I have spent the last few months reading up on the Constitution and have learned a great deal. I now am looking at Ron Paul because he is all about saving the constitution and what our founding fathers wanted when they set it up. what I have learned about the Constitution is that it is not hard to understand like everyone seems to think. Eleanor's Brother Has written a great book on the Constitution that he hoped would be used in the schools to teach our children about it. I started with that and have read many other great books since then.
I have learned that The Constitution governs the government and the government governs the nation. It is important to understand that the Constitution is a set of instructions and rules for the government, not the people. It contains a limited number of powers for the federal government and all other powers automatically belong to the states and to the people. It was extremely important to establish the limits in writing because any government can easily become tyrannical.
I believe that our Government has become to big and to powerful because we have stopped the study of the constitution in our schools. What is being thought in the schools about it is distorted. I spoke to a teacher the other day that explained to me that the curriculum that they are to teach rewrites history. It is not correct and she refuses to use it.
The schools used to have the students read Common Sense by Thomas Pain it is a great book and every one should read it to get a better understanding of what was going on with the people as they were trying to ratify the constitution.
Ron Paul scares a lot of people with the changes he wants only because they do not understand the constitution. One of the main reasons we formed this great country was to rid ourselves of the tyranny of England and the International bankers. the founding Fathers were very clear that we were to never allow a private company or corp. to print our money and that it must be backed by gold or silver. They told us that is we ever did it would be the end of this republic.
Most people today don't even know that the federal Reserve is not even a part of the government. It is a private Corporation owned by the very same international bankers that we wanted to get away from. A great movie to get on this is America to fascism. It will open your eyes to a lot of things that every American should know. President John F Kennedy tried to warn use about the problems with the federal reserve and the IRS because once in office he found out what was really going on. To try and stop it he passed an Executive order that put the power of printing money back in the hands of congress. He had them print the silver certificates and me with the press with an incredible talk that I found in the archives were Kennedy tried to get the media to start printing and telling the truth. He wanted to shut down the The Federal Reserve but was shot shortly after that.
we now have a private company that can print money any time they want then lend it to our government at interest
and this paper no longer has gold or silver to back it so it is worthless paper. the way the Federal reserve gets their money back with interest is because they convinced our government to pass the a law to form the IRS. It is our Income tax that pays for the national debt that has accumulated since all this was passed. You see we think that our federal taxes are used for all these great programs that need to be paid for but the reality of it is that the first thing that our federal taxes go to first are to pay back the federal reserve debt. If there is anything left over then it is used for the other programs. We have been going further in debt every year since the forming of the federal reserve and will never get out of debt as long as it still exists. This is the very thing our founding fathers warned us against.
The other thing that has been so screwed up is our understanding of separation of state and church. We have allowed judges to V this so they could take prayer out the the schools and now they are even trying to take in God we trust off of our money, The founding fathers Knew the importance of Moral values for the Republic to work. Listen to what they said.
"...we have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." (John Adams, Oct 11, 1798)
In creating a new form of government, the founders agreed with Montesquieu's theory that the form of government chosen for a people must conform to their self-governing character. People that cannot govern themselves need a strong master; people that are capable of governing themselves do not need a strong master. Montesquieu claimed that every government is a reflection of the aggregate morality of its people. He taught that a people governed by a monarchy are controlled by honor or loyalty to the king. A people governed by a despotic ruler are controlled by fear. A people governed by a republic must be controlled by their own virtue. Virtue is determined by individual character. In other words, people with less self-control need more external control; people with more self-control do not need much external control.
In bestowing a republican government upon the United States, the framers understood that there were risks involved. The main risk was whether the people could maintain a “republican” character over an extended period of time. Shortly after the Constitutional Convention, when asked what type of government we have, Benjamin Franklin responded, "A republic, if you can keep it." Robert Winthrop stated that this people must be governed either by a power within or a power without, by the Bible or by the bayonet. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, insisted that in order for us to maintain our republican form of government, the populace must be taught religion and morality in the schools.
Thomas Paine taught that conscience is an essential part of this self-governing ability. He put it this way:
"For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver;" (Common Sense, p. 65, see also Galatians 3:24, Isaiah 28:10)" (The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution by Joseph Andrews)
Another important thing that Joseph wrote in his book really is important to understand.
