More Thoughts Related to the US Constitution
Thomas Allen
Below are discussed the underlying principle of the US Constitution, two views of the Constitution, a government of, by, and for the people, and the meaning of the phrase “all men are created equal” in the Declaration of Independence.
US Constitution
The United States Constitution is (or at least originally was) an agreement among the several States, which created the US government to serve as an agent of States. It is not a contract or agreement between the State and the US government. Unfortunately, the US government has usurped the powers of the States and has subordinated the States to its will. Consequently, the US government has become the master, and the creators, the several States, the servants.
An analogy of the United States is a partnership. The partners agree to hire an attorney to represent them in specific legal matters. Then, the attorney expands the powers that the partners had delegated him until he becomes the overlord of the partnership. Moreover, the attorney refuses to allow any of the partners to leave the partnership. This illustrates what has happened to the United States and their constitution.
Two Views of the Constitution
In Northern Rebellion and Southern Secession (1904), E. W. R. Ewing describes two views of the US Constitution:
The Democratic Party, led by Thomas Jefferson, held that “sovereignty could exist alone in its source”; and that the people of the respective States were this source; and that the people could act only through conventional power; that the Federal Government was a municipality, the creature of the people of the several State organizations; that the Constitution had been established as the “guide, and standard, and rule of legislation, executive and judicial authority and functions.” The Federal party, led by the elder Adams, admitted that the people of the States were the original source of sovereignty, but contended that they had delegated that sovereignty to the Federal Government, and that under the Constitution, Congress now had national sovereignty (page 28).With the election of Lincoln and the Republicans, the Federalist view of sovereignty became dominant and has remained dominant to this day. Rare is a politician, especially at the Federal level, who holds the Jeffersonian view of sovereignty.
Government of, by, and for the People
Politicians, teachers, and others never tire of telling us that we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Further, they tell us that the people are the masters, and the government (politicians and bureaucrats) are the servants.
What a pack of lies! What a pack of liars! We do not have a government of, by, and for the people: We have a government of, by, and for politicians and bureaucrats. Moreover, the government is the master, and the people are the servants — or, perhaps more correctly, the slaves.
Proof. Masters have the right to know what their servants are doing when they are performing their jobs. Servants do not have the right to know what their master is doing. Does the government have secret information that it keeps from the people? Yes. Does the government claim that it has the right to know what the people are doing? Yes. Does the government spy on the people and otherwise collect and compile private information about the people? Yes. Therefore, politicians and bureaucrats are the masters and the people are the servants. Consequently, we have a government of, by, and for the politicians and the bureaucrats.
If we had a government of, by, and for the people and if the people were the masters, then the government would have no secrets. The people would have access to all the information that the government has. They would know everything that politicians and bureaucrats did in doing their jobs. Nothing would be classified as secret, top-secret, etc. Black budgets would not exist. Spying on the masters would be a crime. The government would do what the people wanted instead of doing what the politicians and bureaucrats wanted.
“All Men Are Created Equal”
The clause “all men are created equal” occurs in the Declaration of Independence. Liberals and neoconservatives believe that this clause is the defining principle of the United States. In light of this clause, the US Constitution should be understood and interpreted. Moreover, the United States have a moral obligation to spread equality across the globe by force if necessary.
However, what does “equality” mean in this clause? Liberals and neoconservatives disagree. Liberals focus more on the outcome whereas neoconservatives focus more on the opportunity. Both are convinced that it refers to political, economic, and social equality. Yet, does this clause refer to political, economic, and social equality?
Jefferson, who is credited with being the author of the Declaration of Independents, took the phrase “all men are created equal” from Locke. Locke used the phrase to mean men are equal in their liberty; that is, all men have a natural right to equality in liberty. Jefferson intended the phrase to be understood as Locke understood it. This understanding is clear when the phrase is read in the context of the Declaration of Independence in its entirety. Neither Jefferson nor Locke intended this equality to mean that all men are or should be equal politically, economically, or socially. Furthermore, they did not intend for it to mean equality of opportunity, condition, or outcome. Thus, the phrase means that all men are entitled to liberty. It does not mean that they are entitled to political equality (democracy), economic equality (socialism, communism), or social equality (integration, amalgamation).
Copyright © 2021 by Thomas Coley Allen.
No comments:
Post a Comment