A republic, if you can keep it.
September 17th 1787…It is a date more important than July 4th 1776, December 7th 1941, June 6th 1944, July 20th 1969, and September 11th 2001 combined.
September 17th, 1787 is when the Constitution of the United States of America was formally adopted as the supreme law of the land by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and ratified by conventions in each state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution
I mention this because in a recent survey conducted by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs in observance of Constitution Day (today) only 28% of 1000 high school students surveyed correctly answered that the Constitution was the supreme law of our country.
http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=11141949
What is even more disturbing is the fact that only 3% of the students surveyed correctly answered 6 of 10 questions (which coincidentally is a failing grade in 100% of American Public High Schools) drawn from the exam used by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services which immigrants must pass to become a citizen of the United States.
Therein lies the source of all that is currently, dare I say it, “wrong” with our country and is at the heart of just about every debate and policy fight currently underway in Washington D.C and across the land, from Nationalized Health Care, Immigration Reform, Cape and Trade, Government Czars and well…you name it.
That pesky Constitution molded a diverse group of British Colonies who had just won a bloody war of independance into a Republic. It did not…I say again…did not, create a democracy. Whilst in both cases the government is elected by the people, in a Democracy the majority rules according to their whims, (italics added) whilst in a Republic the Government rules according to law. This law is framed in the Constitution to limit the power of Government and ensure some rights and protection to minorities and individuals.
http://www.albatrus.org/english/goverment/govenrment/democracy%20versus%20repubblic.htm
“According to their whims.” Does that sound familiar to the current thinking of a democrat controlled House and Senate and democrat President who seem with every breath to say, “We know best. You are wrong. We are in charge. We’ll do what we want.” That is in indeed how a democracy operates; majority rules. But it is not how a republic conducts government. Our founders established a constitutional republic to prevent the majority from ruling over the minority without regard to law. The source of all contention now in Washington, D.C. and across the country comes down to this: under our constitution, government “should not” be able to mandate it’s citizens must purchase health care or pay for the health care of others, take over private auto companies and banks, contemplate taxing legal energy companies out of business, decree that the very breath you exhale is poisonous to the environment, force one state to accept disagreeable laws passed by another state (i.e. same sex marriage) or restrict the free expression of religion, speech, assembly or the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms to protect their families, homes or their Creator endowed rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
September 17th, 1787 is when the Constitution of the United States of America was formally adopted as the supreme law of the land by the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and ratified by conventions in each state.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution
I mention this because in a recent survey conducted by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs in observance of Constitution Day (today) only 28% of 1000 high school students surveyed correctly answered that the Constitution was the supreme law of our country.
http://www.news9.com/global/story.asp?s=11141949
What is even more disturbing is the fact that only 3% of the students surveyed correctly answered 6 of 10 questions (which coincidentally is a failing grade in 100% of American Public High Schools) drawn from the exam used by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services which immigrants must pass to become a citizen of the United States.
Therein lies the source of all that is currently, dare I say it, “wrong” with our country and is at the heart of just about every debate and policy fight currently underway in Washington D.C and across the land, from Nationalized Health Care, Immigration Reform, Cape and Trade, Government Czars and well…you name it.
That pesky Constitution molded a diverse group of British Colonies who had just won a bloody war of independance into a Republic. It did not…I say again…did not, create a democracy. Whilst in both cases the government is elected by the people, in a Democracy the majority rules according to their whims, (italics added) whilst in a Republic the Government rules according to law. This law is framed in the Constitution to limit the power of Government and ensure some rights and protection to minorities and individuals.
http://www.albatrus.org/english/goverment/govenrment/democracy%20versus%20repubblic.htm
“According to their whims.” Does that sound familiar to the current thinking of a democrat controlled House and Senate and democrat President who seem with every breath to say, “We know best. You are wrong. We are in charge. We’ll do what we want.” That is in indeed how a democracy operates; majority rules. But it is not how a republic conducts government. Our founders established a constitutional republic to prevent the majority from ruling over the minority without regard to law. The source of all contention now in Washington, D.C. and across the country comes down to this: under our constitution, government “should not” be able to mandate it’s citizens must purchase health care or pay for the health care of others, take over private auto companies and banks, contemplate taxing legal energy companies out of business, decree that the very breath you exhale is poisonous to the environment, force one state to accept disagreeable laws passed by another state (i.e. same sex marriage) or restrict the free expression of religion, speech, assembly or the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms to protect their families, homes or their Creator endowed rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
That is our problem! Because no matter how much the majority may wish it, they do not have the right to create laws contrary to the constitution. But though apathy and ignorance “We the People” have allowed government “should not’s” to become, “the government did WHAT?”
Thankfully it is still not too late to save the republic. As a citizen of the United States of America, you still have time to insist your congress and senate and president obey the constitution and follow the law, not just the simple whim of the majority. However, if you do not? One day soon you will wake up to the horrible fact that sometimes the “whims” of the majority are radically different from your own. And when that day comes, it will be too late for you to do anything about it except comply.
Thankfully it is still not too late to save the republic. As a citizen of the United States of America, you still have time to insist your congress and senate and president obey the constitution and follow the law, not just the simple whim of the majority. However, if you do not? One day soon you will wake up to the horrible fact that sometimes the “whims” of the majority are radically different from your own. And when that day comes, it will be too late for you to do anything about it except comply.
posted by jamie dale @ 7:59 PM
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