Madeline Crabb
America: A nation of laws?
By Madeline Crabb
John Adams once wrote, "There is no good government but what is republican. The very definition of a republic is an empire of laws, and not of men."If our laws can be applied willy-nilly at the discretion of a few powerful men, how can we ever trust that there will be equal justice under the law?
In my last column, we talked about how one man's belief in traditional marriage caused multitudes in the "silent majority" to rebel against politically-correct forces of the radical left. For far too long the left has bullied those who adhere to traditional values and morals. Also, for far too long, we have acquiesced — to our own peril. We have seen our rights and freedoms be stripped away by the proverbial "squeaky wheel," the one that gets all the grease. The savvy leftists know that if they complain long enough and loud enough, we will do anything to simply have peace, even surrendering our freedoms. Of course, while we are surrendering said freedoms, we don't actually realize it's happening.
When laws against "hate speech" are enacted, we simply accept the argument that some things people say really are "ugly," and might make people "feel bad." Consequently, to protect a few people from "feeling bad," the many must have their speech censored.
What about when laws are enacted that tell us when we rent our homes — our personal property — that we must rent to whomever the government approves? What if we are Christians who are told we must rent to homosexuals or even unmarried couples, even though we believe such people are living in sin, according to our fundamental belief system? In these cases, the government is violating our rights to religious expression and the practice of our beliefs, and in a way, is taking control of our personal property by telling us what we must do with said property. And what if we don't comply? We will be humiliated by the radical left and their minions from the lamestream media. And the government will punish us through either fines or imprisonment, or perhaps in the future, with confiscation of our property. What, you don't think that can happen?
Or how about the government arresting and either imprisoning or hospitalizing us when we write our beliefs on Facebook? About two weeks ago, ex-Marine Brandon Raub opened the front door of his home to FBI agents who wanted to search his home. Raub asked to see their warrant, and when they explained they didn't have one, they were told they could not do a search. The agents decided Raub wasn't being cooperative, so he was handcuffed, placed in a police car, and taken to a mental facility for detainment of up to 30 days. His only crime was that he was practicing his First Amendment right to freedom of speech, but in doing so, was saying things the government didn't like.
John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute represents Raub, who was released last week when the judge proclaimed there were no grounds on which to detain him. In an interview with Glenn Beck, Whitehead said this sort of thing is happening across America — that we've been asleep. He said he keeps asking the question: "Is this America?" Because of civil commitment statutes, he said we are moving into a "psycho-therapeutic mentality" across the country; in Virginia alone there are 20,000 people who have been similarly committed. Finally, he added that most cases are because of political statements, and that there seems to be a targeting of the military.
According to Whitehead, James Madison believed that the First Amendment was written to protect the minority against the majority. Since Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution, it seems he and his colleagues believed unalienable rights of future Americans would be in jeopardy. And they weren't even aware of danger from groups like the communists who are hell-bent on destroying America. Goal #39 of their 45 communist goals for America is: "Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose communist goals." And yes, silencing political speech in America is a goal of socialist/Marxist/communist/radical/progressive leftists. Remember that President Obama is a card-carrying socialist who has surrounded himself with appointees and friends who are radical socialists, communists, and even murdering terrorists.
"Anybody the government perceives as a threat can be arrested and put in a mental institution now," commented John Whitehead. Further, he explained that we're moving into a surveillance state, so we have to be very careful. America isn't some third world country overtaken by dictators who exercise total control over the people...yet. It does seem, however, that Mr. Obama is heading in that very direction. When a president says he will simply issue an executive order if Congress doesn't do what he wants, he acts more like a thug dictator than an elected representative who serves the people.
It really is time for ALL Americans to get re-acquainted with our heritage. We owe it to our forefathers to understand why so many of them sacrificed so much to allow us to live in freedom. Keeping America free is the least we owe to future generations. Unfortunately, if government is allowed to run roughshod over our rights, we will become nothing more than subjects to our master. Americans need to read and re-read our important founding documents, the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution. Both can be purchased at the local bookstore, and are relatively inexpensive. They can also be read on the Web from many sources. Just google...nothing can be so easy. Wallbuilders.com is an excellent site for learning about our nation's founding and history.
And dear fellow Americans, we should never let the left make us believe these documents cannot be understood. We can understand them. And there are many, many other materials that can be accessed at the library, or on Web, that can help us understand our founders' reasoning. One such book that I own and cherish is "Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787," reported by James Madison. Reading this book is like being there at the Constitutional Convention with all those great men. Educating ourselves about our government will make us better citizens, and more capable of making sound, wise decisions in choosing how, and by whom, we will be governed. It will also give us the courage to stand for our beliefs. In a free society, we should be able to have discussions with one another — conversation about ideas. But in the new politically-correct America, some people must be silent or face being ridiculed, labeled, imprisoned, or even hospitalized in a mental institution like Brandon Raub. We are being forced to live in a state of paranoia and fear of our own government.
Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Does the government fear us? Or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government is our servant, not our master!" However, in 2012, Americans are discovering that we have indeed become slaves to our master, Big Daddy government.
Again, we live in a nation governed by laws, not men. The U.S. Constitution is the basis for the Rule of Law by which we are governed. Big Daddy is not supposed to be picking and choosing which laws are followed, and which are disregarded. But that is exactly what is happening. Our representative government was founded to protect the unalienable rights of ALL citizens. The law is not a tool that government can us to silence citizens it disagrees with. Perhaps it is time for government to fear We the People. Let's not surrender to tyranny. To anyone willing to hear....
