On this, the 230th Anniversary of the ratification of our Bill of Rights, we shall shine a spotlight on some of those trying to redefine or destroy our Bill of Rights and why it is so vital we defeat them.
I assume most Americans cherish our Bill of Rights, those first 10 Amendments to our incredible U.S. Constitution, that have helped ensure all Citizens have the ability to enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
However, there are some who have been trying to limit or curtail, if not destroy, our Rights by redefining them to their own agenda. There are too many to mention in one post, so here are just a few examples that really stick out.
Let's start with Rep Jerry Nadler, as fairly recently he sent a tweet concerning the Kyle Rittenhouse "heartbreaking verdict." In attacking the Not Guilty verdict, Jerry spoke about the people (i.e., rioters) in Kenosha who were "engaged in First-Amendment-protected protest."
This is a blatant attempt to redefine "...the right of the people peaceably to assemble..." (as it is written in our First Amendment). Looting, rioting, setting fire to property and attacking people is certainly not peaceful.
There have been others on Capitol Hill who spread the same narrative about the Summer 2020 Riots as being "peaceful protests," which has, unfortunately, also carried over into popular TV shows, some of which I, my family and friends, will no longer watch.
The result is that there are still violent riots occurring no one is shutting down, despite the fact that Congress is charged to "suppress Insurrections" (Article I Section 8 Powers of Congress).
Freedom of Religion has been under assault for a long time. During the so-called pandemic we have lived under for nearly two years, Houses of Worship came under brutal attack. Back in April 2020, it was estimated that over 90% of all Houses of Worship were forced to close, most under state or county executive orders or mandates.
Numerous churches filed suits against the tyrannical orders forcing them to close, and there have been winners, including Sun Valley's Grace Community Church, Abundant Life Baptist Church, Denver Bible Church, Community Baptist Church, and others.
The court decision for the latter two, in Denver, said, "the Constitution does not allow the State to tell a congregation how large it can be when comparable secular gatherings are not so limited, or to tell a congregation that its reason for wishing to remove facial coverings is less important than a restaurant's or spa's."
Drop. The. Mic.
And, of course, our Freedom of Speech received probably its biggest setback when Social Media entered the mix of blatant censorship in concert with our government. While our 1A covers government restrictions on speech it does not place those restrictions on companies.
However, when a company, such as Facebook, not only coordinates actions with the CDC (and WHO) but also receives "suggestions" from Intelligence Committee Chairman Representative Adam Schiff to use the label of “misinformation” for any posted statements opposing official government pronouncements that does bring it into a First Amendment violation.
Yet, no one at our U.S. Department of Justice intervenes. Nor does anyone in Congress. Make no mistake our Freedom of Speech is at high risk.
George Washington, our first president, was adamant about this point. He said, “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
Freedom of the Press has come to mean, apparently, that the press can say, print or publish whatever they please and, for the most part, take no responsibility, nor have any accountability, for gross lies and manipulation. That viewpoint is far removed from what our Founders intended.
Consider what Thomas Jefferson, principal author of our Declaration of Independence and 3rd president said, "Printing presses shall be subject to no other restraint than liableness to legal prosecution for false facts printed and published."
There is one shining example of holding media accountable. That is Nicholas Sandmann who was viciously maligned by numerous media outlets in 2019, when he was just 16 years old. He and his attorney sued several national outlets for libel and defamation. Some settled out of court, six are still pending.
Unfortunately, the media has not learned and continue to spread false narratives at will.
Our Second Amendment is a popular target for those who, while protected by people with guns and even forwarding the Defund the Police mantra, do not wish Citizens to be armed despite the wording, "...the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Yes, there is clearly a movement to redefine, or eliminate, our 2A.
Publicity hounds like Beto O'Rourke say "only the government can be trusted with guns," while Obama flat out said, "I don't think people should be able to own guns." Those exact government idiots happen to be the precise reason our Founders included the Second Amendment.
Make no mistake, first a tyrant takes your arms and the ability to defend yourself...then they take your liberty.
And, of course, there are the highly unconstitutional Mandates and Executive Orders saving us from a virus, issued by power-hungry imbeciles, whose very actions violate several Amendments all at once. These include our 1st (Freedoms of Religion and Assembly), our 4th (Probable Cause) and our 5th (Due Process). Oh, and while we are at it, our 14th (depriving us of Life, Liberty or Property without Due Process).
The above are just a handful of examples of our Rights being trampled, of our Rights being defined as something there are not in order to take total control of our nation and its People by first limiting and then eradicating our Rights.
We the People must stand up and take back our Rights, our Freedoms, our Liberty.
Keep in mind. Our Founders warned us.
James Madison, the 'Father of the Constitution' and 4th president, admonished us, "Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
Founder of the Sons of Liberty and a leader of the Boston Tea Party, Samuel Adams, rightfully noted, “The liberties of our country, the freedom of our civil constitution, are worth defending against all hazards: And it is our duty to defend them against all attacks.”
As John Adams, our 2nd president said, “A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty, once lost, is lost forever.”
We must heed their warnings.
I, for one, will follow my cousin Patrick Henry, who, in a fiery speech for Freedom, declared, "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
It is not too late...but it is getting there.
Through thousands of years of history, there has never been another country on Earth with the Freedoms We the People enjoy.
We cannot allow lifelong politicians acting like czars, the over zealous media and the Big Tech Technocrats to ruin what millions of Americans gave their lives to establish, protect and preserve.
