You hear it constantly from the media, you hear it from your fiends, you hear it from the teachers in public schools, you even hear it from our elected officials. “America is a democracy.”
No, it is not. That is a falsehood that is so prevalent that nobody ever questions it.
We are a Republic. So what you might say. You’re just parsing words. I don’t think so. There is a fundamental difference between a democracy and a republic. Our founding fathers did not want the mob rule of democracy. In a democracy the people vote on the governing of the country and 50% is all that is required to pass, the mob rules. In a republic the people elect representatives to govern for them. This is a significant difference because now a few govern in the place of the many so that the mob rule effect is diminished. The founding fathers did not stop there, they added a second layer to check the representatives, the Senate. The Senate was envisioned to represent the States interests not the interests of the people of the State. The people did not elect the Senators, they were elected by the State legislatures. Each state had equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House.
Now we come to a long forgotten out of date document that the government disregarded a long time ago; the Constitution. This ancient document was intended to set the parameters of the Federal Government. It listed specific obligations and responsibilities of the Federal government. Each branch was broken down and their respective scope of powers were laid out. Next we have the Bill of Rights, or the first ten amendments to the Constitution. These were adopted immediately and the Constitution would not have passed with out them.
Amendment 10: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
What does that mean? It is plain language, not some 2000+ page monstrosity that even a lawyer would have trouble understanding. It simply says that the Federal Government can do only what the Constitution says it can. All other powers are reserved to the States and the people. What article of the Constitution spells out the scope of the Department of Education? Where do I find the article giving authority to the government to regulate firearms? Where is the ‘Separation of Church and State’ defined? Where can I find the authority to grant a privately owned entity the power to print and regulate money? Maybe I am dense, maybe I am obtuse, maybe I am just an uneducated right wing extremist. Please enlighten me.
Our founding fathers took great pains to ensure that the founding documents could be easily read and understood by any one with an education equivalent to a High School diploma. Compare the wording of the Declaration, or the Constitution to just this one little snippet from the healthcare bill:
(1) IN GENERAL- The Administration shall be headed by a Health Choices Commissioner (in this division referred to as the `Commissioner') who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(2) COMPENSATION; ETC- The provisions of paragraphs (2), (5), and (7) of subsection (a) (relating to compensation, terms, general powers, rulemaking, and delegation) of section 702 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 902) shall apply to the Commissioner and the Administration in the same manner as such provisions apply to the Commissioner of Social Security and the Social Security Administration.
Huh? What? This is two small paragraphs of a 2000+ page law. The whole constitution is less the 40 pages with all the amendments and the Declaration of Independence!
God Bless America, and with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
No comments:
Post a Comment