The government of our creation rarely does any of the things it is supposed to do, and spends enormous sums doing that which it is not empowered to do.
The next time you and your smug, liberal in-law get into politics, I have a curveball for you that he is sure to swing at and miss. Since the vast majority of Leftists substitute passion for reason, it is but a small task to put their nonsense to rest, IF we are armed with fundamental knowledge of our Declaration and Constitution.
First, ask him if he believes government exists, per the Declaration, to secure our unalienable rights. Should he stutter that he has heard of it, bring up the Preamble to our Constitution. It presents fundamental ideas from the Declaration and sets forth the reasons civil society convened and created a government.
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 defense, 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.”
“We the People,” meaning the people acting in their sovereign capacity [links below] through free ratification conventions, established the Constitution. Notice the hierarchy of law giving. When gathered in their sovereign capacity the people are superior to the Constitution. Their Constitution, which establishes government, is superior to their servants in government. This isn’t to say the will of the sovereign people is boundless, because when drafting or amending Constitutions and enacting statutes, they are, like all men at all times, subject to Natural Law.
Next, “in order to form a more perfect Union” is acknowledgement that the institutions under the Articles of Confederation inadequately secured natural rights. James Madison wrote of this in a pre-convention newspaper column, Vices of the Political System of the United States.
As further explained in The Federalist, an overabundance of democracy among the states had proved dangerous to liberty. Unlike progressives, whose efforts to create “The New Man” always ends up with men in gulags, our Framers didn’t attempt to establish Utopia, but rather set upon to improve the Articles of Confederation.
The pledge “to establish justice” reflects the underlying premise of the Constitution to secure natural rights. Accordingly, the most that can be established is a government that prevents injustice. Progressive hijacking of the term and turning it into fuzzy social justice does not secure natural rights and is anathema to natural law.
Closely related is our government’s duty to “insure domestic tranquility.” When there is civil peace and the absence of disorders we can go about our business and lives secure in personal safety. With peace, we can raise healthy families; children can walk to school without escort or fear of gangs when in school. Without civil order, the circle of liberty can shrink to the point that simple survival becomes one’s primary occupation. In this condition man is far closer to life in a state of nature than in an ordered society. Protect the law abiding from the criminal and liberty will have a chance.
Looking outward, our natural rights are protected from foreign interference when government “provide(s) for the common defense.” Protect the nation from external threats.
Progressives have long abused the fifth purpose of government, to “promote the general welfare.” The Framers’ term is properly understood as the public good, meaning measures in the permanent and aggregate interests of the community. Beyond safeguarding individual rights, government is to promote the well-being of the society that created the Constitution.
Finally, the new government was to “secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Here was an expression of hope, a hope that the Constitution would succeed where the Articles of Confederation had disappointed. Keeping liberty, that circle of freedom immune from government, best preserved the blessings to be enjoyed by future generations.
So, does Washington DC respect sovereignty in the people, guard unalienable rights, secure domestic peace, defend the nation from external threats, and bolster the societal foundation of our republic? A ruling class so horribly corrupted from its legitimate purposes cannot possibly reform itself. That is up to us, We The People, acting in our sovereign capacity. Article V.
We are the many; our oppressors are the few. Be proactive. Be a Re-Founder. Join Convention of States. Sign our COS Petition.
Related posts on the Sovereign Capacity of We the People:
Electoral vs. Sovereign Capacity: Introduction
Electoral vs. Sovereign Capacity: Where the Sovereign?
Electoral vs. Sovereign Capacity: American Conventions
Great article on the fundamentals of our Republic! Thank you for sharing it. Everyone should read and pass on this wisdom.
The Constitution was written in 1776 for the people and times that existed then. It has been amended numerous times and the Supreme court has interpreted it repeatedly over the ensuing 200 years in a way that clarifies the document to meet the needs of today. This tells me that the document as originally written is outdated but we have the means of changing it without resorting to Article 5. Much good… and bad, has been done in the name of the Constitution and the United States of America. I seen no need for COS. This simply detracts from our focus on fixing our problems using the tools available to us without extraordinary steps. I know very little about COS but I have to question what successes were the result of Article 5. The only one that I know of was Prohibition and that turned out to be a dismal failure. No doubt Congress is broken, but by electing the right people and demanding change the people will have their say… without Article 5.
I’ve written 159 blog posts since February. You are in need of reading most of them. I suggest you start at the beginning.