Bill Of Rights Lecture

In response to numerous requests, I'm posting the main body of my comments at the Bill of Rights Commemorative Banquet last week.

(Warning: very long.)

Bill of Rights Lecture – Dec. 15, 2006

How does it feel to live in the freest country in the world? There are folks all over this planet that would give up everything for a chance to enjoy the freedom that America stands for. It’s easy to take things for granted when we are accustomed to them. Maybe we could profit from taking a fresh look at freedom in the land of the free.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; That among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

“All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, [and] of acquiring, possessing and protecting property…”

“No person shall … be deprived of Life, Liberty, or Property, without due process of law.”

“[No man] can … be deprived of his Life, Liberty, or Property, unless by the judgment of his peers or the law of the land.”

America is a nation where property rights are respected. Are you a landowner? Then as long as no endangered animal or plant species or wetlands can be found on your property, as long as your local government cannot think of a more lucrative use for your property, and as long as you pay your property taxes on time, no one can take that land from you! If you wish to build on it, all you have to do is make sure there are no conservation easements on your land, and submit a land development plan to the township. Once they approve it, simply apply for the necessary permits, plan your project in accordance with applicable building and fire codes, hire a licensed builder, (and keep paying those property taxes). If you want to raise livestock on your land, have USDA issue you a premises ID number, and make sure you report every thing your animals do within 48 hours. That’s all! It’s your land.

America is a nation where liberty is inviolable. If you wish to travel from one place to another, you are free to travel, (provided you have been issued a National ID card from your state Department of Transportation). If you wish to carry a weapon to defend yourself or your family from harm, you have the freedom to do so, (provided you have been issued a Social Security Number and a Concealed Carry Permit,) as long as you stay out of the post office and away from schools. If you are a law-abiding citizen who has not been charged with a crime, you cannot be detained against your will unless you are deemed to be an enemy combatant or an evil person by the President or the Secretary of Defense.

America is a nation where life is sacred. If you are a law-abiding citizen your life is protected by the full force of the law, unless you are one of the 4000 babies murdered every day.


What is wrong with this picture?

Does this sound like the land of the free and the home of the brave?

We all know our freedoms aren’t what they used to be. I want to take some time this evening to analyze how this erosion has occurred. The Constitution that established the United States of America two hundred and seventeen years ago was short and to the point. But it contained and embodied the most astonishing collection of sound, republican principles of government that has ever been written.

I initially intended to spend some time examining the Federalist / Antifederalist debate as it applied to the Bill of Rights. That has proven to be an … interesting … undertaking and one that would take up a tremendous amount of time! The VA convention saw this subject debated for four solid weeks by some of the most brilliant minds ever to assist in forming a system of government. I highly recommend the study of Elliot’s Debates to anyone who can spare the time. It will be an incredible education and open an entirely new series of perspectives on our federal government.

For now it is sufficient to say that in virtually every case, our founders agreed that the principles represented in the Bill of Rights were essential to freedom and to the survival of the United States of America. They disagreed on the question of whether the codification in the Constitution of those principles would ultimately strengthen or weaken them, but they were unanimous in their belief that they could not be subjected to governmental tampering without destroying the entire foundation of American freedom. In the end, a compromise was reached whereby the most significant of these principles were added to the Constitution by amendment and became the Bill of Rights.

So what do these rights mean to us? Well, in case you couldn’t tell, this Constitution is still supposed to be the Supreme law of the land. If politicians ignore it, they do so because … they can.

Whose fault is that?

We’ll get to that later.

So what we have is a Constitution that is supposed to define the limits of the federal government, and just in case a misunderstanding should arise regarding implied powers, the Bill of Rights is a list of specific areas that the federal government may not touch, and specific things that the federal government may not do. Period. Of course, this creates a problem for politicians who wish to extend their own authority or that of the federal government in general, as indeed it was intended to. In the Constitution, and particularly the Bill of Rights, these politicians come up against what many of our founders believed would be an impassable obstacle to their ambitions.

