Bring Back the Declaration of Independence
Posted by on Thursday, July 16, 2009
Under: Tea Party
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=139
By Matt Hawes
The following is based on a talk given at the July 4th Tea Party in Woodbridge, Va.
Two hundred and thirty-three years ago today, a small band of men put their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor on the line against the most powerful nation on earth.
In no uncertain terms, they sent notice that thirteen colonies would be exiting the British Empire and forming their own nation.
Reportedly, British officials strongly disagreed with their decision.
A long struggle ensued that tested the mettle of those who courageously believed there were limits to government's power. Limits as inherent as the rights with which they had been created.
For if the rights of men were nothing more than "privileges" mercifully bestowed by an all-wise government, then these men would have returned to their homes, subdued their passions, and hoped for a change in Parliament next election.
Instead, this small band made the bold claim that not only were all men created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights, but that these rights were "self-evident." What the rest of the world called revolutionary, was, to these men, just a restating of what should have been obvious.
Rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Rights worth fighting for.
What had been agreed to with a fast stroke of a quill would, for several years, be tested by bullets, starvation, exhaustion, and a disconcertingly constant threat of hanging.
Finding their strength in Divine Providence, the deepness of their convictions, and the power of their ideas, they endured all these challenges and many more to create a nation unlike any other before seen in history.
To protect their new independence, they constructed a government also unlike any other, an "experiment in liberty" that would have to be carefully guarded and defended with the same passionate care that had given it birth.
The brilliance of the Constitution lay in its separation of powers. Never before had a government been purposefully constructed to avoid the darker nature of men. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, stated in The Federalist #45 that the powers delegated -- that is, given to the new central government by the states -- were "few and defined." The powers retained by the states were "numerous and indefinite." He followed this statement by writing:
"The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State."
The state governments would, having delegated certain powers, reserve the rest they had not assigned. It was on the state level that "the ordinary course of affairs" would be addressed. It was clear who had the greater authority.
Investing too much power in the central government would open the door for it to rule the lives of the people and too easily be able to take away their newly-won freedoms. Essentially, they did not want to recreate what they had lost so many fighting to free themselves from.
Along the way, though, corruption, greed, and a lack of vigilance to check these human frailties led to a shift in the balance, and the intent of our Founders was lost. As the federal government grew and the power of the states shrank, many of our liberties were greatly diminished or ripped entirely away, and much of our voice in the system was silenced. To make matters worse, not only did many Americans begin to believe that the federal government was always intended to control every detail of our lives, they came to accept it as incontestable fact.
As public indifference to centralized governmental power grew, so did the government's attempts to increase that power. No longer was it enough for the government to simply lord its authority over the affairs of men and women. The temptation to use that authority to control and monitor those affairs became too hard to resist.
While many have steadfastly fought these efforts to be absorbed into the nanny state, many more have yielded to arguments such as, "This is for your own good. We're doing this to protect you. If you care about your nation or your countrymen, you'd support this."
If the Founders were so incensed about physical government presence in their homes, and a tax on tea and stamps, I can only imagine how they would turn in their graves over what the government they created has turned into and is engaging in now. Not only does Washington rip the money from your pockets, our representatives in Congress use our taxpayer dollars to make sure they can keep an eye on you.
In his inauguration speech, President Obama stated that the time for asking whether government is too big or too small has passed.
"What the cynics fail to understand," he said, "is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works...."
Stale political arguments? What to a ragtag group of oppressed men had been worth dying for is now relegated to being a stale political argument?
Well, ok. Let's take the President up on his challenge.
Since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 eventually enabled government to print money out of thin air with no value other than the politicians' word that it was worth something, our dollar has lost more than 95% of its value.
Our official debt is over $12 trillion. Try raising the limit of personal debt you can owe before you have to default sometime, and see how your creditors respond.
We're so entangled in international relations that we have over 700 military installations in more than 130 countries.
Bernie Madoff was just sentenced to 150 years in jail for running his ponzi scheme. The U.S. Government has been running the Social Security ponzi scheme since 1935, yet the U.S. House is rewarded with an over 90% reelection rate in this decade. Meanwhile, our unfunded liabilities for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid total almost $60 trillion dollars.
Government spending this year alone will fall in the red to the tune of over $1 trillion, and is expected to stay there well into the next decade.
As if this debt weren't enough, they have put us on the hook for almost $13 trillion in bailouts and loans.
