The Constitution reigns supreme. It is the set of principles to govern the government. The Constitution is all that stands between the People and totally tyranny and despotism. It is the legal document that lays out the rules by which a contest for freedom between people and their government in America should be played out. Unfortunately, the Constitution itself has been ineffective in preventing violations. A good starting point to rectify our current problems, however, would be for Congress to assume the responsibility given it, and ensure that the Executive branch does not usurp any authority explicitly granted to Congress. Alternatively, the President should also assume proper responsibility and check the Legislative branch by simply refusing to accept any transfer of power that is not expressly authorized by the Constitution.
Defending our country from outside attack is a legitimate priority for our federal government to undertake, but protecting individual liberty should be our ultimate goal. This does not mean, however, that our armies should follow our citizens or their business investments to all corners of the world; thus, acting as nothing more than private protection agencies, with the bill being paid for by the American people.
Protecting our national sovereignty and guaranteeing constitutional protection of our rights is essential. Respecting the sovereignty of other nations, even when our government is in disagreement with some or all of their policies, is also of the highest necessity. Changing the policies of foreign nations must only be done through persuasion and good example, not violence and murder.
Unfortunately, our political rulers have completely lost touch with our system of limited government. Today, too many American politicians support the use of force to spread a perceived message of hope and freedom. Their vile use of the ideals of liberty and democracy all too often end up in death and destruction. Using force unjustly, instead of promoting the honorable message of American freedom through peaceful means, antagonizes our enemies, alienates our allies, and threatens personal liberties here at home; all the while burdening our economy to the point of collapse. Continually giving the Executive a blanket authorization to initiate war upon Presidential decree could very well prove fatal to the American experiment in liberty.
Congress at any time can prevent or stop all undue and unjust foreign entanglements pursued by the Executive branch simply by refusing to finance them. If our system of government and it's highly touted checks and balances truly worked, this simple task would have been done numerous times in the last sixty years. But, unfortunately, the system, as well as the people we have entrusted with power, has failed us.
The current war in Iraq, for example, has now lasted for over fifteen years, and has spanned the administration of three Presidents and Congresses controlled by both prevailing political parties. This makes it clear that it is not just the Executive branch, but also the Congress, and even our system of government itself, that are all equally responsible for the never-ending quagmire of war which our nation has labored under for decades.
What remedy can there be for this other than a change in the system which has produced it? Trusting a President, Congress, or either ruling political party to rectify these evils would place the liberty of the People at the mercy of their rulers and potential tyrants. What fools are we to trust the preservation of our rights upon the contingency of our rulers being good or evil? Show me a nation in history where the rights and liberties of the people rested solely on the hope of their rulers being good, without a subsequent loss of liberty! For once power is seized by such extra-constitutional means, not the least fragment of liberty will survive the collapse!
Thomas Jefferson stated, quite clearly, the duty of the People to check the government when he said, "An elective despotism is not the government we fought for." Thomas Paine concurred when he said, "It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from the government." It is this duty that I will endeavor to examine further in my next paper, on April 6, 2006.
In the spirit of liberty and prosperity,
Franklin
This essay is the 25th edition of the series The Populist Papers, which are published bi-weekly at www.populistamerica.com. Written anonymously to promote discussion of the principles alone, these essays attempt to both explain the complexities of government, and determine the proper place of a federal government based on the inherent rights of all people. Feedback is welcome at info@populistamerica.com
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
