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Show Page 10 The Ogden Valley news Volume XVII Issue XII December 1, 2009 CONSTITUTION cont. from page 3 So, they wrote the finest piece of work ever emanating from tip of a pen and established the greatest nation on God’s green earth to secure the rights of its citizens; and in fact, for the protection of all flesh. “WE THE PEOPLE” [it begins], in order to … establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote [not provide] the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity [you and me], do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” (emphasis added). Notice, WE THE PEOPLE is in capital letters. This has important significance. In the United State of America, WE THE PEOPLE, transfer OUR powers to our representatives. The government cannot constitutionally exercise a power that WE THE PEOPLE do not ourselves possess and have therefore transferred to it. The power of government is derived from the PEOPLE. In other words, it comes ONLY from you and me; from the bottom up. Abraham Lincoln stated it so well when he said, “. . . and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” From the President down to the lowest office in the land, they are our servants, but today they have become the elitists and treat us with disdain and view us as their servants. Why? Because most people under the age of 60 were not taught much, if anything, about the Constitution in high school. If we don’t know what we don’t know, how do we know when it is being violated? Most of us have at least heard of the Ten Commandments and can probably name all or most of them. Additionally, most of us know when one of the Ten Commandments is being violated. Why? Because we know them and are ourselves attempting to live by them the best we can. Compare this to why our government is getting away with passing unconstitutional laws at an unprecedented rate. Obviously it is because WE THE PEOPLE do not even know what the Constitution says and what powers it grants to the government; where powers are derived, and which branches of government do what! This is a tragedy, because WE THE PEOPLE have neglected our responsibilities in “governing” our representatives and holding their feet to the fire when they introduce or vote on unconstitutional laws. Again, why? Because we do not even know what Constitutional powers are granted to the government, so how will we know when it is violated? If we don’t hold the Constitution inviolate, why do we think our government leaders will? They only mirror us. Freedom (Liberty) is not free and once lost is only regained by the shedding of blood. It has not come to that yet, but we are very dangerously close to losing all of our liberties. We have already lost many of them and we have to educate ourselves to what the Constitution says so that, like the Ten Commandments, we know when the Constitution is being violated and we can challenge our representatives. With this series of short and simply written lectures on understanding the Constitution, I hope the reader will take the time to get a copy of the Constitution and read it along with these short lectures. Remember, he who will not read has no advantage over he who cannot. I will begin here with some facts about the Constitution. The Constitution begins with what is called the Preamble. This is, basically, the document’s mission statement that outlines the fundamental purposes and guiding principles of the Constitution and the people whom it is meant to serve. It expresses the Founders’ intent and what they hoped to achieve by its framing. Also, notice the words that are used: Order, Union, Justice, Tranquility, Welfare, Blessings of Liberty, and Posterity. The Founders wanted to emphasize these as “action” words. Often, we hear the argument being promoted in support of such social programs as health care as an act of government providing for the “General Welfare” of the people. In the fifth paragraph above, I emphasized the word “promote” because general Welfare is to be promoted—not provided by the government. In addition, it should be general, not specific to any class of people. This clause, which is often called the General Welfare clause, is misapplied and manipulated by our representatives, misquoted by the press, and not well understood by the People. This is why these social programs get voted into law. Once people learn they can eat out of the government trough, they will vote into office those who will “give” away resources from the Treasury (public trough). This is where the “Nanny State” or “Welfare State” is born. This year is the 222nd Anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution, making it the Supreme Law of the Land. The delegates from the States then assembled at the Constitutional Convention met for the last time and signed the document they created. This was September 17, 1787. Many of the delegates from several states were unhappy that individual rights they were promised were not protected by the Constitution and refused to sign. They said they would not sign unless and until a Bill of Rights became a part of the Constitution. James Madison introduced the Amendments we now call the Bill of Rights in 1789. They were ratified and became a part of the Constitution in December 1791. The reasoning behind the framers not having rights protected in the body of the Constitution was mainly this: If we attempt to list rights protected, we are surely going to leave some out and it would be utterly impossible to list all rights that the People have. Also, the framers felt that there would be no need to have rights specifically named as being protected by the Constitution because the Constitution did not grant any powers to the government that would abrogate those rights in the first place. When you read the Bill of Rights you