Washington is attempting to pass an energy bill that could cost American families anywhere from $1,000 to over $4,000 more in annual payments.
Some in the Senate want you to pay more than $1,000 in fines if you refuse to get healthcare coverage under the new government scheme.
So, President Obama, we've asked if government works, and the answer is a resounding no. Why? Because of the overreaching vs. limited question you claim is outdated.
Big government has had decades to make its case, and if its closing argument doesn't drive our nation over the cliff, let us hope we have learned our lesson.
Unfortunately, the president failed to realize he had answered his own question in the preceding paragraph of his statement, saying:
"Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage."
Our Republic can ill afford any more big plans from the federal government, but it has always needed -- and has always had room for -- the big plans of the individual, the big dreams of the new arrivals to its shores. From those who would create products for or entertain millions, to the ones who wish nothing more than to be left alone to live their lives in peace, our country does indeed have room. Though our nation can do more than just tolerate big plans, our system is built on the fundamental concept that you should not be able to forcibly take money from others to pay for them.
President Obama was correct when he said that free men and women have achieved great things. It is their freedom, and not the government, that works. Why then, does our system insist on regulating and burdening them as much as it can get away with?
Because we have allowed it to.
So, what can we do to recapture the vision our Founders had when they declared their independence to the world?
First, we must rededicate ourselves to these "self-evident" principles. Liberty must be the starting point of any political discussion. When any new idea is proposed or old one revisited, it is imperative we examine its effect on liberty.
Not only is the government best that rules least, but in our nation, that government can only legislate within the confines of its mandated limitations.
Writing in The Federalist #78, Alexander Hamilton said:
"There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this, would be to affirm, that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people themselves; that men acting by virtue of powers, may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid."
No matter how inconvenient it may be for the plans of any person or group, our federal government must once again be weighed down by the chains of the Constitution. If we do not recognize this limit, our efforts will ultimately be futile.
Secondly, we must educate ourselves. Our Founders were able to articulate their principles so brilliantly because they knew them so intimately. To effectively defend and advance our positions, we must study why we believe what we believe.
Once we ourselves have a firm grasp on our ideas, we must spread the word to others. Write, speak, create and pass out fliers. No matter who you are, there's something you can do to promote liberty. List our your interests. You'll be amazed how you can use them.
Unconstitutional laws must be repealed, and those who supported them must be held accountable to the people. No longer should the chief concern be what letter is beside the name in the voting booth. The number one consideration should be their beliefs on the Constitution, and their stands for, or against, liberty.
When we know the issues, and are working to bring others in, with time, you'll be astounded how far we can roll back the intrusions of government.
In just a little over a year since its founding in June, 2008, Campaign for Liberty has grown to include nearly 200,000 Americans and people from all over the world who have chosen to re-declare their independence from a mindset that begins and ends every conversation by asking how government can be involved. Although we may not all agree on every particular of each philosophical point, we unite under the concept that liberty must be our starting point, and our goal.
Our mission statement is simple. We exist to promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy, by means of educational and political activity.
Each day, C4L members are out in their neighborhoods spreading a message of freedom, peace, and prosperity. We are opening minds, winning seats in local and state offices, and reclaiming our Republic beginning in our own backyards. The establishment likes to say that the limited government philosophy is finished. There are no supporters; there is no enthusiasm.
This crowd assembled here today is proving them wrong. Campaign for Liberty is proving them wrong. From all possible political backgrounds, spiritual beliefs, and cultures here and around the world, we have joined together in a grassroots Revolution that is more alive than ever.
Our number one legislative priority this year has been to support a thorough audit of the Federal Reserve for the first time in its history. HR 1207, Ron Paul's Federal Reserve Transparency Act, now has the support of over half the House of Representatives. Its Senate companion, S 604, is gaining more momentum every day.
Some will criticize our efforts here today as "ravings and rantings of extremist right malcontents." As Ronald Reagan said in his 1964 "Time for Choosing" speech, this isn't any longer about choosing between left or right, it's about choosing up or down.
I invite you all to visit our table, sign our Audit the Fed petitions, and to pick up literature so you can learn more about this grassroots Revolution to reclaim our Republic and restore our Constitution that is sweeping the country.
At Campaign for Liberty, we don't believe it's about selecting Party A or Party B's plan for our lives. It's about choosing the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution so we can get our neighborhoods, our country, and our lives back.
Thank you all very much and have a Happy Fourth of July.