The fact that, two centuries and seventeen amendments later, the Constitution still stands in the way of these politicians is a tribute to the wisdom of our founders and to the blessing of Almighty God on their efforts. But while it still poses an obstacle to unrestrained federal power, its usefulness has been vastly diminished. While politicians have been embarrassed, thwarted and annoyed by the Constitution’s unflinching protection of individual freedom, this freedom is even more dependent on another entity – we the people!

Let’s face it; a piece of paper is only binding while those bound by it respect it. And those who believe that you are incompetent to live your life without legislative assistance have taken full advantage of this weakness. There are several ways that politicians in this country have found to sidestep or evade the restrictions on them resultant from the Bill of Rights. In many cases they have effectively destroyed the rights in question. Let’s take a close look at a few of them.

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The first method for stealing your rights that we’ll talk about is redefinition. The chief culprit in this one is the judicial system, although the entertainment industry and the news media have both made significant contributions in this area as well.

Perhaps the best-known example of redefinition is the 1st amendment protection of freedom of religion. The founders were very clear what they meant by freedom of religion. There is a fascinating exchange in the Annals of the House of Representatives in August of 1789, when this issue was under consideration. A gentleman by the name of Mr. Sylvester expressed a fear that the proposed amendment might be taken as an abolishment of religion from government. Mr. Madison replied that he understood the words to mean that Congress could not establish a national religion, nor (and I quote) “compel men to worship God in any manner contrary to their conscience.” (You will notice he assumed they had a conscience.) Mr. Huntington responded that he understood that to be the correct meaning, “but, (he said,) others might find it convenient to put another construction upon it.” He went on to say that he hoped the amendment would be written so as to secure the rights of conscience and the free exercise of religion, but not to patronize those who professed no religion.

Hmm.

Chief Justice Roy Moore of the Alabama State Supreme Court was recently removed from the bench for violating a federal court order. The federal judge argued that the presence of the Ten Commandments in his courtroom was in conflict with the first amendment.

Students all over this country have been suspended from school for bringing Bibles into school. Principals and teachers claim that the presence of a Bible in a public school is a violation of the first amendment.

Folks, “freedom of religion” has been redefined as freedom from God! The American court system has been taken over by humanist thinkers who conceive it to be their duty to protect society from the God of the Bible. It’s a dangerous job, but so far they haven’t realized that. Their message to American Christians is simple: “if you want to worship God, that’s fine, but do it in the closet. Don’t let your God get in our way.”

By the way, Biblical Christianity cannot comfortably exist alongside blatant immorality. So when the church capitulated to the world and went to the closet with their religion … did you notice what came out of the closet?

Another case in point is the 5th amendment restriction on the exercise of eminent domain. Without going extensively into the legal background of eminent domain, it is safe to say that our founders had a very limited definition of the phrase “public use.” Currently, however, the courts have implied that any significant financial benefit to the local government may be considered public use for eminent domain purposes. The concept of taking has also been redefined to exclude all but a complete loss of title to property. In other words, a landowner may be completely deprived of the use of his property without compensation, so long as he retains legal title to it.

Many more examples could be cited, but the crowning achievement of the redefinition movement is the shift from inherent, unalienable rights given us by our Creator, to civil rights granted by the State. My brother and I had the opportunity to hear a debate on the USA PATRIOT Act a few years ago in Media, hosted by the Delaware County Bar Association. Federal district attorney Linda Dale Hoffa undertook to defend the Act against Peter Goldberg of the Atheist & Communist Lawyer’s Union.

The debate focused on whether or not the Patriot Act violated essential civil rights. (I am not sure why they felt it necessary to debate about it.) At any rate, Judah and I decided to put them on the spot when the time for questions came. So we asked the panel to address the difference as they perceived it between civil (or constitutional) rights, and natural (or inalienable) rights such as the founders spoke of in the Declaration of Independence. We pointed out that Article 1 Sec.25 of the Pennsylvania Constitution states clearly that the rights codified in that Article are (quote) “excepted out of the general powers of government and shall for ever remain inviolate.”

Mr. Goldberg replied that since the 1920s the courts have operated under the assumption that rights are granted by the Constitution, not by a higher power. He did have the honesty to add that the founders would not have agreed with that position. I’d call that redefinition.

