Montana Woods N Water July 2016 Print Edition | Page 12

PATRIOT

The Constitution – Have we lost it ? By Robert Pierson

Is the Constitution just an old piece of paper , or is it something more ? Many people in our country now have no idea what it says nor what their rights , as citizens are . The Bill of Rights ( the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution ) list some of the rights we have as a result of our humanity . Many would say they are given to us by our Creator , and that said , they cannot be taken away by any person or government .
The republican form of government ( NOT A DEMOCRACY !), is unique in world history . Only the Romans had anything similar . All other governments are / have been some type of oligarchy , or rule by a few , who consider themselves better than everyone else and dictate to their subjects what they can and cannot do , and how they can do it . In other words they give you your rights , which means they can take them away .
Our Constitution was set up to protect the rights given to us by God , rights to Life , Liberty , and the Pursuit of Happiness ( property ). The Bill of Rights lay out what some of these rights are , but the basic idea is you have a right to your stuff , and the right to protect it .
So to look at this from a less cumbersome perspective , consider a caveman ( Barney ), and his family , and no government ! They hunt , kill , gather and process stuff . They make clothes , footwear , utensils , etc . Does another caveman ( the government ?) have the right to take their stuff ? NO ! And Barney has the right to defend his stuff and his family . But , where Barney ' s rights end is where someone else ' s rights begin . You don ' t have the right to take any of Barney ' s stuff either .
Now we throw in government . The Declaration of Independence states the government was instituted to protect these rights !. Do you think they are doing that ? The money you earn is your stuff . Do they have the right to steal it , and give it to someone else ? Do they have the right to force your children to attend their schools , to use your tax dollars to support abortion , to force you to buy health insurance ? Does it seem to you that the Constitution is no longer being followed by anyone in leadership in government ? Who is responsible for this mess ? What can be done about it ?
First let us consider that the Constitution is designed for a moral people , the majority of whom believe they will answer to their creator for what they have done ?
Second , I will say that the citizens of this country , past and present , are responsible for the mess we are in . Have we read the Constitution and taught it to our children ? The government schools won ' t teach it . Do we take a little time from NASCAR and Dancing with the Stars to listen or read about freedom issues , or to truly analyze candidates that are running , looking into their background . Do we even vote ?
The other piece of this is the absence of our churches in teaching morality and ethical behavior . It was John Adams whom I paraphrased above concerning a moral people . Does your church teach morality and the Constitution ? Why not ? The republican form of government came directly out of the Bible . The government is not concerned about morality . The Bible gave us the 10 Commandments . We need to get back to them .
With an invigorated moral and ethical foundation , led by our churches , we will see our way back to adherence to the Constitution !
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