By Matt Hawes
The following is based on a talk given at the July 4th Tea Party in Woodbridge, Va.
Two hundred and thirty-three years ago today, a small band of men put their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor on the line against the most powerful nation on earth.
In no uncertain terms, they sent notice that thirteen colonies would be exiting the British Empire and forming their own nation.
Reportedly, British officials strongly disagreed with their decision.
A long struggle ensued that tested the mettle of those who courageously believed there were limits to government's power. Limits as inherent as the rights with which they had been created.
For if the rights of men were nothing more than "privileges" mercifully bestowed by an all-wise government, then these men would have returned to their homes, subdued their passions, and hoped for a change in Parliament next election.
Instead, this small band made the bold claim that not only were all men created equal and endowed with certain unalienable rights, but that these rights were "self-evident." What the rest of the world called revolutionary, was, to these men, just a restating of what should have been obvious.
Rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Rights worth fighting for.
What had been agreed to with a fast stroke of a quill would, for several years, be tested by bullets, starvation, exhaustion, and a disconcertingly constant threat of hanging.
Finding their strength in Divine Providence, the deepness of their convictions, and the power of their ideas, they endured all these challenges and many more to create a nation unlike any other before seen in history.
To protect their new independence, they constructed a government also unlike any other, an "experiment in liberty" that would have to be carefully guarded and defended with the same passionate care that had given it birth.
The brilliance of the Constitution lay in its separation of powers. Never before had a government been purposefully constructed to avoid the darker nature of men. James Madison, the Father of the Constitution, stated in The Federalist #45 that the powers delegated -- that is, given to the new central government by the states -- were "few and defined." The powers retained by the states were "numerous and indefinite." He followed this statement by writing:
"The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State."
The state governments would, having delegated certain powers, reserve the rest they had not assigned. It was on the state level that "the ordinary course of affairs" would be addressed. It was clear who had the greater authority.
Investing too much power in the central government would open the door for it to rule the lives of the people and too easily be able to take away their newly-won freedoms. Essentially, they did not want to recreate what they had lost so many fighting to free themselves from.
Along the way, though, corruption, greed, and a lack of vigilance to check these human frailties led to a shift in the balance, and the intent of our Founders was lost. As the federal government grew and the power of the states shrank, many of our liberties were greatly diminished or ripped entirely away, and much of our voice in the system was silenced. To make matters worse, not only did many Americans begin to believe that the federal government was always intended to control every detail of our lives, they came to accept it as incontestable fact.
As public indifference to centralized governmental power grew, so did the government's attempts to increase that power. No longer was it enough for the government to simply lord its authority over the affairs of men and women. The temptation to use that authority to control and monitor those affairs became too hard to resist.
While many have steadfastly fought these efforts to be absorbed into the nanny state, many more have yielded to arguments such as, "This is for your own good. We're doing this to protect you. If you care about your nation or your countrymen, you'd support this."
If the Founders were so incensed about physical government presence in their homes, and a tax on tea and stamps, I can only imagine how they would turn in their graves over what the government they created has turned into and is engaging in now. Not only does Washington rip the money from your pockets, our representatives in Congress use our taxpayer dollars to make sure they can keep an eye on you.
In his inauguration speech, President Obama stated that the time for asking whether government is too big or too small has passed.
"What the cynics fail to understand," he said, "is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works...."
Stale political arguments? What to a ragtag group of oppressed men had been worth dying for is now relegated to being a stale political argument?
Well, ok. Let's take the President up on his challenge.
Since the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 eventually enabled government to print money out of thin air with no value other than the politicians' word that it was worth something, our dollar has lost more than 95% of its value.
Our official debt is over $12 trillion. Try raising the limit of personal debt you can owe before you have to default sometime, and see how your creditors respond.
We're so entangled in international relations that we have over 700 military installations in more than 130 countries.
Bernie Madoff was just sentenced to 150 years in jail for running his ponzi scheme. The U.S. Government has been running the Social Security ponzi scheme since 1935, yet the U.S. House is rewarded with an over 90% reelection rate in this decade. Meanwhile, our unfunded liabilities for Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid total almost $60 trillion dollars.
Government spending this year alone will fall in the red to the tune of over $1 trillion, and is expected to stay there well into the next decade.
As if this debt weren't enough, they have put us on the hook for almost $13 trillion in bailouts and loans.
Washington is attempting to pass an energy bill that could cost American families anywhere from $1,000 to over $4,000 more in annual payments.