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Another common technique for taking away freedoms is distraction. This one involves incremental attacks at a time when the people are distracted by other issues to the point where they may not notice the encroachment. With the frantic pace of life in America today, that’s not hard to do. Many think that the enumeration of a given right in the Bill of Rights should be sufficient protection against such an attempt; that while the state may succeed in individual cases to deny a citizen certain rights, it could not become standard practice while those rights are protected by the Constitution. But the chief danger in this case lies in the precedent formed. When a right has been repeatedly denied without repercussions, the denial of that right takes on the color, and in many cases, the force, of law.

Perhaps the best example of this is the current state of property rights in America. You know, for years my parents were regular attendees at meetings of the Concord Township Board of Supervisors. Every time it was the same. More landowners asking permission to subdivide, or build, or you name it. Every so often my mom’s American blood would reach boiling temperature, and she’d stand up and remind the Board that the property in question didn’t belong to them. Do you know something? Not once can I recall another person in the audience agreeing with her. Not once! Why? They were too busy, too distracted, to consider the danger of a community taking a “proactive position” on land development. “What’s the big deal?”

Last year Concord Township hired a planning firm to design a town center overlay. The purpose of this district was to “preserve” a bunch of run-down homes from the 1940’s and to prevent the “ugly” kind of commercial development from occurring in Concordville. Of course, property values dropped over the affected area. Two landowners lost potential commercial buyers when the new zoning proposal was announced. Guess what?

Two landowners suddenly discovered that it was a violation of their rights for the township to tell them what they could do with their property. Two landowners suddenly were advocating individual property rights instead of community rights. Problem was, they were too late. The time to speak up was thirty years ago! These men had been in meetings before when mom told the Supervisors they were out of order. Did they ever speak up and agree with her? No. And by the time their property rights were attacked, the precedent had been firmly established.

The current frontier of this issue is National Heritage Areas. All over the country huge corridors of land are being invisibly annexed by the Federal Government under the pretext of historic and environmental preservation. The Crossroads of the American Revolution National Heritage Area. The Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage Area. The Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail. The Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area. The Land Between the Rivers Southern Illinois National Heritage Area. The Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area. The St. Croix National Heritage Area. The Northern Neck National Heritage Area. The Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area. You know, I initially intended to list all the National Heritage Areas that are being considered in the last days of this Congress, but there are 31 of them! And don’t think they’re insignificant. So far over a dozen have been established around the country. One of them, the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, is Tennessee. Not in Tennessee, it actually encompasses the entire state.

If you take the time to read any one of the acts establishing these Heritage Areas, you will find that it amounts to federal zoning. How many of you have paid any attention to this development? How many of your neighbors know or care? Or is this a case of we the people being too distracted to notice that yet another layer is being added to the control of our property?

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Another way rights may be evaded by politicians involves the invention of a bogus “right” that effectively cancels the original right. This occurs in Article 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution. Sec. 1 of that article states that “All men are born equally free and independent, and have certain inherent and indefeasible rights, among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, of acquiring, possessing and protecting property … etc.”

Sec. 27 of the same article declares: “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment.” This beautiful sentiment directly contradicts the right of the owner of a given piece of the environment to possess and protect his property without interference.

How about “compassionate conservatism?” Consider the “right” of every child to have a first class education. There is hardly one politician in five hundred who would dare to question this “right.” It has become almost an icon of America. But consider: if you decline to fund this process out of your own pocket, you lose your home? There is a conflict between the two rights, and one of them has to give. Consequently, you no longer own your castle; you lease it from the state.

We can’t even scratch the surface of this problem tonight. Americans feel … notice they don’t believe any more … they feel that they have a right to health insurance, inexpensive drugs, and world class medical care. They have a right to free public preschools, healthy fast food, and a home to live in. They have a right to their job, even if they refuse to work for the wages offered. They have a right to express their feelings in whatever way strikes their fancy, no matter how offensive or corrupt those feelings are. They have a right to your wages to fund their retirement. They have a right to a beautiful, quiet neighborhood to retire in. In short, they feel entitled to enjoy all the things that our forefathers worked for, and much more, only without the work. They even have a right to be warned of every possible mishap that could occur in the course of their lives, just in case they should forget to think for themselves.

