Suffice it to say that the two quotes above define the ultimate responsibility of each of us as citizens. The wisdom of the Founding Fathers granted us our Constitution, to which we all adhere. From this great document flow our rights and our freedoms. The Constitution defines the structure and the limits of the government, enables legislation which we can call "the rule of law", and finally, allows for all other actions, rules, etc. to be left to the "will of the people". If, therefore, our government is acting outside of its defined areas of responsibility, it is up to the people to reclaim their position. The Declaration of Independence clearly states that whenever a government ceases to represent the will of the people, the people have the right and duty to replace that government. In our system, we have chosen the method of voting to secure that change.
That pesky little phrase, "will of the people", brings us to the heart of the matter. For many, the task of voting represents the end of their personal responsibility, and the idea is that our representatives will conduct the nation's business with wisdom and reverence. Yet, to hear ourselves discuss politics and politicians, you could hardly come to the conclusion that all is well and most of us are happy with the state of the country. Well, if we voted, and the conditions of the country are not satisfactory, then what? What else can we do?
The answer to that question is twofold. For starters, all of us need to be more involved in our local government, which includes everything from our school board to our town mayor. The nature and character of our national politics flows from the local to the federal, or let us say it should. Many politicians, though not all, start a "political career" locally. Whether or not an individual should even have a "political career" is a hot topic in itself, but as former House Speaker Tip O'Neill put it, "all politics is local". If we fail to act at the local level, in our own home community, then how can we think that we have the right to complain?
To be sure, working full time, taking care of your home, handling the kids and the checkbook, all take up time. It is not hard to see that going to the local town hall meeting after work is a chore. Nonetheless, to paraphrase Thomas Paine, "If we want the blessings of freedom, we must undergo the fatigues of supporting it." (If you visit the Quotes page on this site, you will find other well-stated and thought-out references to our obligations.) None of this guarantees any particular outcome. To be sure, there is always oppostion to one thing or another, but the overall common sense and goodwill of each of us should, in the end, produce a favorable result. If we can depend upon a jury of our peers to protect our rights in a court of law, then we should have faith and confidence in our own ability to decide issues close to home.
The second part of the answer to the question, "What else can we do?", involves our national elections; the vote for Senators, Representatives, and the President. Well you say, I voted in the last election, and my candidate did/didn't win, so now, what else do you expect me to do? If you are reasonably content with the national state of affairs, then I would have to say, nothing. If however, you are not satisfied, then YOU should ask YOURSELF why.
The comment heard most frequently when people express their frustrations with government is that although our politicians proclaim how much they care and all the things they are going to accomplish, it doesn't quite turn out how we expected it would. No sooner than they arrive in Washington than they begin to like the power and the perks, and they like the idea of getting re-elected. In order to do that, they discover that they need to stick with the party so that as the party accrues more power, they in turn garner their share. Eventually, the tide turns to partisanship, not leadership, and the needs of the nation give way to personal goals of the elites who run the show and their party.
Most people, whether they have a party affiliation or remain an independent, have over time been duped. The two major parties have perfected an old technique, that of telling a lie often enough until it becomes believed and accepted as the truth. What is that lie? It is that only "they" can govern, only "they" have wisdom, experience, and knowledge. Somehow, "they" possess a magical quality that makes them the obvious choice, and that the people have no other choice, nowhere else to go. As I have explained many times on this website, this attitude has been cleverly sold by the DEM/GOP/MSM propaganda machines to ensure the elites of continued power. Since they have sold this program so well, they have now come to the belief that "they" are invulnerable, and no longer need to do more than pay lip service at the appropriate time to the Constitution, rule of law, and will of the people. In the end, we have been given the "choice" of the lesser of two evils, a phrase I am positive you have heard many times.