We cannot allow them to continue shredding our U.S. Constitution and, especially, our Bill of Rights.
Washington, the 'Father of our Country,' knew exactly what was being created when America won her Independence. He stated, “The establishment of our new government seemed to be the last great experiment for promoting human happiness by a reasonable compact in civil society.”
Know your Rights. Protect your Freedom (and that of your family and friends).
As our Founders advised all of us...get educated. Know and understand that we have an Exceptional and great country. You, your family and friends can start by watching the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool about our freedom, our rights, our liberty. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First Society.
Yours in Liberty.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
On this last day of Constitution Week, 2021, our focus narrows to State Sovereignty and We the People and their relationship to our Federal government.
Noted first is that We the People became far too comfortable, especially after World War II. America prospered like never before. We innovated. We created. And, unfortunately, we closed our eyes to what was happening around us and how our rights were systematically being taken away.
Many of us also know that our U.S. Constitution has been ignored and abused far longer than the past seven or eight decades through political interpretation and court decisions.
Indeed, we let it happen, despite this warning from James Madison, Father of our U.S. Constitution and our 4th president, “Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
Let's review a few things about the founding of America.
Our Declaration of Independence laid out why our Founders wanted to establish a new country: "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..."
First, they abolished the tyranny they were living under by fighting a lengthy and bloody Revolutionary War.
Then, they instituted a new government with our U.S. Constitution.
The Preamble of our Constitution states: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
It can be seen that We the People formed the Federal government for the benefit of the States - the ones that were now United and free of tyrannical rule - and for the People.
And, in our Constitution, Article I Section 8 specifically lays out what are called the Powers of Congress. Technically, anything done, anything approved or brought into being through Congress that is not listed in that Section 8 is, frankly, unconstitutional.
That is specifically solidified in our Bill of Rights, as the 10th Amendment:
Our Founders set up and created this nation consisting of several autonomous and sovereign states. The very idea was that these states would form "a more perfect union," utilizing an administrative central power, our Federal government, for their mutual benefit and defense.
Madison proclaimed, “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.”
Note what he said, "...principally on external objects..."
Principal author of our Declaration of Independence and 3rd president Thomas Jefferson summed it nicely when he said, “Our legislators are not sufficiently apprized of the rightful limits of their power; that their true office is to declare and enforce only our natural rights and duties, and to take none of them from us.”
Samuel Adams, Founder of the Sons of Liberty and a leader of the Boston Tea Party, echoed Jefferson when he made the point, “The Legislative has no right to absolute, arbitrary power over the lives and fortunes of the people.”
Once in office, our "representatives" and others take an Oath of Office. This is laid out in Article VI, which states, "The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."
Thus, when Congress sat back and did nothing to suppress the violent insurrections as occurred during the Summer 2020, and have not bothered quelling the invasion at our Southern border the past six or eight months, they have violated their Oath of Office as Article 8 clearly states: "To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;" (emphasis added)
Instead of doing their job outlined very specifically in Article I Section 8, they attempt to: mandate health policy on people, companies and states; take away our gun rights; work with Big Tech Social Media giants to halt free speech; meddle in state run elections; and, frivolously spend and give away We the Taxpayer money, driving our country deeper and deeper into debt.
They even passed a law, the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, that has shielded over 260 of them anonymously from workplace abuse claims (including sexual abuse) filed against them and have used We the Taxpayer money to pay off their accusers and keep them quiet. If they were truly accountable wouldn't we know about it and wouldn't they pay for injuries themselves?
But, I digress.
When one knows what our Founders intended as they established our country and ratified our Supreme Law of the Land it is easy to see that our behemoth Federal government has been out of control for quite some time - with our permission as we did not stop those who have, at times, seemingly taken up permanent residence on Capitol Hill, and gained financially while doing so.
We the People elect representatives who, as stated above, take an Oath to support and defend our U.S. Constitution.
Those who violate that Oath have broken not just a vow to We the People, they have violated Federal law, specifically 18 United States Code 1918, which provides the penalties for violation of the Oath of Office described in 5 U.S.C. 7311 and specifically includes: (1) removal from office and; (2) confinement or a fine.
That the Oath of Office and the above Code have been repeatedly violated with no action taken makes one wonder why there is a Department of Justice. After all, the USDOJ Mission Statement is: "To enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law; to ensure public safety against threats foreign and domestic; to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime; to seek just punishment for those guilty of unlawful behavior; and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans."
We the People and the states created the Federal government, which was charged with limited and specific duties.
George Washington, our first president, points out exactly where the preservation of our liberty lies. He said, “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”
Once again, "...to the hands of the American People."
Not the president, nor Congress, nor the Supreme Court.
The American People. We the People.
As our Founders said, get educated. Know what we have with this great country. You, your family and friends can start by watching the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool about our freedom, our rights, our liberty. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First Society.
Yours in Liberty.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
*****
On this day, in 1787, our U.S. Constitution was created and was ratified on March 4, 1789, forming the United States of America into a Constitutional Republic. And, what they formed is unlike anything before or after.
Our Founders knew what they were doing. They had studied history. After a long and grueling War for Independence, they met once again in Philadelphia and debated and argued about what would be the correct course of action for a new country...one founded on the principle of freedom.
We need to thank the Anti-Federalists for much of our freedom. Had it not been for people like Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams, George Mason, Mercy Otis Warren, James Monroe, John Hancock and others, there would be no Bill of Rights.
And, as Henry and the others following his lead argued, without a Bill of Rights, individual and even state rights are not protected.
