Posted by Edward on 03/15/09

In 1861, John Stuart Mill defined liberty as “protection against the tyranny of the political rulers” and explains this well in his philosophical publication, On Liberty.

"A time, however, came in the progress of human affairs, when men ceased to think it a necessity of nature that their governors should be an independent power, opposed in interest to themselves.  It appeared to them much better that the various magistrates of the State should be their tenants or delegates, revocable at their pleasure.  In that way alone it seemed, could they have complete security that the powers of government would never be abused to their disadvantage."

In part one of “A Republic”, the term liberty was mentioned numerous times. From the perspective of Americans today, liberty is simply a word in the dictionary. In the 1700’s, liberty was a dream, the hope of men and women that their children could live free from the restraints of aristocracy, that when given total responsibility, a moral society would flourish. It was the belief that God himself meant for his human creation to be free.

The American Constitution is the only defender of our liberty left to us by the founders. The Preamble of the Constitution states, We the people of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The government of America was created simply to protect the liberty of its’ citizens. Today, the American people have forgotten that our republic was formed under the assumption that powerful governments are not to be trusted. Much debate ensued and numerous safeguards were implemented, dedicated entirely to the topic of governmental power. Individual freedoms were then instituted as the “Bill of Rights”, guarantying these specific freedoms.

The American experiment was set up as a Constitutional republic. Although the system didn’t erase hardships and suffering, it assured independence and opportunity. At the same time, this organization of society infused incentive through a free market economy. Based off its’ success, I will offer, the tactical way our republic was assembled, still outlines the most wise, liberating and prosperous governmental institution, working within a society in existence today or at any time in history.

In a flawed existence, negative and even evil incidents will most certainly occur, liberties’ survival relies on our reactions to these occasions. Rather than seeing a government as an all powerful and caring entity, we must view a moral and just society as the means by which atrocities are resolved (as much as humanly possible). People, as citizens, are much more capable of caring for their society than is a government, by acquiring more power.

A large segment of our population today is trying to create a utopia through strong government. Unless every man, woman and child lived their lives, strictly following the Ten Commandments, a utopia will never come to fruition. We must first, start taking responsibility for our families and ourselves (morally and financially). Once this smallest form of government is restored, major changes can and will take place. At the same time we must vote for individuals that are going to uphold our Constitution not “protect us” through new laws and entitlements. Thirdly, the elected officials currently serving must be held accountable for their adherence or lack there of to the Constitution. Without incentive to be responsible, society will become passive and consequently, servants to the powerful organization supplying them benefits.

In early America all men were self-governing according to the common law and the Ten Commandments. If we are true patriots, we must grab on to the responsibility of self-government or our republic will cease to be and Benjamin Franklins’ warning will have been in vain and liberty will be lost.

In closing, I would like to quote from John Adams’ Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law.  After the Stamp Act was passed, Mr. Adams wanted to make the colonists “more attentive” to their rights and liberties. I pray you feel the love of freedom that existed at this time and the need for it today.

"This spirit, however, without knowledge, would be little better than a brutal rage.  Let us tenderly and kindly cherish, therefore, the means of knowledge.  Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write.  Let every order and degree among the people rouse their attention and animate their resolution.  Let them all become attentive to the grounds and principles of government, ecclesiastical and civil.  Let us study the law of nature; ancient ages; contemplate the great examples of Greece and Rome; set before us the conduct of our own British ancestors, who have defended for us the inherent rights of mankind against foreign and domestic tyrants and usurpers, against arbitrary kings and cruel priests, in short, against the gates of earth and hell.  Let us read and recollect and impress upon our souls the views and ends of our own more immediate forefathers, in exchanging their native country for a dreary, inhospitable wilderness.  Let us examine into the nature of that power, and the cruelty of that oppression, which drove them from their homes.  Recollect their amazing fortitude, their bitter sufferings—the hunger, the nakedness, the cold, which they patiently endured—the severe labors of clearing their grounds, building their houses, raising their provisions, amidst dangers from wild beasts and savage men, before they had time or money or materials for commerce.  Recollect the civil and religious principles and hopes and expectations which constantly supported and carried them through all hardships with patience and resignation.  Let us recollect it was liberty, the hope of liberty for themselves and us and ours, which conquered all discouragements, dangers, and trials.  In such researches as these, let us all in our several departments cheerfully engage—but especially the proper patrons and supporters of law, learning, and religion!
Let the pulpit resound with the doctrines and sentiments of religious liberty.  Let us hear the danger of thral[l]dom to our consciences from ignorance, extreme poverty, and dependence, in short, from civil and political slavery.  Let us see delineated before us the true map of man.  Let us hear the dignity of his nature, and the noble rank he holds among the works of God—that consenting to slavery is a sacrilegious breach of trust, as offensive in the sight of God as it is derogatory from our own honor or interest or happiness—and that God Almighty has promulgated from heaven liberty, peace, and good-will to man!"

Posted 03/16/09 mslatinsky , MI

Great article. I think you are right on, most people do not have a clue of what Liberty really is, at least the kind that our Forefathers fought and died for. My fear is that many would like the government to just stop everything they do that does not jive with the founders intent, regardless of the consequences. The damage is done and we cannot just go back in one big step, we must first take on the responsibility to care for each other and our communities before we can expect the government to stop doing it. If we refuse to accept our moral and ethical responsibilities to each other, then the enemy is right and our Constitution cannot possibly work as designed. The great John Adams, from the beginning, knew how true this was: "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." Keep up the good work, I look forward to reading more of your thoughts.