Yet these same Americans cheerfully submit to the violation of their 2nd and 4th amendment rights every time they walk into the county courthouse. Like good citizens, they throw away their water bottles before boarding a plane, or bring their dad’s gun to the police in exchange for a hundred dollars and the firm conviction that their street just got a little bit safer. And all along, they thank their lucky stars they were born in America!

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So far we’ve discussed three approaches that have been effective in nullifying or destroying our inalienable rights: redefinition, distraction and cancellation through the invention of other, bogus “rights.” But the favorite tactic of recent administrations is perhaps the most insidious. It involves linking a particular right in the public perception to some imminent danger that can be used to justify curtailing the right in question.

It is hardly necessary to go into detail with this one. Examples are literally everywhere. The right to financial privacy has been trumped by the risk of tax evasion. The right to privacy in our possessions has been trumped by the risk of food-borne disease. The right to keep and bear arms has been abridged for fear … we might exercise it! The right to a speedy and public trial by jury has given way to the urgent need to stop evil people before they kill us all. The right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures has succumbed to the risk of disorder in the event of a natural disaster. Our right to personal security has been subordinated to the risk of bio-terrorism.

If you think any of this is exaggerated, you need to go back and look at what happened in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. You need to read the laws and executive orders regarding the National Animal Identification System and the National ID Card. You need to pay attention when Newt Gingrich says the country will be forced to reexamine freedom of speech to meet the threat of terrorism. And you need to read the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Defense Authorization Act of 2007, both signed into law by our dear leader on October 17 of this year.

Representative Ron Paul apparently read these two pieces of legislation, unlike his colleagues. His assessment is that together they (and I quote) “officially allow for citizen concentration camp facilities …[and]… essentially wipe out Habeas Corpus.” Folks, that did not come from James Lloyd or some conspiracy theorist’s blog, nor did it come from a bleeding heart ACLU lawyer. That statement is the honest opinion of a Republican member of Congress.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the rights your Creator has given you, without exception, down to the most sacred rights of property, liberty, and life itself, are being denied by the state in the name of security. In their place you have been graciously allowed privileges; great privileges indeed when contrasted with those enjoyed by other nations, but privileges still! They may seem perfectly sufficient to a nation of zombies lounging in front of their entertainment centers, but they are useless for the protection of a free people.

So back to my earlier question: whose fault is this? Back in the Clinton years everyone knew: it was the Democrats’ fault! Of course! Well, we’ve had six years to learn how foolish that idea was. Conservatives are split these days. Some of them have, inexplicably, discovered a new level of trust in their leaders, and no longer see the harm in “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.” Others blame the Republican Party for selling out. Some blame F.D.R., or Woodrow Wilson, or Abraham Lincoln. Some throw the blame all the way back to our founding fathers. They have made the astonishing discovery that this nation was founded on a conspiracy; that the very founders who gave us the least intrusive government in modern history were secretly plotting to facilitate the establishment of an oligarchy of international bankers a century later.

And while we argue about who started it, our enemies are finishing it. There was a time when they might have feared to be exposed, but not anymore. They are confident, insolent, and arrogant, and not without cause. What reason do they have to fear an electorate that has consistently exhibited all the characteristics of sheep? The sense of the American people has been taken every two years for the past five decades, with surprisingly consistent results. Keep the economy booming and don’t let anyone hurt us. That is the sum total of what we expect from our government. Financial and national security.

It’s our fault.

Friends, the courts could not have succeeded in redefining our rights had we known what they were in the first place. Politicians could not have incrementally stolen our rights had we valued them enough to pay attention. They could not have foisted on us the benefits of welfare in exchange for the opportunities of freedom had we not been greedy enough to be tempted by our neighbor’s wealth. And they could not have induced a nation of free and brave men and women to surrender their liberty in exchange for the fleeting illusion of safety.

