A Day To Remember This coming Friday,December the 15th,should be a national holiday.No it’s not Earth Day,or Martin Luther King Day,or Flag Day,or Presidents Day,or Save Some Dying Plant Day……It’s Bill of Rights Day…… If there were to be only one holiday in America,Bill of Rights Day,should be it.Contrary to all the bullshit we hear about the unique goodness of the American people or our religious heritage or anything else,the one thing that sets this country apart from all others was the Bill of Rights.This was the first country in history to have a national government that was truly limited.No,the limits weren’t always observed,but for a century they held the federal government more in check than any government in history.At the end of the 19th century,federal,state and local taxes still only took 8% of the national income(it’s 48% today). CHILDREN KNOW NOTHING OF THEIR HERITAGE Unfortunately,our children grow up with no concept of limited government.All they learn in school is that the government is some wonderous savior that brought us out of the Great Depression,made the world safe for democracy,holds human greed in check,and stops rapacious corporations from polluting the environment.This is the image the “spin doctors” write for the consumption of the general public,all the while,rampant crime and corruption is out of control at all levels of formal government.Yet our students are taught that our government is supreme,and it is their civic duty to stand behind their officials.They don’t understand that the one unique factor the government possesses is force,and that only a strict Constitution can keep that force from getting out of hand.Which in today’s world “We the people” have lost that control. When they study the Constitution,they pore over tedious sections of litigated garble,explaining the makeup of the Senate and the House,how judges are selected,and how federal laws are enacted.Needless to say,they aren’t taught the true concept and virtue of limited government. THE MEANING OF THE CONSTITUTION So they don’t understand that the Bill of Rights is the heart and soul of the Constitution-the section that gives meaning and power to it by holding the government in check.Those 10 amendments say,in plain layman terms; 1.The government can’t restrict what you say,what you write,or what you believe. 2.The government has no authority to limit in any way your ability to defend yourself. 3.The military can’t force you to allow soldiers to stay in your home. 4.No one has the right to search your person or your property without a warrant signed by a judge affirming that there is good reason to believe your belongings are involved in a crime. 5.No policeman or prosecutor can force you to say anything,you can’t be tried again for a crime for which you have been acquitted,no one can take your property without due process of the law,and the government can’t use your property without paying for it. 6.You can’t be held in jail without being brought to trail or knowing the charges against you,you can’t be deprived of an attorney,and you have the right to confront anyone who gives evidence against you. 7.You have the right to be tried by a jury of your peers. 8.You can’t be subject to excessive bail requirements,be tortured or receive cruel punishment. 9.The listing of these rights doesn’t mean you have forfeited any other rights,unless those rights are specially abolished within the Constitution. 10.Most important of all,the federal government has no authority to do anything that isn’t specially mentioned in Article 1,Section 8 of the Constitution,which spells out the areas in which Congress is allowed to legislate. The Constitution isn’t written in Sanskrit,Spanish or Swahili.It’s in plain English.The first question a president should ask any potential Supreme Court judge is,”Can you read?”If judges could read and pay attention to what they read: *We wouldn’t have national medical programs-and health care would be far less expensive,far more efficient,and far more user-friendly. *The federal government would have no role in education,and our children would at least have a chance to learn something significant in school. *None of your money would be sent to foreign dictators. *The president would have no authority to make war without a specific declaration of war by Congress—and thus there would have been no U.S. invasions of Iraq,Panama,Grenada,Serbia or Afghanistan—and tens of millions of foreigners might not hate us as much. *There would be no need for an income tax,because the cost of the federal government would be—at most—a third of what it is now. *And many more benefits would flow to us. BRING BACK AMERICA The Bill of Rights isn’t some legalistic fine print.It is written to make our lives freer,more prosperous,and happier.By forsaking it,America has become no better than any other country in the world. Today every conceivable subject is fair game for legislation to enforce the personal whims of people Clinton,Bush and now “Dubya” and the 535 drunken sailors in Washington. No,we won’t have a national celebration this Friday.But we can privately contemplate what we’ve lost—and vow to restore the America that was meant to be.
Today's youth and a large majority of the rest of the American people are so distant from the ideals that made this nation what it is....or should be, that they have no right to be a part of the domestic or foreign policy decision process, though the citizen's opinion and needs have been marginalized and the interest of the corporations placed above all else. My friends and I are doing what we can in our part of America to educate and advocate for a return to a Constitutional Republic based in these ideals. We formed a school sanctioned student organization called the Constitutional Freedom Society. http://www.myspace.com/constitutionalfreedom We will be showing Aaron Russo's film America: Freedom to Fascism at the Pittsburg State University campus student center at a date to be determined in January. Its all about Grassroots!
America was neither the first government to have limited government or a bill of rights. Do they actually teach you this shit?
Fyl! It's been forever since i've seen you around. Awesome post. Yes, Yes, and Yes! The layman's bill of rights should be on a wall in every person's home.
The bill of rights is something I think the American public sold out a long time ago. Promise them security, promise them higher dividends and the majority of the public will turn a blind eye and say yes. I for one will celebrate 12/15 and pray that there still remain some rights for the American public since the passage of the Patriot Act. We stood back and watched as Japanese Americans were put into prison camps during World War II, now we accept that people can be abducted and brutalized by our government in Cuba and other foreign locations without being told what they have been accused of...we've certainly learned haven't we? My security isn't worth denying the rights of others.
thanx Shane gardener that is exactly what I was referring to...since the patriot act our rights are being whittled away daily.....and our government doesn't even acknowledge Bill of Rights day spooner... the fact of the matter has nothing to do with whether the US was the first or only limited government...the fact is that our rights are being striped from us...and a day set aside for the Bill of Rights is ignored by all that they affect.....I was just bringing to light a forgotten about day that we should all acknowledge.....not debating over my correctness of the "first" or "only".....it is about the document that has been misrepresented by the powers that be
The judicial system and the government in general almost totally ignores the Bill of Rights today. I've had so many of my basic rights trampelled on by the government that, as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing left to celebrate in the first place. The way I see it: restore our rights that are enshrined in those 10 amendments before we lose all of them. There won't be any patriotic flag-waving on that day for me. Just the cold, hard realization that I ain't got much to celebrate.
Do they still teach the constitution in the US now? I remember having to pass a constitution test to graduate from 8th grade. Did "No Child Left Behind", do away with the educating of our children about their rights?
I had to pass the same test gardener....and no they don't teach it any more...it is part of the dumbing of america.....knowledge is power and the feds what a bunch of uneducated servants...who wander along ainlessly with the rest of the "sheople"...no knowledge...no questions about their striping of the peoples rights
They give passing mention to it in SENIOR year government class. Even if you have to memorize the amendments and such, there is no way to get a good grip on these things unless it is taught to us over a period of time starting as children. I remember saying the pledge and/or the preamble in elementary school....I doubt they even do that anymore, they'd need to translate it into 10 different languages first, and thats if saying it didnt offend anyone. Question Authority