It then came to pass that on September 25, 1787, the Bill of Rights, modeled after Mason's Virginia Bill of Rights, was created and became ratified on December 15, 1791.
With the Bill of Rights in place, America was set up to become quite exceptional.
The terminology of America being exceptional, and thus American Exceptionalism, can be traced to French diplomat and political historian Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) who described our country as “exceptional” based on our founding principles of freedom and liberty, rugged individualism and free enterprise.
While there are some who may scoff at the idea of American Exceptionalism, those are, more than likely, people who feel that America has never been great, has not been the best nation on Earth. To those, all that can be said, is move to that country you feel is better for We the People KNOW there is no other country offering the freedom, the liberty that we know and love.
Yes, during the short period of the 2020's this has been tested more than perhaps any other time in our history. Yet. We the People shall prevail. It is in our DNA. We are freedom lovers. And, we take responsibility for our actions.
Jefferson, principal author of our Declaration of Independence and 3rd president, warned us long ago about the times we have been facing. He said, “Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms, those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.”
The Father of our U.S. Constitution and 4th president, James Madison, concurred. He stated, “Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
Our Founders were wise beyond their time. They knew. They admonished us.
During these trying times, when federal and state and even local mandates are thrown around ad nauseam, there are those elected officials who are fighting back. Numerous state governors have put Biden and Capitol Hill on notice.
"We will not comply."
Why? The governors who reject federal mandates, lock-downs and the like are following the 10th Amendment. Congress has no authority to mandate, nor does the president. To that some say, but the 1905 SCOTUS decision says they can. Sorry, no it does not. Read the decision. Or, just read our blog article about it.
Remember, on September 17, 1787, our U.S. Constitution was created. What that means is that the states created the federal government.
Read the preamble: "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
There it states why the federal government was formed. As Madison says (again, he was the person who wrote it), the primary duties are principally external, "...war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce.”
And then read Article I Section 8. Those are the ONLY Constitutional powers and duties of Congress, which crossed over the line decades ago. Anything and everything done not listed there is, essentially, unconstitutional and a violation of their Oath of Office.
Echoing that is Sons of Liberty Founder and a leader of the Boston Tea Party, Samuel Adams, who stated, “The Legislative has no right to absolute, arbitrary power over the lives and fortunes of the people.”
Will we survive the current dictatorship style now in vogue in DC and some states? Yes!
The Founder of the Federalist Party, Alexander Hamilton, was quite brief describing such a time as we are experiencing, “If the representatives of the people betray their constituents, there is then no recourse left but in the exertion of that original right of self-defense which is paramount to all positive forms of government.”
Think about it. What other country anywhere has Founding Documents and Founders who put in place safeguards for the freedom, liberty and rights of We the People. None. Never been done.
American Exceptionalism exists. American Exceptionalism lives.
The way to keep this in place - and growing - is primarily through education. While many other Founders stated similar sentiments, 2nd president John Adams summed it up nicely in two short quotes, “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people,” and “Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.”
Principles of Freedom. Not socialist indoctrination. Not critical race theory. Not revisionist history. Not what sex do you want to be. Etc. Etc.
Then, We the People must ensure that our elected representatives follow their Oath of Office. That means We the People must be vocal and be seen. We must ensure that our Constitution is adhered to and followed.
Know your rights. Protect your rights.
Demand accountability.
As our Founders said, get educated. Know what we have with this great country. You, your family and friends can start by watching the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool about our freedom, our rights, our liberty. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First Society.
Yours in Liberty.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
*****
There is a lot of talk and debate about forced vaccination and even more about the possibility of a Vaccine Passport.
There are many posts touting the 1905 Jacobson v. Massachusetts SCOTUS decision that upheld the state's position of forced vaccination.
In his written opinion, Justice John Marshall Harlan recognized that Americans do possess the fundamental right of personal freedom. He also stated, “...the rights of the individual in respect of his liberty may at times, under the pressure of great dangers, be subjected to such restraint, to be enforced by reasonable regulations, as the safety of the general public may demand.”
Basically, that ruling set the precedent that states do have the power to protect the overall health of their public during an epidemic, when under “great dangers.”
Some people like to hang their hat right there and state categorically that one decision verifies the right to force vaccinations.
Of course, the penalty upheld in that court decision was a "nominal fine." It was not denying people entry into restaurants, or traveling freely in our great country, or any other measures that have been mandated or contemplated, all of which violate the 14th Amendment's Equal Protection clause anyway.
However, holding on to that ruling as the end all decision to force vaccinations is a limited, and misled, viewpoint.
At the time, circa 1901 to 1903, there was a smallpox outbreak in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the surrounds. The attack rate of the virus was three cases per 1,000 people. However, the case fatality rate was fairly high at 17%.
Comparing that to the Covid-19 outbreak, there is no similarity. Not even close.
For one, there were many people, no one really knows the exact number, who were already hospitalized and may have been dying or quite sick who then caught the virus and died. That is called comorbidity. The CDC eventually admitted that Covid-19 was listed as the cause of death despite the comorbidity and the seriousness of the other diseases or ailments the person may have been suffering.
Even with those inflated numbers, the case fatality rate for the Covid-19 virus has estimates that range from a low of 0.17% to a high of 1.7%, which is 10 to 100 times less than that which occurred in Cambridge more than a century ago.
The other point is this..."Justice John Marshall Harlan’s decision was very narrow. It upheld the state’s power to impose a nominal fine on an unvaccinated person. No more, no less."
