I am constantly amazed and appreciative of the brilliance and wisdom exhibited by our founding fathers. I believe that the Declaration of Independence is one of the finest examples of human composition, ever! I believe that our Constitution is an ingeniously conceived idea for self governance. I respectfully disagree with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg when she urges those countries looking to develop their own national constitution to NOT look upon our Constitution as an example.
Speaking parenthetically, I think that it is a sad day in America when a person who has taken an oath to "...support and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign and domestic.." and whose job it is to interpret laws in accordance with that Constitution, publicly disparages that same Constitution. But I digress!
Our founding fathers believed that our rights were endowed to us, not by governments made up of fallible men but rather by God Almighty Himself! They asserted that among these endowed rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
Our founding fathers believed that people ought to be allowed to conduct their own affairs without interference from government. They believed and explicitly stated in the preamble to the Constitution that some of the purposes of the Constitution was to "...establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common Defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our posterity,..."
Our founding fathers were strong supporters of the notion of individual liberty and freedom.
"Can the liberties of a nation be sure when we remove their only firm basis, a conviction in the mind of the people, that these liberties are a gift from God" (Thomas Jefferson)
"The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government." (Patrick Henry)
"You have rights antecedent to all earthly governments; rights that cannot be repealed or restrained by human laws; rights derived from the Great Legislator of the Universe." (John Adams)
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains or slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! (Patrick Henry)
"When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty." (Thomas Jefferson)When you look at these quotes from long ago in the context of our current bloated and over reaching government, you cannot help but come to realize that the government we have now is not what the Founding Fathers intended.
When you look at what our Founding Fathers said with respect to the right to bear arms in the context of today's discussions regarding proposed legislation to ban some firearms and magazines you will soon come to see that restricting gun ownership by American citizens was anathema to these same Founding Fathers.
All of our elected officials take an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Given the current state of affairs in Washington D.C., I am forced to ask how many of them have actually read the United States Constitution; and how many are actually, in truth, keeping their oath to support and defend that Constitution?
As General John Stark said, and what is to this date the motto of the State of New Hampshire, "LIVE FREE OR DIE"!
No comments:
Post a Comment