The moment a people look to their government to provide things to satisfy their needs they lose a bit of that liberty. The more they look to government itself to restore what has been lost, the more they end up losing. It becomes a vicious Catch 22 in which no matter whom we elect we always seem to lose.

If you really want to fix what is wrong in America you need to abandon your political party and find the time to learn what our Founders felt were the reasons for which our government was instituted; what they felt about self-reliance and personal responsibility. Our government was established basically to manage the interaction between the States which comprised the Union, and provide for the common defense of all. It was NEVER intended that our government become one which cares for the needs of the people; that responsibility was left to the States themselves.

Why else would they include a constitutional amendment which states, “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.”

Why would James Madison say the following if the powers given the federal government were to be so expansive that they could do all these things you routinely expect government to do, “The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected.

The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.” (Source: Federalist 45)

As long as we have political parties, and people voting for party over principle, we will never fix what is wrong in America. George Washington warned of the dangers associated with political parties in his Farewell Address, “However [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

We will never fix what is wrong in America until the people become educated as to what powers the Constitution gives our government, and then enforce those limitations upon those they elect; regardless of which political party they belong to. Is this a burdensome responsibility? Yes it is, but it is ours nonetheless, and if you ignore it then you have no one but yourself to blame for the problems in this country. To say that those of us who do not vote because the system is too corrupt to fix are to blame is shirking YOUR responsibility and seeking to place the blame for YOUR failure upon us.

Thomas Paine once said, “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” For generations now Americans have shirked that responsibility and allowed government to become this monster that eats away at the liberty it was established to secure for us.

It does not matter if the Republicans or the Democrats are in charge, government as an entity no longer serves the purposes for which it was created. If the Constitution is indeed a law, then those who violate it are criminals. What then does that make you when you cast your vote for these people based upon promises that exceed the specific grant of powers given government?

Folks, either we have a constitutional government or we don’t; we can’t have it both ways. Either our government is one which was given life by the Constitution, and is therefore bound by the principles contained within that document, or we don’t. What we have is up to you, but don’t go around pretending that we have a constitutional form of government when those comprising that government routinely ignore and violate the limits that document imposes upon them.

But that’s the problem, we have been indoctrinated into trusting the system, that even though we may, from time to time, get a corrupt president or congressman, that the system is sound and we should put our trust and faith in it. It has never crossed our minds that the purposes for which that system was first established have been abandoned, by both those we elect, and those who do the electing, and that my friends, is the real problem in America.

And as a post script, this will be the last you hear from me in awhile. Personal issues have come up which demand my time and will not allow me the chance to write. So if you do not hear from me in the near future, do not fret; I have not been detained by the government, nor have I died; although I’m sure either one would make certain people VERY happy.