No prison. No lockdown. No quarantine. No denial of social interaction. Only a fine. And a nominal one at that.
As well, since that 1905 decision, there have been other significant rulings that would come into play should this debate ever reach the High Court.
“The right to be free of unwanted physical invasions has been recognized as an integral part of the individual’s constitutional freedoms.” — United States v. Charters (4th Circuit, 1987).
“The forcible injection of medication into a nonconsenting person’s body represents a substantial interference with that person’s liberty.” — Washington v. Harper (Supreme Court, 1990).
One other major aspect to consider is in the 1905 ruling itself.
The Jacobson v. Massachusetts decision was specifically concerning the state's right to force vaccinations for the "safety of the general public." Again, that was with a 17% case fatality rate.
That would seem to be in line with our U.S. Constitution regarding rights of the states.
Article I Section 8 spells out the specific powers of Congress. None of those powers cover this area. Thus, Amendment X comes in to play. It 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."
Taking that into account, if the state has the power to mandate vaccinations to protect the general population of that state during a 17% case death rate it would also seem to be the case that a state could reject a Federal mandate (which would not be covered constitutionally) when there is only 0.17% fatality rate associated with the virus.
Especially in light of how the written decision is framed, "under the pressure of great dangers." Again, a 17% case death rate is a great danger, whereas a 0.17%, not so much.
Therefore, logically, if there is no "great danger" the state would be rightfully, and constitutionally, upholding the fundamental of personal freedom by defying a Federal vaccination mandate as well as passing legislation forbidding vaccination as a condition of employment within their state.
Know your rights. Protect your rights.
You, your family and friends can start by watching the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool about our freedom, our rights, our liberty. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First Society.
It is up to each of us, to first know our rights to then defend our rights.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
One of the perks of being a Citizen of the United States of America is that we live in a Constitutional Republic, one where We the People elect Representatives to speak and act for us - for our benefit, according to our wishes.
Unfortunately, over many decades, those who have been sent to Washington DC have violated the trust that has been placed in their hands.
One current example of not representing what We the People need and want is H.R. 1. This particular bill will substantially loosen election procedures and will not ensure any form of election integrity.
The proponents of the Bill, a piece of legislation that does not ensure only Citizens are voting in our elections, are directly violating their Oath of Office: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.
What are they not supporting?
Our Supreme Law of the Land grants the right of citizens of the United States to vote, per Amendments XV, XIX, XXIV and XXVI.
Note the word, citizens.
The right of Citizens...to vote.
Thus, requiring people to prove they are citizens to vote is, to say the least, entirely backed by our U.S. Constitution.
However, those who openly protest Voter ID be presented in order to vote, claim that, somehow, requiring Voter ID is racist and oppressive because it is hard to get, cannot be obtained by those of lesser means, etc., etc.
How stupid do they think Americans are?
Photo ID is required to: open a bank account; purchase or rent a home; purchase or rent a car; travel on an airline; purchase alcohol or cigarettes; apply for welfare or food stamps; apply for a job or unemployment; purchase a prescription; purchase a cell phone; and, much more.
Does that mean that minorities, those people whom H.R. 1 backers claim cannot possibly obtain government issued ID to vote, do not live in a house or apartment, don't drive, don't work, don't ever get prescriptions, do not own a cell phone, etc., etc.
Here is the interesting part...in surveys conducted of American Citizens in 2021 they overwhelmingly would like to see Voter ID:
In other words ... We the People want Voter ID. Period.
What can be done?
Patriots must call, write or email their elected representative, regardless of party, and demand that they follow their Oath of Office to ensure that only Citizens vote. Remind them that our U.S. Constitution states Citizens, no one else, have the right to vote. Period.
Demand your representative votes against any legislation that does not require Voter ID.
Yes. You are one voice. You are one vote. But together, We the People are many.
Staying true to our U.S. Constitution is the only path to safeguard freedom and liberty in America for ourselves and our posterity.
Know your rights. Defend your rights. Exercise your rights.
Learning the basics is easy. Pick up a copy (or stream) the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First University.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
Perhaps like no other time in our history has our resolve been tested than during the past year and a half. Despite all we have gone through, millions upon millions of American Patriots remain devoted to the Red, White and Blue - to what our Flag represents.
Thus, this Memorial Day 2021, it makes sense to review a short bit of history concerning our Freedom and to give thanks to those who gave their all to establish - as well as to those who have ensured - that it remains intact.
Our great country, the United States of America, has a very proud history and tradition of being the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, aka The Land of the Free because of The Brave.
Towards the beginning of our incredible Declaration of Independence it proclaims: 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.
And, at the close of this amazing instrument of sovereignty and liberation, those who signed pledged the following: And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
They. Pledged. Their. Lives. Fortune. Honor.
Of the 56 who signed our Declaration, nine did end up paying the ultimate sacrifice - they lost their lives for the blessed cause they believed in, Freedom and Independence. Another 17 signers lost everything they had - their money, their possessions, their property.
Suffice to say that our War for Independence ended up setting the bar for the freedom of these United States of America ... Freedom Is Not Free.
Whenever our freedom has been endangered, the men and women who have served in our U.S. military services have answered the call in our defense.
Those who did not return home gave their all for our country, just as many of our Founders and our ancestral Colonists did during our War for Independence.
The extraordinary members of our military who have died to protect our nation throughout our two-plus centuries of existence deserve our most heartfelt thanks.
It is because of them we have remained the most free people on planet Earth.
