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
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