"RIGHTS VERSUS RESPONSIBILITIES
Our Constitution is actually composed of two parts: responsibilities and rights. Responsibilities are underlying duties associated with our form of government and rights are the protections afforded to us by the Constitution. Most of the time when people hear the word "constitution" they immediately think of a tool that can help them get their way in court. This is very ironic because the Constitution is mainly a document based on responsibilities. Very little of the Constitution is based on rights. The word right is only mentioned once in the body of the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights was originally meant to only protect our three basic inalienable rights from federal abuse. The Constitution originally left an enormous amount of power to the people and the states; along with this power came the responsibilities to use it wisely. It was designed to be a simple document that granted a few basic powers to the federal government and assumed that all the other powers would remain local.
The Constitution itself uses the words “privileges” in lieu of the word “rights.” A privilege is a particular advantage or benefit enjoyed by a person or group beyond the common advantages of other citizens. For instance, originally, voting was a privilege reserved for those who demonstrated responsibility by owning property or attaining of a certain age. A right is a just claim common to all citizens such as the three inalienable rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence. The framers believed that a society that focused on responsibilities would automatically secure rights.
When I first began teaching the Constitution, I focused on the rights aspect of the document. I soon found that this was a mistake because the document is worthless without an understanding of our responsibility to be self-governing. Now I stress the responsibility aspect of the document and, secondarily, the rights aspect. Of all the other countries on earth, our government requires the most of its people. Our form of government is a "do-it-yourself" form of government where the people are required to play important parts in all three branches of government through voting and jury duty. It is similar to going to the department store and buying a do-it-yourself kit to build a piece of furniture in lieu of something that is pre-fabricated. The do-it-yourself furniture kit requires that you read the manual and sacrifice your time to put it together. Our government will only work if the people read the Constitution and actively participate. Learning American character is something one acquires by effort; not something that one is born with.
John F. Kennedy once stated, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." The founders would have probably phrased it like this: "Don't ask your country to do anything for you that you or your community can do for yourselves.""
I believe that unless we the people of this great country start understanding our constitution and defending it we will no longer have a republic and we will fall to the powerful people that would have us become a new world order run by the very elite. We have a government that we have allowed to get off course and has become too powerful. A power our founding father never wanted.
I believe now that maybe Ron Paul is someone we should think about.
If you want to learn more about him go to
Candidates@Google: Ron Paul
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=RonPaul2008dotcom
3 comments:
Coincidentally, Gary had invited me to his blog a few days before I created my own. He has this comment on his blog, and I asked him to post it here as well. This is the comment that I left regarding his post: I think it pretty much sums up why Romney is my candidate of choice, (although I'm still not sure if I'll vote for him) ... see my comment to the previous post by Phil "Why I'm voting for Romney" as to why...
Gary, a few comments on your post:
It is true that the government completely ignores the constitution now days, and that is very sad. That is the main reason why Ron Paul has so much appeal to me, is that is one of the only politicians that votes based on the constitution, and not as much what he wants passed as his personal agenda.
It is sad that the constitution is not being taught in the schools anymore, many may think that some kind of a law is needed to mandate the teaching of the constitution in public schools. I believe that would be the wrong approach. (I’m not sure if you had a solution in mind).
The only approach that I think would be productive is eliminating the federal dept of education, and leave education up to states or even local communities. The reason why the public school system is so messed up in the first place is the federal government and large bureaucracies messing with it in the first place. (Ron Paul also wants to eliminate the dept of education, which is a power that the constitution NEVER allows).
With regard to the Federal Reserve, I guess I don’t understand how eliminating the federal reserve and going back to a gold or silver standard would help. I don’t think it’s really feasible to resort back to a gold or silver standard now, is it? I strongly agree that the budget needs to be balanced, and government needs to spend far less, but the interest has to be paid on borrowed money, even by the government, or else our money really would be worthless paper.
With regard to separation of church and state: I agree, if you look at the writings of the founders, they were God fearing men, and understood how important morality is for a free government, and that virtue and democracy means nothing without the other.