This portion of Country superstar Lee Greenwood's God Bless the USA lyrics capture our sentiments quite well:
And I'm proud to be an American,
Where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
Who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
Next to you and defend her still today.
'Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.
Whether you are hosting a backyard barbecue with family and friends, are on a road trip with loved ones, or in any other type of Memorial Day celebration, please honor their service and their ultimate sacrifice.
To those who gave their all in the defense and protection of our Freedom and our Liberty:
You are Honored, You are Remembered, You are Eternally Thanked.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
Our Founders were intelligent, well-read and had studied history. They fought a long and hard battle for our unalienable (i.e., can't be taken away) rights. One of those is the right to keep and bear arms.
Thus, the first point to clear up regarding our Second Amendment is this: any and every gun law is unconstitutional. Period.
It says so right there: ...shall not be infringed...
Gun grabbers would have you believe that our 2A only protects simple, musket-like guns, because of the time period in which that vital amendment was written.
However, as they were wise, our Founders wrote and approved our U.S. Constitution not for the times but to stand the test of time.
As Alexander Hamilton said, “Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things.”
Now on to our Second Amendment, in the words of our Founders.
Second Amendment: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
Those with tyrannical agendas to eliminate or drastically reduce arms in the hands of Americans cry out that citizens are not the militia.
Really?
What is - who are - the militia?
Our 1st president George Washington wrote, "...the Citizens of America (with a few legal and official exceptions) from 18 to 50 Years of Age should be borne on the Militia Rolls, provided with uniform Arms, and so far accustomed to the use of them."
Tench Coxe, a delegate for Pennsylvania, wrote "The militia, who are in fact the effective part of the people at large, will render many troops quite unnecessary. They will form a powerful check upon the regular troops, and will generally be sufficient to over-awe them."
New York delegate to the Continental Congress Melancton Smith wrote, "A militia when properly formed are in fact the people themselves...and include all men capable of bearing arms..."
And, of course George Mason, Father of our Bill of Rights, said, “That the people have a Right to mass and to bear arms; that a well regulated militia composed of the Body of the people, trained to arms, is the proper natural and safe defense of a free state.”
Notice a pattern here, the Citizens of America, the people at large, the people themselves, the body of people.
They did not mince words. The militia equals We the People.
Even so, there is a key phrase gun grabbers ignore: ...the right of the people to keep and bear arms...
The. Right. Of. The. People.
It is a right of We the People.
James Madison, Father of our U.S. Constitution and 4th president had this to say: “The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”
Sons of Liberty Founder Samuel Adams proclaimed, “The Constitution shall never be construed... to prevent the people of the United States who are peaceable citizens from keeping their own arms.”
Fisher Ames of Massachusetts said, "The rights of conscience, of bearing arms, of changing the government, are declared to be inherent in the people."
Hamilton had this to say, “The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they be properly armed.”
Richard Henry Lee, author of the motion to call for Independence from Great Britain in June 1776, stated, “To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them…”
And according to our 2nd president, John Adams, "Here every private person is authorized to arm himself."
The primary purpose of our right to bear arms, as written, is for the security of a free state. Our Founders knew the dangers of an unarmed populace, unable to challenge a tyrannical or dictatorial rule.
Samuel Adams pointed out, “If ever the Time should come, when vain & aspiring Men shall possess the highest Seats in Government, our Country will stand in Need of its experienced Patriots to prevent its Ruin.”
Thomas Jefferson, principal author of our Declaration of Independence and 3rd president, laid it out as a question, "What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?"
And, to sum it up, we will hear from Patrick Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death Henry, who so eloquently said, “Are we at last brought to such an humiliating and debasing degradation, that we cannot be trusted with arms for our defense? Where is the difference between having our arms in possession and under our direction, and having them under the management of Congress? If our defense be the real object of having those arms, in whose hands can they be trusted with more propriety or equal safety to us, as in our own hands?”
However, aside from security of a free state, there is also self-defense.
Jefferson summed it up best, “Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes.... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.”
Our Founders knew they were setting up a government unlike any that had come before them.
And much of the success of America would come from both We the People and their elected representatives following that precious document as written, not as interpreted for other meanings or to fit or be molded to an agenda.
Remember those representatives take an Oath of Office that very specifically includes they ...support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic...
Anyone attempting to change our Constitution by Executive Order or by Legislation contrary to what our Constitution says is, in fact, an enemy of the state.
Please make sure that you and your family know our rights, especially the truth about our Second Amendment. Only then will We the People be able to protect our unalienable rights.
Learning the basics is easy. Pick up a copy (or stream) the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First University. There are also many free resources available at U.S. Constitution.
Staying true to our Constitution, and especially our Bill of Rights, is the only path to safeguard freedom and liberty in America for ourselves and our posterity.
Know your rights. Defend your rights.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
All Americans should know the significance of our Bill of Rights, those first ten amendments to our U.S. Constitution.
Following our War for Independence from the tyranny of King George III (1775-1783), the colonies were in need of a manner in which to truly unite as a nation, as the Articles of Confederation, written and ratified during the war, was inadequate for such a task.
Meeting once again in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention, our Founders crafted the most powerful governing document ever devised.
However, there was a problem.
In the opinion of some, who came to be known as Anti-Federalists, there was too much power provided to the central government. Among other points, they believed the Constitution absolutely required a Bill of Rights to protect the States and the People.
During the ratification process the Federalists and Anti-Federalists fought a battle of words: the former advocating approval of the Constitution as written, and the latter demanding that the document must have a Bill of Rights to protect Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, as envisioned in our Declaration of Independence.