Abraham Lincoln once remarked that “you can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” Evidently he did not envision the future of the American people. A wise man once observed, “The trouble with lying is that you have to remember what you said.” Folks, that is no longer true in America. Our politicians no longer need to remember what they said. They simply need to say what their audience wants to hear. Why is it that a President can portray himself as a moderate conservative to win an election, drive forward with a socialist agenda for four years, remake himself into an extreme conservative to win the next election, and continue with the same socialist agenda without being universally cried down as a lying hypocrite? Simply because the American people don’t pay attention and/or don’t care. Granted, only about half of the voters spent their voice on him, but look who the other half voted for! Not much comfort there.

Yes, it’s our fault. We have turned our backs on God, forgotten or despised our forefathers, and sold our votes to the enemies of liberty for the promise of prosperity. Other generations have done their part to squander the blessings of liberty, but I believe the legal history of the last six years will some day be recognized as the end of the end of freedom in America. Unless God directly intervenes on our behalf, it’s over.

And why should that surprise us? Our Constitution was built on the foundation of self-government. Self-government requires discipline, and more importantly, it requires godliness. William Penn said, “Those who will not be ruled by God will be ruled by tyrants.” Just go to the mall this weekend. Take a moment to sit down and watch the crowd. Do they look capable of self-government? If you’re not convinced try a football game.

Does it sound desperate? Good. Maybe when we recognize the impossible nature of our situation we will finally ask God to name His conditions instead of trying to negotiate with Him. He’s done that already: “If my people, which are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Christian, the responsibility is yours. Do you love America enough to shut off the TV and call the family together for prayer? Do you love your children enough to do your part to give them a free country to live in? To hand this nation to our children as is, without a struggle, is murder! Don’t kid yourself. The Brave New World does not include room for faith in Jesus Christ and liberty and justice for all mankind.

Please don’t misunderstand me; God will take care of His Church. But we would do well to heed the warning of Mordecai to Queen Esther. Think not that you will escape. If you will not do your part, God will deliver His people another way. But do not expect to be included in that deliverance. As the German minister told Adolph Hitler, our concern is not for the church, but for the soul of our country. It is that concern that I pray God every one of you takes home tonight.

In closing: Repentance and prayer are the keys. If you won’t do that you might as well go home. Beyond that, I believe there are a few specific, practical things we can do as well.

First one is pay attention.

Second: (and only do this one if you are paying attention!) Vote! And as Howard Phillips so eloquently has said, rather than voting for the lesser of two evils, cast your vote in a way that honors God and let Him determine the outcome

Third: do stop telling everyone else to get out and vote. I’m serious. Very few people that I meet and talk to have a level of understanding that will be useful on Election Day. My sister told me one of her co-workers was so upset after the GOP got spanked last month that she openly advocated giving the President the authority to reject elected representatives that obstructed his agenda! Asked why she would support such a plan, she complained: “It’s obvious the checks and balances aren’t working anymore, so it’s time to do something different.” Excuse me? Seems to me the checks and balances worked surprisingly well last election, given all the tampering they’ve received. Do you really want folks like that voting?

Number four: educate yourself and others at every opportunity. Encourage others to pay close attention and analyze what they hear rather than simply believing it. This you can do all the time; there’s nothing to lose by having your greenie neighbor equally ticked off at the friendly face who’s lying to him.

Those of you who are parents, teach your children to wash their own brains. Fill their minds with the history of freedom and help them to appreciate it. Your children are already facing a tremendous surge of rank wickedness on one hand, and a multitude of counterfeit solutions to that wickedness on the other hand. It’s not going to get easier. Give them what they need to counter the attack.

Last, please don’t think that everything is OK. I said it earlier; I’ll say it again: every single right you think you have does not exist as far as your leaders are concerned. To surrender your rights willingly is stupidity, and to trust the leaders you give them up to is double stupidity. Trustworthy leaders don’t want your rights. Take the time to go online and scan the titles of legislation on the Thomas website. Legally speaking, you are not free and you are not safe.

I close with a quote from Patrick Henry.

“It is natural for a man to indulge in the illusions of hope. We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth – and to listen to the song of that siren until she transforms us into beasts. [But] is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.”
Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.