The question then becomes, how can that be implemented, if at all? I would disagree with a federal mandate that religion must be taught in schools, but again, I think that that is something that should be decided on a state, or even better, a community level, (or even just left up to the teacher). It seems to me though, that the root of the problem is far from whether or not morality and religion is taught in schools. The problem is that for the most part people are more and more making immoral choices. They are choosing to ignore values, to cheat, lie, steal… After all, you’re kind of weird these days if you don’t try to cheat on your taxes somehow (as one example). Politics, religion, moral issue just aren’t important compared to the new movie that just came out, or what Brittany Spears is up to. Unfortunately, we have seen a common theme throughout history of nations becoming prosperous, and then forgetting about moral values, which eventually leads do their downfall. Even so, morality and virtue is something that needs to come from individuals themselves. No government or mandate can force people on their morality either way. As I see it, the only thing we can do is try to educate other people, (like this blog), and be good examples, (applies directly to missionary work).
This is one of the reasons why I am very strongly in favor of much smaller government (like the constitution was written for). With large government, why should you care about politics, or figuring out how to take care of yourself? The government will just take care of everything for you. What is the new big promise that we always hear now on the political ads: “I promise to do X, Y, and Z without raising taxes!” “Free health care for everyone, with no new taxes!” Wow, apparently now the government is even magic! They create something out of nothing!
This sort of thinking really hinders self-reliance, which, I believe to be strongly connected to good morals. Liberty does have a price. In a monarchy, or even a socialist government, we don’t have to worry about a thing. Someone else takes care of everything for you.
I agree with you that, for me, Ron Paul is the only one that really wants to reduce government at all. The others only disagree with the pace or direction that it should grow.
Very true, and very well put:
John F. Kennedy once stated, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." The founders would have probably phrased it like this: "Don't ask your country to do anything for you that you or your community can do for yourselves."
As far as teaching the Constitution in school I am not for making it a law. Maybe the first step is for the parents to get educated on the constitution first and then start passing what they learn on to their children. If we got the government out of the public schools then teachers would have more choices as to what they want to teach.
I like what Ron Paul has to say about this. He said;
“The federal government does not own our children. Yet we act as if it does by letting it decide when, how, and what our children will learn. We have turned their futures over to lobbyists and bureaucrats.
I support giving educational control back to parents, who know their children better than any politician in D.C. ever will.
The federal government has no constitutional authority to fund or control schools. I want to abolish the unconstitutional, wasteful Department of Education and return its functions to the states. By removing the federal subsidies that inflate costs, schools can be funded by local taxes, and parents and teachers can directly decide how best to allocate the resources.”
I think that this is another one of those things that would be best handled on a state or city level and keep the Federal government out. Ron Paul points out an interesting fact:
“Many parents have already shown their desire to be free of federal control by either enrolling their children in private schools or homeschooling them. And students enrolled in these alternatives have consistently performed better and tested higher than those in state-run schools.
Years of centralized education have produced nothing but failure and frustrated parents. We can resurrect our public school system if we follow the Constitution and end the federal education monopoly. “
So I agree with you on the education issue.
Now about the Federal Reserve
Not only do I think we can revert back to the Gold and Silver but feel it is the only way we will ever gain back control of our government and put the power back in the hands of the people. You really need to understand what the Federal Reserve is all about before that is going to make any sense.
John Adams said “All the perplexities, confusions, and distresses in America arise, not from defects in the Constitution or confederation, not from want of honor or virtue, as much as from downright ignorance of the nature of coin, credit, and circulation.”
And Daniel Webster said, speaking of currency “it is this great subject, so interesting, so vital, to all classes of the community, which has been destined to feel the most violent assault of executive power.”
It has been said that the root of all evil is money, but I say the root of our money evil is government. The very beginning of our trouble can be traced to the day when the federal government overstepped its proper defensive function and began to manipulate the monetary system to accomplish political objectives.
The formation of the Federal Reserve Board made it possible for the first time in America for men to arbitrarily change the value of our money. Before that the value was determined by the natural interplay of the free market. (Supply and demand)
This was a plan that was well thought out by the very same international bankers our founding fathers were trying to get us away from.
The problem with this corrupted monetary system is that it grants unlimited power to incur debt. When the government could only pay its debts with Gold and Silver coin or with goods and services of an equal value, and when it could not obtain these except through taxation and borrowing, its credit was subject to close scrutiny and creditors would not lend more than they believed could be repaid.
