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From the Other Side of the Edge…..
The Bill of
Rights, ….an “Inconvenient Truth”
By Joe Facinoli
Al Gore may have had it right after all.
Right pew, that is, …just the wrong church.
Climate change is not the largest roadblock to individual, corporate,
or even governmental growth and wellness in this country, …not
nearly.
Carbon emissions, ozone depletions, and melting icecaps have nothing on
the real hindrance to our society moving forward, or even “back” to the
future.
Nope, …not even close.
Quite simply, it’s the insidious, relentless, clandestine but
transparent, …deterioration of our individual liberties, and personal
freedoms, which were outlined so faultlessly, and guaranteed so
fervently, by our Founding Fathers, …in the “Bill of
Rights”.
This irreproachable document is, for all peoples, …simply Natural
Law. Not “given” by any one, nor any group, nor
entity.
These Rights, these natural “Laws”, ….just are.
Yet in today’s culture, and for the past few decades, American leaders
and politicians (those two things, …not always being synonymous) have
spent considerable time and effort to first diminish the importance of
these inherent freedoms, and then to try and usurp them
entirely.
These individual liberties are sacred, and as enumerated by the
Founders, and many other good men before them, …are wholly
inviolable.
But present day Americans, whether too fat from success and status,
…too drunk on modern excesses, …or too dependent on government handouts
and “entitlements”, …have allowed these cornerstones to democracy, and
even to civilization, to be taken from us, …and right in front of
us.
A strict (as it was intended), and quick reading of the Constitution,
shows only limited powers given to the central government, with
specific reference to it NOT having the power to do anything which
wasn’t expressly designated for it.
The Bill of Rights clarifies all of that, …and limits even more
specifically, the powers granted to this newly created “national”
government.
However today, this grand and righteous listing of what all humans
deserve, and freely, without limits possess, …is simply ignored, by
those who know they can, while slowly seizing the control which this
“contract with humanity” is supposed to prevent from
happening.
But thankfully, for those of us who still care, and so “inconveniently”
for those who don’t, ….it’s still there, …and not going
away.
They still try though, to minimize, and even quash it. Do
they ever.
The bloated, overbearing, face-in-our-trough federal government, and
all those who aspire to ride that wild hog, never miss a chance to take
a little away here, some more away there, big chunks from this, other
bites from that, …until all 10 of those precious gifts from whomever
put us here, are but a shell of what they once were.
This goes back a long way, even through the brief respite that was
Ronnie Reagan’s time, but let’s discuss a few current
particulars.
The T.S.A. can’t just search people at the airport, without their
permission !!
It’s ILLEGAL, …under the 4th Amendment, which guarantees no
“unreasonable searches and seizures”, and certainly none without a
warrant, issued after a “probable cause” has been established.
The NSA and the FBI can’t just listen in on whomever they want to, nor
can they read our emails and track our cell phones, muchless store any
of that information, for future use !!
It’s ILLEGAL, …under the 4th Amendment (see above), and the 1st as well
(that annoying free speech thing), and probably the 5th, for grabbing
our private “property”.
The Congress, nor any state for that matter, can’t just pass laws
limiting our right to keep, or carry, firearms, ….in public or anywhere
!!
It’s ILLEGAL, …under the 2nd Amendment. This one’s a
no-brainer, based on the simple, direct language used here.
But it’s also the one that most Americans give up on, the
easiest.
One sentence, 27 words. Couldn’t be more
clear. Especially the second half of this very plain,
but most essential phrasing: “…the right of the people to
keep and bear arms, shall NOT be infringed.”
But dozens of states have passed restrictive laws in the face of this
fundamental right of man.
And in my state, liberal to the “Nth” degree Maryland, one would have
to be mugged, shot, stabbed, maimed, and left bleeding out in the
gutter, while on their way to make a bank deposit, …before we would
even be considered for a right to carry permit.
Even then, it would still probably take three years to get a
decision. “Bleeding out” usually makes that moot,
anyway.
And still, we let this insanity, and these illegalities,
happen.
Obamacare, while easily the most aggravating, is not even the most
egregious of all the things rammed down our throats, past all our
Constitutional birthright stomach parts, and out the other end, before
we can even say “obamonoscopy”.
We won’t open that old wound, not on this day, but suffice to say that
this turkey oversteps just a few of the “protected” items on our list,
including the 4th and 5th Amendments, and maybe even the 10th in a most
basic way, not to mention the “commerce clause”, in Article 1, section
8, of the full Constitution.
Don’t tell BHO, or Pelosi, but it’s ILLEGAL for the government to make
us buy something, whether they think it’s good for us, or not.
Ever heard of the NDAA? The National Defense
Authorization Act? Don’t worry, most people
haven’t.
But while you weren’t paying attention, for the last few years, this
one quietly slipped under the Bill of Rights, hiding behind a bunch of
budget items, and mundane rules.
Seems among all those line items for furniture, and parking allowances,
they carefully snuck in a couple paragraphs about Indefinite
Detentions, and Warrantless Intrusions and Wiretaps, which they knew
we’d never notice.
Sounds like an episode of “Scandal”, but much scarier,…’cause it’s
real. Several more Amendments take a healthy beating, from
this totally ILLEGAL mess.
But the Grand-daddy of all these affronts to our personal liberties,
the Big Kahuna of power grabbing abuses, is the good ol’, “W”
Bush-started, Obama-re-upped: Patriot
Act.
Books have been written on this little beauty, and TV shows and movies
talk about it all the time. So I’ll pass on all the
specifics, as you can look ‘em up, no problem (except for that NSA guy
watching your computer history, especially when you’re checking out
their favorite, ILLEGAL, program).
In summary of it though, this one only stomps on the 1st, 4th, 5th,
6th, 7th, and 8th amendments. Don’t know how it
missed the other four. I guess we’ll just have to wait ‘til
next year.
The original intentions of the Founders, in writing both the
Constitution, as well as the Bill of Rights, was to be mindful of what
can happen when a government has too much control, or say, over the
people.
Most of them had just lived through that nightmare, ….and some of them
did not.
Barack Obama, by contrast, has clearly violated his Oath of Office,
specifically set forth in the sacred documents he so often spits
on.
He’s not the only President to do this, …but he’s the one at the wheel
right now.
Benjamin Franklin said: “Those who would give up
essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve
neither liberty nor safety.”
Ronald Reagan said: “Man is not free, unless
government is limited.”
And he went on to say: “As government expands, liberty
contracts.”
The forced-upon-us choice between security and privacy is
bogus. Because, …there is no Privacy without
Security, …and we can never be Secure, unless we can also remain as
Private as we choose. So a balance needs to be
struck.
The Bill of Rights, on the other hand, is the core, and the very
substance, of the Great Experiment which is our American nation.
It is the foundation of our ideals of liberty, of our individual
rights, and of limited government. And for true and
honest “Law”, to rule the Land.
At the same moment, it’s also designed to be an impediment, …to be such
an “Inconvenient Truth”, …to those who are quick to ignore, and abuse
it.
And to those who attempt to use its power and majesty, …only for
themselves.
Keep a copy of it close, …it’s pretty good reading.
Joe Facinoli
--Joe can be reached at: joefacinoli@gmail.com
Intelligent Response Encouraged !!
© Copyright 2014, Joe Facinoli
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