will notice there are many rights that WE THE PEOPLE have that are not specifically mentioned as being protected. This problem was solved by Amendment IV which reads, “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” What this essentially means is that just because some rights are enumerated, not all the rights are enumerated, and no one can deny those other unlisted rights simply because they are unlisted. James Madison is called the “Father of the Constitution” because he was the leading member of the convention and wrote a record of the delegates’ debates. He also was one of three individuals—the others being John Jay and Alexander Hamilton—who wrote the Federalist Papers, a compilation of articles published in the newspapers debating and arguing for the need of a federal Constitution. These writings provide valuable documentation of the intent of the Founders and Framers of the Constitution. The Constitution has only 4,440 words. It is the oldest and shortest written Constitution of any major government in the world. Thomas Jefferson did not sign the Constitution as he was in France and John Adams also did not sign as he was in England. Both were U.S. Ministers to these respective countries. The government of the United States is not a democracy. Thomas Jefferson said democracy is a perennial fraud and only adequate for a small Indian village. The government of the United States is a Constitutional Republic, not a democracy. All a democracy is, are three wolves and a sheep sitting down to vote on what to eat for dinner. The rights of the minority are not protected in a democracy. The Constitution writer, the one who actually sat down and wrote it with a quill pen was a man by the name of Jacob Shallus. He was paid $30 to do so. Not much for this task, but he was proud to have been selected. His handwriting was beautiful and he got the job. We recently celebrated Thanksgiving. George Washington issued a proclamation on November 26, 1789 establishing it as a national holiday. The reason? To give “thanks” for the new Constitution. In conclusion, the Declaration of Independence outlines the abuses the colonies suffered under the hands of King George of England. When you read it, you will notice that many of those abuses are specifically named, and protection from them is part of the verbiage included in the Bill of Rights. Those individuals, 56 of them, knew they were committing Treason and if caught by the British, would be treated as such and put to an ignominious death. John Hancock’s signature is written large because he knew King George wore spectacles and he wanted the King to be able to read his signature without his spectacles. Each of them pledged their lives, their fortunes and sacred honor, relying on the protection of divine Providence. Because of these great men we now have the greatest nation the world has ever known and there are those who would take it away. Let’s not allow it. John Adams declared, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people . . . and it is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” And again, “The only foundation of a free Constitution, is pure Virtue.” And lastly, “While the People are virtuous they cannot be subdued; but when once they lose their Virtue they will be ready to surrender their Liberties to the first external or internal Invader… If Virtue & Knowledge are infused among the People, they will never be enslavd [sic].” Alexis de Tocqueville stated: “America is great because America is good, and if America ever ceases to be good America will cease to be great.” We must, at all costs, learn of our founding and why America is what she is and how she came about. The Making of America by Cleon Skousen is highly recommended. It will thrill the reader and much will be learned by reading it . . . then, apply it. Always keep in mind: The creature is always subject to its creator. Who created the federal government? The States. Who created the States? We THE PEOPLE. We are a nation that has a government, not the other way around. Do we still have a viable Constitution? Yes, but it’s in trouble because the federal government recognizes no limitations on its power. It has utterly rejected the idea, integral to the Constitution, that it is one of limited powers, carefully and precisely delegated. The congress has confused federal with national, and has chosen to regulate any issue that it thinks affects more than one state, irrespective of the absence of federal power and the true presence of state power protected by the 10th Amendment. Many in the federal government reveal utter contempt for the Constitution, a mindset that believes that when it comes to government, bigger is better, and a nanny-state attitude that says the bureaucrats in Washington D.C. know better than WE THE PEOPLE when it comes to enhancing our freedom. Before my next article, pick up the Declaration of Independence and Constitution and read them because next time, I’m going to go over the provisions in the Constitution and explain them, to help the reader better understand the “Ten Commandments” of our Country. Laurie Van Zandt (801) 388-8103 Combining Creativity & Practicality Unique Landscape Design Project Co-ordination www.theardentgardener.net 800.418.2551 UESP.org ® GET AN EXTRA $25 WHEN YOU OPEN A COLLEGE SAVINGS ACCOUNT. Utah residents who open a new, unique account with top-ranked UESP are eligible to receive a $25 match compliments of Zions Bank. To receive the match, you must open a new account between 11/30/09 and 12/24/09, with (1) a minimum $25 contribution, and (2) an account owner and beneficiary combination that is new to UESP. Please check with your tax adviser about the tax implications of participating in this promotion. Call UESP at 800.418.2551 if you have any questions. 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