Posted by Edward on 03/12/09

As Dr. Benjamin Franklin was leaving the final meeting of the Constitutional Conventions (being the Constitution had been signed) a woman asked him what kind of government he and his fellow delegates had given them.  Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”  Just the other day I received an email from the Constitution Parties’ Presidential nominee, Chuck Baldwin, with this quote:

At the conclusion of the Constitutional Convention, a passerby asked Benjamin Franklin, "Well, Doctor, what have we got--a republic or monarchy?" Franklin replied, "A republic--if you can keep it."
Ladies and Gentlemen, that is the sixty-four million dollar question: Can we keep our republic? Can we keep our constitutional form of government? Can we keep our constitutionally protected liberties?
In Federalist No. 10, James Madison ("The Father of the U.S. Constitution") said, "[D]emocracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths."
The fear of what happens to freedom and liberty under democratic rule is what prompted Madison and the rest of America's founders to labor so hard to create what they did: a constitutional republic.
Under God, it is allegiance to the Constitution that has preserved our liberties, our peace and happiness, our security, and our very way of life. Furthermore, it is the repudiation and rejection of constitutional government that is responsible for the manner in which these very same blessings are currently being lost.

An important fact to remember here is that the rightful duty of government is to sustain order in a society, to only use power when an evil has been done against a citizen or the nation itself.  Throughout history there have been many great and mighty governments but only a handful of great and mighty societies, which confirms that a government does not make up or define a society.  The greatness of a society is defined by its’ members, how they live, work, and interact together.  America could arguably be considered the greatest society in the history of this world, but I think if you look closely you will see a transfer of greatness from American society to the American government.   Simply put, this shift in power is due to a departure from self-reliance and an increase in perceived helplessness.  This transfer of greatness is the transfer of liberty for entitlements. I hope to expound on this in upcoming issues, however presently, I only ask you to look at government in a different light.  As simply a single tool in the toolbox of society, and not the all-powerful guardian she is becoming.
The American Revolution was not a war of two governments biding for power; on the contrary, it was first and foremost a war of ideals.  The fight was a society clashing headlong with the mightiest government on earth at the time, and for the purpose of the conservation of liberty and freedom, not of becoming a mighty government.  This was a society that had tasted the fruits of liberty and knew it was worth dying for.  The republic form of government, which was then established, was inherently put in place as a society governing themselves through the laws of the Constitution, relying strongly on the self-government of each community.  In turn, true patriotism, presently, would be defined as a dedication to self-government through morality, education and compassion, not simply being proud of America.
You and I are charged with the responsibility of upholding a just and moral society with government being the authority by which we judge and punish members not abiding by our God given laws.  This is where I think America is changing and thus “losing our republic.”  Everyone has heard the saying “freedom is not free.”  The translation does not only mean that our armies must fight against tyranny, it also means that each and every citizen from all walks of life is responsible to be learned in government, economics, morality, and our Constitution, and with this knowledge, contribute to the greatest society ever in existence, safeguarding our republican form of government.  Again Chuck Baldwin.

At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of the people to govern themselves. We must be willing to hold our civil magistrates accountable to the contract they made with us, which is to uphold constitutional government. It is our duty to "throw off" any system of government that does not secure our liberties and protect our Constitution. And this we have not done.
Christian pastors and ministers have failed us. The "Religious Right" has failed us. College professors have failed us. High School teachers have failed us. Newspaper editors and publishers have failed us. TV news anchors and reporters have failed us. Parents have failed. Friends have failed. The two major political parties have failed. As a whole, no one is talking about, or even thinking about, the loss of constitutional government, national independence, and sovereignty. Few seem even conscious that this is taking place.
Worrying about which major party wins a general election is like worrying about whether Coke or Pepsi sold more soft drinks last month. Pick your poison. One is just as bad as the other. Neither has any fidelity to the Constitution or to the principles of liberty, which it represents.

These are strong words; he is implying that the elected leaders of our great nation are not abiding by the oath they took before God and their electors.  It is my assertion that he is 100% correct; we have and still are losing OUR republic.  But more important and shocking, he is accusing you of not upholding your obligation of protecting the Constitution.  The Pulitzer Prize winning author, David McCullough, in a speech, talks about being asked which conversation between two historical American subjects he would, if possible, be a fly on the wall for.
…One of them surely would be the day that Ralph Waldo Emerson…recently had moved to Harvard, went out to Quincy Massachusetts to visit the old President, John Adams, then in the last year of his life.  The year was 1825.  So, there we had two of the most brilliant minds in the whole history of our Country and two quintessentially New Englanders…compatriots both intellectually and as Americans, despite the differences, the vast differences in their age and experience.  And Emerson afterward wrote down much of what was said. Fortunately we know through what he wrote.  And at one point Adams said “I wish to God there were more ambition in the country.”  Then he paused and he said “by that I mean ambition of the laudable kind too excel.”  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could reinstate, through what we do as parents, grandparents, as teachers, as legislatures that old noble ambition to excel.

This nation we call America was formed as a constitutional republic and a great nation it has become.  A nation based on liberty for its’ citizens with representatives in their government who are held accountable by their electors and managed by a constitution.  A constitution that is clear and concise concerning the duties of government.  The duties are limited to preserve the liberty of the American people.  There is nothing in the Constitution concerning the micromanagement of the economy, providing healthcare or dispersing wealth.  Both political parties are currently promising to take care of you in different ways.  Has this country changed so much that we can no longer care for each other and ourselves?  Do you believe them when they tell you that the problems we are facing are much to large for the weak American citizens to deal with?  Or do we want to take back the responsibility of all aspects of our own lives versus having a powerful, centralized government filling the spaces where conscience, motivation and discipline should reside?