So, as citizens who care about civic duty and the affairs of the nation, as a part owners of this tremendous birthright we have been given, we must decide to take unprecedented action to reclaim it, for clearly, it is slowly being taken from us. Stolen is the more correct term!! It is being stolen by those who consider themselves above the common man, elites and aristocrats born to rule the unknowing, uneducated masses. This arrogance comes from the idea that government is to be the decider, that the entire world should be brought under a rule of law that is in reality, the rule of men over other men, that power infers a right to decide who, what, when, and where!! You can be sure that ultimately, the elites who now hold power see in the long run, over time, a one world government, a new world order if you will. Of course they don't say that, and in their hearts they mean to provide for the well being of everyone, but that course of action will never produce that result. What becomes a path to hell is a road paved with good intentions.
This great nation was founded upon the idea that all men have inalienable rights, i.e., rights that cannot be taken from them, rights granted by a Creator. The Declaration of Independence, which I often characterize as the spirit of the law, and the Constitution, which can be looked at as the letter of the law, are absolutes in a world given over to the temporal goals and pleasures of life. Take those two away, and what remains is what has gone before in every society that has existed, a government of some men over others, one that determines the rules and the outcome and recognizes no authority over it. Impossible you say, that could never happen here in America!
To those who believe that, I suggest that you take a closer look at what is really happening to our nation. It has gone far beyond a little tinkering here and there by the federal government to provide remedies for the so-called "common good". Our President and our Congress, together with the Supreme Court, recently decided that your right to publish (i.e. free speech) a comment about any candidate 60 days before the election is no longer vaild. Your rights to your private property (i.e. home) are not inviolable, but can be eliminated if the government thinks it can garner more tax dollars from a different owner. The most preposterous and outrageous example of elite arrogance came from the mouth of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who proudly proclaimed that OUR Constitution, the most precious guardian we have as free men, should be interpreted in light of the laws of other nations!! Nary a word of protest was heard from any of the other elites because they too believe that. These are the people who are selling out this nation to the internationalist cabal that hates America for its freedoms and they clearly understand that the Constitution is all that stands in the way of them accomplishing their agenda.
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is often quoted as stating that she intends to take money from you to give to others, as if somehow your hard earned paycheck belongs to her. Candidate Mike Huckabee told Chris Matthews on his show Hardball, that he supports a national ban on smoking, something his fellow elite, Mike Bloomberg brought about in NYC. He's another one who is thinking about running for President. Senator John McCain, also a presidential candidate, is the part owner of the above mentioned freedom of speech infringement called the McCain/Feingold Financial Reform Act.
The list goes on but by now should have gotten the point. In every election, you are given the choice of the lesser of two evils, and the accrual of power by the two elite parties has not been for the benefit of the nation, but for the parties themselves and those who rule them. If we, as citizens and the rightful owners of this nation, do not stand up to reclaim our inheritance, then we will get what we deserve, a future for the country and our children of more big government, declining personal freedoms, and an ever expanding influence to the internationalists. We cannot afford to fall for the big lie and accept that these elites are the only people capable of governing this country. In fact, everything they have been doing proves exactly the opposite, that they are not capable and not trustworthy enough to be allowed unchallenged power as they now have.
The way to break that hold on power and begin a restoration of the Constitution, rule of law, and will of the people as the principles by which we govern ourselves as a free people is to do something different. It is the only way to obtain a different result. The partisanship, the incompetence, the arrogance, and the corruption will not stop until the elites are disabused of the idea that they alone should hold power. The place to start is the election in 2008 where we can send an unmistakable message to them all that they are not invulnerable to the will of the people. The method to send that message is to take from them that which they desire above all else, the Presidency!! If we exercise our responsibilities as citizens and clearly show the hired help that they are not in charge, we will reap the fruits of a nation that will continue to exist in freedom. If we allow them unrestricted power, we will slowly be brought into servitude to the state, a nation of sheep and no longer one of free men and women.
Perhaps it is time to think seriously about this because this election gives us an opportunity that is rare, one where no sitting Vice-President is running and therefore there is no heir apparent who can claim the party's mantle. What say you then? Is it more of the same old same old, the hoping for the different result that never has and never will occur, or is it the chance to reclaim what has been stolen from us all? You must, in your heart, answer honestly, and then act with conviction, faith, and courage. Electing as President another elite candidate from either party who is beholden to the party machine, the PACs, and the lobbyists will be a disaster for our country. That is a guaranteed result, how could it be otherwise?
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