© Madeline Crabb
August 27, 2012
John Adams once wrote, "There is no good government but what is republican. The very definition of a republic is an empire of laws, and not of men."If our laws can be applied willy-nilly at the discretion of a few powerful men, how can we ever trust that there will be equal justice under the law?
In my last column, we talked about how one man's belief in traditional marriage caused multitudes in the "silent majority" to rebel against politically-correct forces of the radical left. For far too long the left has bullied those who adhere to traditional values and morals. Also, for far too long, we have acquiesced — to our own peril. We have seen our rights and freedoms be stripped away by the proverbial "squeaky wheel," the one that gets all the grease. The savvy leftists know that if they complain long enough and loud enough, we will do anything to simply have peace, even surrendering our freedoms. Of course, while we are surrendering said freedoms, we don't actually realize it's happening.
When laws against "hate speech" are enacted, we simply accept the argument that some things people say really are "ugly," and might make people "feel bad." Consequently, to protect a few people from "feeling bad," the many must have their speech censored.
What about when laws are enacted that tell us when we rent our homes — our personal property — that we must rent to whomever the government approves? What if we are Christians who are told we must rent to homosexuals or even unmarried couples, even though we believe such people are living in sin, according to our fundamental belief system? In these cases, the government is violating our rights to religious expression and the practice of our beliefs, and in a way, is taking control of our personal property by telling us what we must do with said property. And what if we don't comply? We will be humiliated by the radical left and their minions from the lamestream media. And the government will punish us through either fines or imprisonment, or perhaps in the future, with confiscation of our property. What, you don't think that can happen?
Or how about the government arresting and either imprisoning or hospitalizing us when we write our beliefs on Facebook? About two weeks ago, ex-Marine Brandon Raub opened the front door of his home to FBI agents who wanted to search his home. Raub asked to see their warrant, and when they explained they didn't have one, they were told they could not do a search. The agents decided Raub wasn't being cooperative, so he was handcuffed, placed in a police car, and taken to a mental facility for detainment of up to 30 days. His only crime was that he was practicing his First Amendment right to freedom of speech, but in doing so, was saying things the government didn't like.
John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute represents Raub, who was released last week when the judge proclaimed there were no grounds on which to detain him. In an interview with Glenn Beck, Whitehead said this sort of thing is happening across America — that we've been asleep. He said he keeps asking the question: "Is this America?" Because of civil commitment statutes, he said we are moving into a "psycho-therapeutic mentality" across the country; in Virginia alone there are 20,000 people who have been similarly committed. Finally, he added that most cases are because of political statements, and that there seems to be a targeting of the military.
According to Whitehead, James Madison believed that the First Amendment was written to protect the minority against the majority. Since Madison is known as the Father of the Constitution, it seems he and his colleagues believed unalienable rights of future Americans would be in jeopardy. And they weren't even aware of danger from groups like the communists who are hell-bent on destroying America. Goal #39 of their 45 communist goals for America is: "Dominate the psychiatric profession and use mental health laws as a means of gaining coercive control over those who oppose communist goals." And yes, silencing political speech in America is a goal of socialist/Marxist/communist/radical/progressive leftists. Remember that President Obama is a card-carrying socialist who has surrounded himself with appointees and friends who are radical socialists, communists, and even murdering terrorists.
"Anybody the government perceives as a threat can be arrested and put in a mental institution now," commented John Whitehead. Further, he explained that we're moving into a surveillance state, so we have to be very careful. America isn't some third world country overtaken by dictators who exercise total control over the people...yet. It does seem, however, that Mr. Obama is heading in that very direction. When a president says he will simply issue an executive order if Congress doesn't do what he wants, he acts more like a thug dictator than an elected representative who serves the people.
It really is time for ALL Americans to get re-acquainted with our heritage. We owe it to our forefathers to understand why so many of them sacrificed so much to allow us to live in freedom. Keeping America free is the least we owe to future generations. Unfortunately, if government is allowed to run roughshod over our rights, we will become nothing more than subjects to our master. Americans need to read and re-read our important founding documents, the Declaration of Independence, and the U.S. Constitution. Both can be purchased at the local bookstore, and are relatively inexpensive. They can also be read on the Web from many sources. Just google...nothing can be so easy. Wallbuilders.com is an excellent site for learning about our nation's founding and history.
And dear fellow Americans, we should never let the left make us believe these documents cannot be understood. We can understand them. And there are many, many other materials that can be accessed at the library, or on Web, that can help us understand our founders' reasoning. One such book that I own and cherish is "Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787," reported by James Madison. Reading this book is like being there at the Constitutional Convention with all those great men. Educating ourselves about our government will make us better citizens, and more capable of making sound, wise decisions in choosing how, and by whom, we will be governed. It will also give us the courage to stand for our beliefs. In a free society, we should be able to have discussions with one another — conversation about ideas. But in the new politically-correct America, some people must be silent or face being ridiculed, labeled, imprisoned, or even hospitalized in a mental institution like Brandon Raub. We are being forced to live in a state of paranoia and fear of our own government.
Thomas Jefferson wrote, "Does the government fear us? Or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government is our servant, not our master!" However, in 2012, Americans are discovering that we have indeed become slaves to our master, Big Daddy government.
Again, we live in a nation governed by laws, not men. The U.S. Constitution is the basis for the Rule of Law by which we are governed. Big Daddy is not supposed to be picking and choosing which laws are followed, and which are disregarded. But that is exactly what is happening. Our representative government was founded to protect the unalienable rights of ALL citizens. The law is not a tool that government can us to silence citizens it disagrees with. Perhaps it is time for government to fear We the People. Let's not surrender to tyranny. To anyone willing to hear....
© Madeline Crabb
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)
