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Show Page 10 The Ogden Valley News Volume XXX Issue XII September 1, 2023 We Hold These Truths to be Self-Evident: A Book Review By Forrest Brown As the citizens of the United States of America continue to lose freedoms and liberty, many are becoming concerned that our nation is on a destructive path of no return. In this book, author Oliver DeMille explains in abundant detail the twelve natural laws of freedom, progress, and success that will liberate our nation if followed. Join me as we explore this book in depth. The first law described in Chapter One is the law of supremacy. Mr. DeMille writes that Sir William Blackstone said, “The law of nature... is binding over all the globe, in all countries at all times... no human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this... (manmade laws) derive all their authority... from this.” Knowing this, most people might wonder what really is natural law? The author says, “There are laws that are higher than manmade laws. Such laws are called natural law, and they are the basis of all freedom and all success. That is what (Thomas) Jefferson was referring to when he wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” When we violate natural law—as individuals, organizations, governments, or nations—there are negative consequences.” A good example of a natural law is the taking of another person’s life, which in most situations is wrong and there are strong consequences for those who violate this rule. Another example given in the book is illustrated as follows. If congress passed a law that from now on any person falling off a ladder will gently float to earth and land without any harmful impact, legislators who would promote such a law may have good intentions, but obviously they do not realize that they are going against the natural law of gravity that says if you fall off of something like a ladder, then you will most surely hit the ground and incur injury. The next rule is known as the law of authority. Aristotle taught that natural law is real and it is above manmade laws and governments, and that all human laws are only suitable to the extent that they conform to natural law. Most present-day governments are in conflict with natural law and will face negative consequences unless they change and get back in line with natural law. This is the law of authority, which is also called the law of legitimacy. Manmade government is only legitimate or legal if it is established and continues to operate with the consent of the governed. This was the view of the American revolutionaries, but was strongly opposed by most of the European monarchies and aristocracies who felt that they had a divine right to rule, regardless of the consent of the governed. According to DeMille’s book, a free government receives its power from the people and serves with the consent of the people. Any other type of government is not free because the people are forced to follow it. The law of authority is simply the power that the government is granted actually comes from the people who make up the nation. The main purpose of government is to maintain equal liberty for all people. Thomas Jefferson said, “it is the right, the duty, of the people to alter or abolish this government and replace it as necessary to establish a free and legitimate government.” The law of limits concerns the limits that are placed upon the government in order to keep it within the boundaries of what the people who are governed set forth. Our U.S. Constitution limits the government to three distinct branches and provides remedies when the rights of its citizens are trampled on. Without a vigorous government, one that focuses on protecting equal rights, there will be numerous abuses of inalienable (God given) rights, and then many of our freedoms and liberties will be lost. Governments, therefore, have to be limited in power by using things such as “auxiliary precautions” as defined in The Federalist Papers. In his book, Oliver DeMille lists these auxiliary precautions, which are: • Separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and the judicial branches of government. • Separation of power between the spending (House of Representatives) and the governing (Senate) branches of Congress. • Separation of power between the local, state, and federal levels of legislative, judicial, and executive institutions of government. • Checks and balances between the branches and levels of government. • Periodic and frequent elections for the various positions in government. • A written constitution that outlines the limits of each branch of government and requires the rati昀椀cation by the people of a supermajority of the states. • The written constitution lists the exact powers of the government and clearly states that the government shall have no additional power. • Constitutional limits on who can run for o昀케ce, by age and residency. • A constitutional requirement of a federal form of government where each state has its own sovereignty. • A requirement that the president be elected by the representatives of all the states in an electoral college so that a few large, heavily populated states cannot elect all the presidents due to their higher populations. In Chapter Four, Mr. DeMille explains the law of delegation. This is basically how our government works. The populous or the people give or delegate their authority to carry out the work of the government. We elect a Congress made up of a House of Representatives and a Senate to represent our wants and our needs. We the people delegate to them to run our fed- eral, state, and local governments. We also elect a president to represent our nation