First
let’s explain why a “citizen’s view”.
The Constitution was written for all of us, not just the elected
officials, all of us. And that means you
and me. In the preamble it says, “ . . .
secure the Blessings of liberty to ourselves and our Posterity . . . ” That’s us.
Therefore,
we as ordinary citizens should be able to understand and appreciate what the
constitution says, what it allows and what it prohibits. We don’t need a lawyer, a professor or some
appointed official (bureaucrat) to tell us. We can read it for ourselves and apply
it. In fact, that is exactly what we
should be doing and should have been doing all those years when the politicians
kept pushing us in the direction they wanted.
Not
enough of the citizenry today have read the Constitution and it is doubtful
that much of Congress has. Or at least
it is difficult to believe that they have when you read what they vote for and
the politics that is played with “pork” and “special interests”, all of which
is probably un-constitutional at the outset since it violates one or more of
the specific statements in that document.
Too
often, a “trade off” is made so that one section of the country gets a
favorable project in exchange for something else from another section. That is not either the intent or the words of
the constitution. The Constitution is a
contract that engages all (every citizen and every state) as parties to the
agreement. Thus, any violation of the
provisions of that document is unacceptable and should be challenged on the
face of it.
Look
at the “commerce clause” so often used as justification today for all sorts of
activity including health care. All it
actually says is: “The Congress shall have Power . . . To regulate Commerce
with foreign Nations, and among the several sates, and with the Indian
Tribes.” Can anyone show me where it
says “regulate commerce between individuals or companies?” Can anyone tell me where it contains the
power to “tax” someone if they don’t comply with a government mandate?
This
is why it is so important to read and
understand the exact wording as the Founding Fathers presented them. One only needs to remember that the Founders
argued for days over the exact wording so that any possible confusion or
misunderstanding would be eliminated.
Taking
another part, “Congress shall have the Power . . . to coin Money, regulate the
value thereof, . . . etc.“ Nothing is
said about allowing an outside private group to perform such functions. Despite the passage of the Federal Reserve
Act, it is still highly questionable that it would withstand a constitutional
challenge. As it now stands, we the
people have absolutely no control over our money! It is all decided for us and when you
consider the deterioration of the purchasing value of a dollar since the
Federal Reserve came into existence, you can appreciate why the Founding
Fathers placed the control in Congress!
There
was an underlying concept in the creation of the Constitution. That concept was that the government was the
servant of the people, not the other way around. Now ask yourself if today you believe that is
true or if you are now considered a servant of the government? After all, almost every day you are told of a
new regulation or law with which you must comply or else. How do you interpret that?
To be continued....
That’s
my view. What’s yours? Reach me at constitutionviews@gmail.com
©Copyright 2013 Hillard W. Welch