The Anti-Federalists were led by people such as Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Adams and George Mason. The Federalists were led by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay.
James Madison, the Father of our Constitution and our fourth president, wrote, “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.”
However, those powers were neither spelled out nor guaranteed, thus leaving open the possibility for their perversion.
Long story short, our U.S. Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788, becoming effective on March 4, 1789, and our Bill of Rights followed shortly thereafter when those ten amendments were created September 25, 1789, and ratified on this day, December 15, 1791, during the first term of our first president, George Washington.
The significance of our Bill or Rights cannot be overstated.
Those first amendments guarantee our rights, our liberty, our freedom, our safety - but only as long as we follow their words and intent.
Principal author of our Declaration and third president, Thomas Jefferson, was spot on when he declared so long ago, “Our legislators are not sufficiently apprized of the rightful limits of their power; that their true office is to declare and enforce only our natural rights and duties, and to take none of them from us.”
In today's world, many of our liberties, guaranteed in those Bill of Rights, have been trampled on and We the People have allowed it.
We have allowed it by letting politicians and justices twist the words, redefine the words, corrupt the words of our Founders. Some even insist that our Constitution is outdated and must be revised or entirely replaced.
Make no mistake, anyone advocating deviation from our Supreme Law of the Land is, in reality, a traitor to We the People.
Sons of Liberty founder Samuel Adams, declared, “The Legislative has no right to absolute, arbitrary power over the lives and fortunes of the people.” Yet, during 2020, we have allowed "absolute, arbitrary power" by many government officials. Our guaranteed rights have been cast aside with reckless abandon by some.
Today, especially on its anniversary, we should thank our Founding Fathers for their incredible wisdom in providing our guiding documents.
We must also pray that our elected representatives and officials who took an Oath to support and defend the Constitution begin doing so - or be expelled.
It really is that simple.
Our rights are guaranteed.
When an elected official messes with those rights, especially as laid out in our Bill or Rights, they are violating their Oath. They are, in essence, criminals needing to be dealt with accordingly.
Federal law 18 United States Code 1918, provides the penalties for violation of the Oath of Office described in 5 U.S.C. 7311 and specifically includes: (1) removal from office and; (2) confinement or a fine.
It is time We the People demand that this law be enforced, that our precious Bill of Rights be upheld and supported, at all cost.
Please ensure that you and your family, as well as your friends and associates, know our rights. Only then will We the People be able to protect them.
Learn the basics by watching the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First University. There are also many free resources available at U.S. Constitution.
Staying true to our Constitution, and especially our Bill of Rights, is the only path to safeguard freedom and liberty in America for ourselves and our posterity.
After all, you must first know your rights to then defend your rights.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
Our Founders fought against tyranny in a war that spanned eight years, ultimately freeing themselves, and their new country, from the oppressive rule they experienced under King George III of England.
They believed, "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."
They envisioned a nation with limited government, where people would be free from draconian rule, to live their lives without government interference.
Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of our Declaration of Independence and third president of these United States, stated, “The policy of American government is to leave its citizens free, neither restraining them nor aiding them in their pursuits.”
Despite this, over the decades that have come and gone, We the People have allowed government to expand to a size and scope our Founders would not approve, would not believe.
Witness the existence of free speech zones, places where American citizens are allowed to speak their mind, yet our First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, without reservation of location.
Benjamin Franklin, deemed The First American due to his early role in the fight for independence, proclaimed, "Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins."
How about any and all laws limiting an American's right to bear arms, or, possibly worse, Red Flag Laws?
James Madison, Father of our U.S. Constitution and fourth president, declared, “The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”
While Patrick Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death Henry, pointed out, quite accurately, "Where and when did freedom exist when the power of the sword and purse were given up from the people?"
And, it goes on.
Government now controls virtually every aspect of our lives.
Founder of the Sons of Liberty Samuel Adams stated, "The grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defence of those very rights; the principal of which, as is before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property."
Note those words, "...support, protection, and defence of those very rights..."
Not taking away. Not limiting.
Yet, government today limits or takes away our unalienable rights and then either licenses them back to us or we never see them again.
We must keep in mind what George Washington, our first president, said ... “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”
Washington did not mince words. He and our other Founders knew what was at stake. He said, in the hands of the American people, not in the hands of politicians.
We the People.
Three powerful words that have stood as the guiding light for nearly 250 years.
Yet, there are those who now embrace big government, Socialism, or worse.
Perhaps Ronald Reagan, in his first inaugural address as governor of California, said it best: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
Only through educating all Americans about our history, about American Exceptionalism, about why America Is Great, from an early age, will we remain free.
As second president John Adams said, “Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom,” and, “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.”
Know your rights. Protect your liberty.
You, your family and friends can start by watching the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool about our freedom, our rights, our liberty. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First University.
After all, you must first know your rights to then defend your rights.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
There are those advocating, once again, that reparations be paid to Americans who are black because of slavery early on in our country's history.
To hear some speak about it you would almost believe that America had actually invented slavery.
Sorry, but those who believe reparations should be paid are either: 1) completely uninformed regarding world history and culture, or, 2) forwarding a very specific and hidden agenda. Or, both.
Of course, politicians forwarding this absurdity fall into category number two, though they may also be totally ignorant on the subject of the history of slavery.
Here are just a few salient facts.
Slavery and indentured or forced servitude had been an accepted and common practice throughout almost all of human culture for thousands of years prior to America even coming into existence.