with all the other nations of the world. We delegate to the president the power to protect our nation from threats or attacks coming from other entities. The law of delegation is often misunderstood because one citizen cannot delegate a role or a responsibility that one does not have to begin with. Some see individuals as having basic rights and privileges, but others see groups of people having more or different rights and responsibilities. This is why some groups try to get away with crimes and injustices as a crowd that they would never try alone on their own. One example is protesting, which is the right of all citizens of the United States, but in a group this sometimes turns into a riot that gets out of control and commits multiple crimes. The law of force, as described in Chapter Five, notes, basically, that citizens can only use force on other people for self-defense. Our government is held to the same standard. It should not use force except in the defense of the nation. Excluding self-defense, it is against natural law to force citizens to go against their will. This is why our Constitution puts limits upon the federal government. It is natural to help others who are in need of things such as money, food, clothing, education and so on, but forcing someone to help others, when selfdefense is not the issue, is a violation of natural law. C.C. Lewis wrote, “The Tao, which others call Natural Law or the First Principals of Practical Reason, is not one among a series of possible system of value. It is the sole source of all value judgments. If it is rejected, all value is rejected. If any value is retained, it’s all retrained.” We can, however, look at some of our laws as force and the government is forcing me to obey laws such as paying taxes. We can decide to not pay our taxes to the government, but then we will suffer the consequences tied to those laws. Essentially, every manmade law is based on force and if the collective citizens do not like or want certain laws they must then ban together to legally change it through the proper steps. For example, governments may establish schools so that its citizens are widely educated and will be strong and fit to govern themselves and able to maintain an effective national security system. If governments establish schools for any other reason, they are in violation of natural law. Thus, we see that the natural law of force must be used with discretion and prudence. The law of decline is explored in Chapter Six. This law simply states that when governments break natural laws, they bring the decline of freedom and the decline of prosperity upon their nation. Case in point is when a state invokes something called “legal plunder,” where the government takes something from its citizens that naturally belongs to the people, such as a person’s private land for a road or for utility access. If the government takes this land without properly compensating the landowner for their property, then it is considered legal plunder and is against the law of nature because it did not honor the owner’s basic rights. What then occurs is that the government experiences negative consequences such as: • Citizens begin to lose respect for the law because it is unfair to some of its people. • There is also less respect given to the elected o昀케cials who serve in various positions. • It makes people suspect that most government o昀케cials are corrupt is some way. • The citizens do not see the law as good or as legal, but dishonest and untrustworthy. This leads to more law breaking and, as a result, many freedoms and liberties are lost. Chapters Seven through Twelve describe the law of power, the law of gaps, the law of the vital few, the law of liberty, the law of economy, and the law of progress. In each of these chapters, Oliver DeMille expounds on these topics in order that the reader may know of the various natural laws that, in some cases, are currently missing from our society and what the negative consequences are for a nation that sets aside some of these twelve natural laws of freedom, progress, and success. FOREST SERVICE cont. from page 1 developable private forest within the UintaWasatch-Cache National Forest. A conservation easement will protect crucial moose, elk, and deer habitat and a critical interstate wildlife corridor. The project supports a watershed-wide conservation strategy and collaborative efforts of state and federal agencies to increase the pace and scale of conservation throughout the tristate Bear River Watershed. The project is 45 mins from Cache Valley and one hour from the Wasatch Front –one of the fastest-growing areas in the country. For information about private landowner assistance programs with the state of Utah, please visit the Forestry Legacy Program website. management area, and existing Forest Legacy projects within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Bear River Watershed Conservation Area. The property provides crucial habitat for several state-sensitive species, including bald eagle, and includes a major elk migration corridor. The project contributes to the local timber industry and offers public access for recreation and hunting. A conservation easement on this highly visible and developable property will protect critical wildlife habitat, sustain local timber jobs and ensure watershed health. The Goring Forest Project will receive $3,935,000 to preserve 2,725 acres of highly THANK YOU TO OUR CFOV 2023 SPONSORS MATCHING OVERDRIVE HAS BEGUN www.cfov.net WHEN MANY GIVE IN SMALL AMOUNTS IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE cfov.net DONATE AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE! WHEN MANY PEOPLE GIVE A LITTLE, BIG THINGS HAPPEN. |