Today we celebrate the birth of our nation, the shining light on a hill, the beacon of liberty to all the world, the destination of all people around the world who seek liberty and the rights given by the Creator to all people. This is the first nation to define the role of government as protecting those God-given rights. This is the first nation to state that all powers of government are based on the consent of the governed, and that the People retain most of the powers to themselves. This is the first nation that is based on a written Constitution guaranteeing that the People need have no fear of an almighty central government, because the People, through their Constitution, have only empowered the government to perform the functions that are beyond their own abilities or the abilities of the local governments they also empowered.
We the People are the ultimate authority in this nation. But it is difficult to understand our government's actions in light of recent actions by that government. And by recent, we need to look back to at least World War II.
During World War II, we outproduced the rest of the industrialized world while sending 10 million men into combat on two massive fronts. The People acted as one, to defeat the forces of evil. Men went to war. Many women went into the military to provide support services such as nursing and administration. Many more women went into the workforce, working as the famous "Rosie the Riveter" to provide the weapons, ammunition and other materiel necessary to fighting wars all over the world. Children ran recycling drives for tires, metals, paper, and all manner of other things to support the war effort. Adults bought War Bonds and children bought War Bond Stamps. The American People were united against evil, wherever it reared its ugly head.
A few years later, we eliminated the War Department and formed the Defense Department. This change was more than just a name change. During the War, we united to WIN throughout the world. After the change, we subordinated the will to win under the need for following the Marquis of Queensbury rules like boxers. We decided it was important we use only appropriate "proportional response." "All's fair in love and war" was replaced with a demand for fairness and gentility. Have you noticed we haven't really won a big war since 1945? Korea is still technically at war after 60 years. Johnson's mismanagement of Viet Nam was a disaster. Even when Iraq invaded Kuwait, we pulled back rather than destroying the enemy. We subordinated the U.S. forces to the multiple U.N. mandates and evicted Saddam Hussein but did not pursue and destroy his war machine.
We have been at war in Iraq and Afghanistan for ten years. We won World War II in 5 years, defeating the forces of Hitler, Mussolini, and Hirohito. The only reason we are still fighting these wars is we are following the Marquis of Queensbury rules as our rules of engagement. If our civilian leaders wanted to win rather than spend the blood of our men and women, we could have finished both Iraq and Afghanistan in a year or less. But then our leaders wouldn't have the prestige of being "wartime presidents."
The difference in America's reputation and strength after WW II and today has two major causes: 1) the People are not united; and 2) our nation now seeks international consent to fight evil rather than attacking it head on. And the organization from which we seek consent is so riddled with dictatorships and murderers, we are often denied the power to act. I have read the Constitution, and it never mentions the United Nations. And it gives the sole power to declare war to our Congress, not some foreign, international organization.
President Johnson declared a War on Poverty in 1964. Since then, the People have spent trillions of dollars to "fight poverty." In 1964, the poverty rate was 19%. Today, after all those trillions of dollars, we have a higher poverty rate than when we declared "war." So the transfer of wealth for the last 48 years has had no impact on the poverty rate. Do We the People still support the billions and trillions we spend in this "war?" Actually, only the recipients support further waste.
The Federal government has the primary responsibility to to protect citizens from foreign invasion, whether by force of arms or infiltration across our borders. For years, the Federal government has failed to live up to that responsibility. So Arizona virtually copied the Federal statutes on immigration and tried to assist in detaining those here illegally and turning them over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for processing under Federal law. The Justice Department filed suit against the State of Arizona, partnering with the government of Mexico. The Supreme Court upheld the "identify and detain" provision of the Arizona law as constitutional. And the Obama administration has decided it won't answer the phone when Arizona law enforcement calls to transfer illegal aliens.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) was passed by the Senate 60-40 late on Christmas Eve in 2009. The polls at that time showed the People were strongly against the act. But the Democratic Party, led by Obama, Reid, and Pelosi forced it through by buying the votes of a couple of senators in a lame duck Congress. The People opposed it then, and they oppose it now.
Sadly, the Supreme Court ruled that Obamacare is constitutional. It took some serious gyrations and mental gymnastics to reach that decision, but that was the decision. The Court limited the scope under which the Commerce Clause is applicable, but broadened the definition of "taxing authority" beyond the bounds of reason. By classifying the penalties for not buying approved health insurance as "taxes," the Court virtually eliminated the distinction.
Under the SCOTUS ruling, We the People can be "taxed" for failing to buy a product or service. If this is constitutional, why would it be unconstitutional for Congress to require us to buy broccoli each week or be "taxed" for refusing to buy it? Or maybe the environmentalists think we should be limited to only one child, a la China, to reduce the strain on the planet. If they could get Congress to pass such a law, and you had a second child, you would be "taxed" for not obeying the law. The Chinese have carried this one step further. They require an abortion at any time up to and including at the time of birth. Perhaps those who are "Pro Choice" would consider that law commendable. But under this ruling, do We the People have ANY rights to choose, except in the case of abortion?
So We the People have been denied our rights and actually acquiesced to the usurpation. It has now reached the point that we must flex our muscles and vote out the Progressives that have led us to this state of affairs. We the People are still the source of ALL governmental power under our Constitution. We must restore our union to reestablish control over our lives and our government. The polls are our next to last resort. Hopefully, we will not have to go to our last resort.
The Declaration of Independence provides for that last resort:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit if Happiness---That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
I certainly hope that the next to last resort moves us back to sanity. But the Founders realized that even the government they established might devolve into anarchy and tyranny. And they described and authorized its dissolution and replacement after due diligence in addressing problems. This should never be used lightly, but it is a part of our heritage to rebel against tyranny.
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