Encyclopedia Britannica suggests that slavery most likely began at the time of the Neolithic Revolution, around 11,000 years ago, or 110 centuries.
That is about 105 centuries before Europeans ventured across the Atlantic Ocean to what would eventually come to be known as North America.
It is historically documented that slavery was a part of many African societies and their economic structure for centuries prior to colonists settling in the "new world." For instance, in West Africa's Mali, during the 14th century, the number of slaves a person owned reflected their social standing.
Another pertinent fact: virtually all races, not just blacks, have been subject to this barbaric practice.
There are countless examples of where slavery has existed around the world, including, but not limited to: Babylonia, Ancient China, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Iran, the Arab Islamic Caliphate and Sulanate, the Roman Empire, Africa, Arabia, Europe, India and North, Central and South America - i.e., North American Indian tribes, the Mayans, the Incans, the Aztecs, etc.
An interesting note: prior to white Europeans arriving on what is now known as the North American continent, slavery and the slave trade were nearly universally practiced among the Native Indian tribes. That includes - as had also been done in other times and countries - using women and children to pay off, of all things, gambling debts.
The point is, at some point in time almost every country had slavery as part of their common, every day life.
And, yes, there are still countries today with slaves, not to mention international human and child trafficking (with many ending up as sex slaves).
Yet, one of the first countries that ended thousands of years of this practice must pay reparations?
Who are you kidding?
Perhaps this is a primary reason to erase or alter history. If no one knows what occurred in the past, anything can be said under the guise of being true. Where factual history is known, however, the lies are exposed for what they are, fiction.
Truth be told, not all black people in America were slaves. As well, there were a large number of Irish who, upon arriving in the Colonies, became indentured servants, following what had been practiced in all the British territories around the world.
Another truth is that there were black slave owners in the colonies, some of whom had both black and white people as slaves. An early one was Anthony Johnson, a successful tobacco farmer, who obtained his first indentured servant for life, a black man, by court order in 1654.
Did some of our Founders own slaves? Yes, but many of them also led the drive to abolish slavery.
The Slave Trade Act of 1794 was signed into law by President George Washington that limited American involvement in the international slave trade.
In 1806 President Thomas Jefferson called for the end of the slave trade in his 1806 State of the Union address. The 9th Congress of the United States made the importation of slaves illegal in 1807, becoming effective January 1, 1808.
Yes, there continued to be struggles. America is not perfect. Nor is any other country. When you consider that our Founders were dealing with 11,000 years of cultural history and practice, they did pretty well.
The final acts against slavery for America followed the Civil War, when the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were passed between 1865-1870.
Thus, the barbarism of slavery that had spanned 110 centuries was ended in the United States once and for all.
It would seem, to someone who knows the gruesome and long history of slavery throughout the world, that if one were going after reparations, one would go to the place where it started, not try to force those who ended it to pay for something that was inherited from human culture and was a very common and accepted practice throughout time.
Our Declaration of Independence spelled it out: 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.
Our U.S. Constitution protects those rights of all Citizens, no matter the race or gender.
In America, like no other country, the opportunity to succeed exists for anyone who wishes to work for it. The key, of course, is working for it.
Our rights as Americans are unequalled anywhere, at any time, on Earth. But that has been changing. And, We the People have allowed it.
We did not heed the words of our Founders concerning those we elect. Perhaps Sons of Liberty founder Samuel Adams said it best, If ever the Time should come, when vain & aspiring Men shall possess the highest Seats in Government, our Country will stand in Need of its experienced Patriots to prevent its Ruin.
We have, indeed, allowed too many vain and aspiring people in government who have, bit by bit, taken away some of our freedoms, straddled us with monumental debt, and more to be sure, while they became millionaires being a public servant.
The only real way to safeguard our freedoms, our liberty, our unalienable rights, is to know and understand our Supreme Law of the Land and how our country should be operating and then to make certain that it does operate in that manner.
Along with that, We the People must ensure our family members and friends are also armed with this same ammunition (information) - knowledge of our precious U.S. Constitution.
Learning the basics is easy. Pick up a copy (or stream) the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First University. There are also many free resources available at U.S. Constitution. Perhaps you and the family would like a fun, week-long constitutional getaway. Check out Camp Constitution’s 2021 Family Camp in New Hampshire, Sunday, July 18 to Friday, July 23.
Know your rights. Defend your rights.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
The last eight words in our Declaration of Independence, a document that forever changed the world in which we live, were bold and courageous; "Our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
Towards the beginning of the Declaration the purpose of their quest to establish an independent nation was firmly stated: "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."
The Declaration went on to describe in detail the reasons for the 13 Colonies pursuit for separation from England and the tyrannical rule of King George III.
Each and every delegate to the Convention knew well the risks they were taking when they signed, going up against a much more established and powerful country.
That fact was certainly encapsulated in the full, final sentence: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
There were 56 Signers to the Declaration of Independence. Of the 56, nine did indeed pay the ultimate price, their lives, for the cause. Another 17 lost everything they owned, along with all of their money.
However, not one of them ever recanted on their pledge.
Perhaps Patrick Henry said it best, “Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”
Following the American Revolution and the breaking of bonds with Great Britain, America then wrote, debated and ultimately ratified our U.S. Constitution and became the best country ever created.
The foresight off our Founders was incredible.
They fought for independence from tyrannical rule and set the stage for a dynamic and unified nation.
They had established a Constitutional, or a Representative, Republic, as opposed to a democracy, which caters to the whims of the majority. And, in doing so, they tried to warn us of tyrants and despots over and over again.