Some in the Senate want you to pay more than $1,000 in fines if you refuse to get healthcare coverage under the new government scheme.
So, President Obama, we've asked if government works, and the answer is a resounding no. Why? Because of the overreaching vs. limited question you claim is outdated.
Big government has had decades to make its case, and if its closing argument doesn't drive our nation over the cliff, let us hope we have learned our lesson.
Unfortunately, the president failed to realize he had answered his own question in the preceding paragraph of his statement, saying:
"Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage."
Our Republic can ill afford any more big plans from the federal government, but it has always needed -- and has always had room for -- the big plans of the individual, the big dreams of the new arrivals to its shores. From those who would create products for or entertain millions, to the ones who wish nothing more than to be left alone to live their lives in peace, our country does indeed have room. Though our nation can do more than just tolerate big plans, our system is built on the fundamental concept that you should not be able to forcibly take money from others to pay for them.
President Obama was correct when he said that free men and women have achieved great things. It is their freedom, and not the government, that works. Why then, does our system insist on regulating and burdening them as much as it can get away with?
Because we have allowed it to.
So, what can we do to recapture the vision our Founders had when they declared their independence to the world?
First, we must rededicate ourselves to these "self-evident" principles. Liberty must be the starting point of any political discussion. When any new idea is proposed or old one revisited, it is imperative we examine its effect on liberty.
Not only is the government best that rules least, but in our nation, that government can only legislate within the confines of its mandated limitations.
Writing in The Federalist #78, Alexander Hamilton said:
"There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this, would be to affirm, that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people themselves; that men acting by virtue of powers, may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid."
No matter how inconvenient it may be for the plans of any person or group, our federal government must once again be weighed down by the chains of the Constitution. If we do not recognize this limit, our efforts will ultimately be futile.
Secondly, we must educate ourselves. Our Founders were able to articulate their principles so brilliantly because they knew them so intimately. To effectively defend and advance our positions, we must study why we believe what we believe.
Once we ourselves have a firm grasp on our ideas, we must spread the word to others. Write, speak, create and pass out fliers. No matter who you are, there's something you can do to promote liberty. List our your interests. You'll be amazed how you can use them.
Unconstitutional laws must be repealed, and those who supported them must be held accountable to the people. No longer should the chief concern be what letter is beside the name in the voting booth. The number one consideration should be their beliefs on the Constitution, and their stands for, or against, liberty.
When we know the issues, and are working to bring others in, with time, you'll be astounded how far we can roll back the intrusions of government.
In just a little over a year since its founding in June, 2008, Campaign for Liberty has grown to include nearly 200,000 Americans and people from all over the world who have chosen to re-declare their independence from a mindset that begins and ends every conversation by asking how government can be involved. Although we may not all agree on every particular of each philosophical point, we unite under the concept that liberty must be our starting point, and our goal.
Our mission statement is simple. We exist to promote and defend the great American principles of individual liberty, constitutional government, sound money, free markets, and a noninterventionist foreign policy, by means of educational and political activity.
Each day, C4L members are out in their neighborhoods spreading a message of freedom, peace, and prosperity. We are opening minds, winning seats in local and state offices, and reclaiming our Republic beginning in our own backyards. The establishment likes to say that the limited government philosophy is finished. There are no supporters; there is no enthusiasm.
This crowd assembled here today is proving them wrong. Campaign for Liberty is proving them wrong. From all possible political backgrounds, spiritual beliefs, and cultures here and around the world, we have joined together in a grassroots Revolution that is more alive than ever.
Our number one legislative priority this year has been to support a thorough audit of the Federal Reserve for the first time in its history. HR 1207, Ron Paul's Federal Reserve Transparency Act, now has the support of over half the House of Representatives. Its Senate companion, S 604, is gaining more momentum every day.
Some will criticize our efforts here today as "ravings and rantings of extremist right malcontents." As Ronald Reagan said in his 1964 "Time for Choosing" speech, this isn't any longer about choosing between left or right, it's about choosing up or down.
I invite you all to visit our table, sign our Audit the Fed petitions, and to pick up literature so you can learn more about this grassroots Revolution to reclaim our Republic and restore our Constitution that is sweeping the country.
At Campaign for Liberty, we don't believe it's about selecting Party A or Party B's plan for our lives. It's about choosing the principles enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution so we can get our neighborhoods, our country, and our lives back.
Thank you all very much and have a Happy Fourth of July.
In : Tea Party