Thus the redeemable currency put a definite limit on the power of the government to borrow. When it attempts to borrow in excess of its credit, the value of its obligations declines in the market place. If the decline continues, creditors cease to loan except as a discount which is so high, that the attempt to borrow is rendered futile.
But when a government has the power to print unlimited quantities of paper money with which to pay its debts, creditors have little fear of lending or collecting. This removes virtually all restraints on the power of our government to borrow. This is why since the great depression the national debt has gone through the roof.
The international bankers that now run this country new that the have an incredible money making machine. Because of the Hugh apatite for power and control they set up this Federal Reserve so they could lend money to us at interest and make a killing. To improve on that they new if they could not have to back the money they were printing with gold or silver they could make even more money and money buys power. The power they needed to gain control of our government. At one point the people of this country figured out how corrupt this was and started to consume and hold gold for their private ownership.
Know and fearing that this would cause a parallel monetary system dealing in the private exchange of gold or credit against gold instead of government paper money our government passed a law requiring everyone to turn in there gold and making it illegal to hold gold except in the form of jewelry of coins. Since there was no way for the federal Government to force foreign investors to accept American dollars, or international credit based upon American dollars, land since they surly would not do so if there was no gold to back it, the new law applied only to American citizens. That’s right; Americans were forced to abandon any claim to gold behind their paper money. We could no longer turn in our notes for gold, but foreign holders of these dollars are still entitled to “cash in” for gold if they wish and at full price too.
Here is the problem we face today. During and since WWII our leaders in Washington have seen fit to give away to other nations billions of dollars. Much of this money has found its way back to our country, not in the form of purchases for American goods, but in the form of international credits which can at any time be converted into demands for gold.
The pending economic crisis that we face in America today is painfully obvious to me. We know that these foreign holders are getting very nervous about the situation here and with are economy. The value of the dollar continues to decrease and investors are beginning to get very nervous. If even a fraction of potential foreign claims against our gold supply were presented to the treasury, we would have to renege on our promise. We would be forced to repudiate our currency on the would market. Foreign investors who would be left holding the bag with American dollars would dump them at tremendous discounts in return for more stable currencies or for gold, itself. The American dollar both abroad and at home, would suffer the loss of public confidence. If the government can renege on its international promises, what would prevent it from doing the same here? How really secure would be government guarantees behind FHA loans, Government bonds, and Social Security?
As in Germany and other nations that have previously traveled this road, American citizens would rush and convert their worthless paper money into tangible material goods which could be used as barter. We would have uncontrolled Inflation and could see even a loaf of bread going for $100. Our nation could plunge into the deepest depression we have ever seen.
The question uppermost in the minds of everyone familiar with the foregoing facts is “How can we prevent this from happening?” As Ezra Taft Benson said in his book called “An Enemy Hath Done This” We should get a hold on ourselves, come to our senses, and stop adding to our intoxication and FACE THE MUSIC!”
As a nation we need to stop giving away money to foreign nation as though we had it to give. We need to abolish the Federal Reserve that is draining use dry with debt and start paying off that debt. We should in turn get rid of the IRS and go back to letting the states collect taxes for the programs they need to fund that have been voted on by the people. This would put Hugh amounts of money back into the hands of all of us and we would be able to spend more in our markets and this would stimulate or economy. We should stop the federal government from deficit spending. Government needs to be reduced and let’s get back to what our inspired founding fathers envisioned for us. For five hundred years we were the example of the whole world. We were the exporters and manufactures of the world and that is why we were called the land of opportunity. I believe we could be that again but we need to take some hard steps in the right direction before that will happen.
I agree with everyting Gary said except for what he said about seperation of church and state. And the gold standard(even though he makes an excellent argument). Everything else is spot on and I appreciate what he is doing to make America a better place.
Many Americans have the mistaken misconception that the Judeo Christain ethic = morality. There are a lot of athiests with more morals than people who call themselves Christians. I don't see why government can't be limited to it's obvious functions, then people can have the freedom to follow their own individual beliefs without always having to be reminded of christianity by their government. If someone wants to pray at school in their own way on their own time nothing should prohibit them, just don't try and force everyone else to join in.
I aggree with what Tomas Pain said: "For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver;" but not what Benjamin Rush's idea that christianity should be taught in schools. The govenment has no place trying to influence an individual's beliefs! That kind of thinking is very dangerous.
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