Thomas Jefferson, who was the principal author of our Declaration of Independence and later became our third president, wrote "The time to guard against corruption and tyranny, is before they shall have gotten hold on us."
Sons of Liberty Founder and a leader of the Boston Tea Party, Samuel Adams, proclaimed, "A general Dissolution of Principles & Manners will more surely overthrow the Liberties of America than the whole Force of the Common Enemy."
As well, statesman, diplomat, inventor, and writer Benjamin Franklin aptly noted, way back when, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
General and President George Washington summed up one of our most valuable unalienable rights when he said, “If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.”
There are many more warnings to We the People, seemingly foreseeing some of the very actions various elected politicians have dictated and enforced during the past year and a half. And, truthfully, predicting what could happen if We the People did not keep constant vigilance upon our elected representatives and hold them accountable.
Over several decades we have gradually allowed too much power to be consolidated into the hands of too few people in Washington DC and it has cost us dearly.
The Father of our U.S. Constitution and fourth president, James Madison summed it up thusly, “Since the general civilization of mankind, I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments of those in power, than by violent and sudden usurpations.”
Jefferson knew. He cautioned us. “When the representative body have lost the confidence of their constituents, when they have notoriously made sale of their most valuable rights, when they have assumed to themselves powers which the people never put into their hands, then indeed their continuing in office becomes dangerous to the state, and calls for an exercise of the power of dissolution.”
This Independence Day let us remember and thank those brave souls who risked it all to establish the one truly free nation on planet Earth.
During his first inaugural speech as governor of California, President Ronald Reagan made a salient point, “Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people. Those who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”
John F. Kennedy, our 35th president who, during his too short tenure in office, guided us through some threatening and dangerous times, said, point-blankly, “Today, we need a nation of Minutemen, citizens who are not only prepared to take arms, but citizens who regard the preservation of freedom as the basic purpose of their daily life and who are willing to consciously work and sacrifice for that freedom.”
Take a moment and re-read JFKs quote. That is powerful. That is reminiscent of what the Signers pledged in our Declaration of Independence.
Many Founders agreed on one simple fact, arming oneself in the knowledge of freedom is a big step in defeating tyranny. Second president John Adams said it very succinctly, “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.” He further added, “Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom.”
If it has been a while, re-read , minimally, the opening two paragraphs of our Declaration of Independence, as well as the entirety of our U.S. Constitution.
Let us vow to one another that we will not allow our precious Freedom to be taken away, for the Rights and Liberties of every American are at stake, and our remaining a Free country is definitely needed on this, the third rock from the Sun.
Yours in Liberty.
Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry
Our Founders fought against tyranny in a war that spanned eight years, ultimately freeing themselves, and their new country, from the oppressive rule they experienced under King George III of England.
They believed, "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."
They envisioned a nation with limited government, where people would be free from draconian rule, to live their lives without government interference.
Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of our Declaration of Independence and third president of these United States, stated, “The policy of American government is to leave its citizens free, neither restraining them nor aiding them in their pursuits.”
Despite this, over the decades that have come and gone, We the People have allowed government to expand to a size and scope our Founders would not approve, would not believe.
Witness the existence of free speech zones, places where American citizens are allowed to speak their mind, yet our First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, without reservation of location.
Benjamin Franklin, deemed The First American due to his early role in the fight for independence, proclaimed, "Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government; when this support is taken away, the constitution of a free society is dissolved, and tyranny is erected on its ruins."
How about any and all laws limiting an American's right to bear arms, or, possibly worse, Red Flag Laws?
James Madison, Father of our U.S. Constitution and fourth president, declared, “The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation where the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms.”
While Patrick Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death Henry, pointed out, quite accurately, "Where and when did freedom exist when the power of the sword and purse were given up from the people?"
And, it goes on.
Government now controls virtually every aspect of our lives.
Founder of the Sons of Liberty Samuel Adams stated, "The grand end of civil government, from the very nature of its institution, is for the support, protection, and defence of those very rights; the principal of which, as is before observed, are Life, Liberty, and Property."
Note those words, "...support, protection, and defence of those very rights..."
Not taking away. Not limiting.
Yet, government today limits or takes away our unalienable rights and then either licenses them back to us or we never see them again.
We must keep in mind what George Washington, our first president, said ... “The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of Government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.”
Washington did not mince words. He and our other Founders knew what was at stake. He said, in the hands of the American people, not in the hands of politicians.
We the People.
Three powerful words that have stood as the guiding light for nearly 250 years.
Yet, there are those who now embrace big government, Socialism, or worse.
Perhaps Ronald Reagan, in his first inaugural address as governor of California, said it best: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
Only through educating all Americans about our history, about American Exceptionalism, about why America Is Great, from an early age, will we remain free.
As second president John Adams said, “Children should be educated and instructed in the principles of freedom,” and, “Liberty cannot be preserved without general knowledge among the people.”
Know your rights. Protect your liberty.
You, your family and friends can start by watching the award-winning In Search of Liberty Constitution movie. It is a great refresher or educational tool about our freedom, our rights, our liberty. Following the movie, check out the more in-depth study offered by Building Blocks for Liberty in their three-hour Constitution Boot Camp Streaming Home Edition or consider Constitutional attorney KrisAnne Hall's online Liberty First University.
After all, you must first know your rights to then defend your rights.
by Scott D. Welch, Patriot
Direct descendant of 8 Americans who fought in the Revolutionary War
Cousin of Patrick Henry