233 years ago the founders of this nation started a rebellion against tyranny. They didn't want glory, they didn't want power, they didn't want all other national leaders to like them or respect them. The wanted to be free. They no longer wanted the fruits of their labors to be confiscated by a government that did not represent them or their interests.
They created the Constitution and the Bill Of Rights specifically to LIMIT the power and size of the federal government and EMPOWER the individual, for they knew well the dangers of too much power residing in one place.
The created the three branches - Executive, Legislative and Judicial - so that there would be checks and balances against abuse of power. They established the free press to keep the people informed about the actions of their elected officials.
Think about this in the context of today's society. One party controls the Legislative and Executive Branches. The most recent nominee to the Supreme Court does not believe that a judge's role is to enforce law, but rather to set policy (the role of the legislature!) and she places race and gender above the rule of established law. The free press nearly unanimously dotes on the president, and the lone network who dares to levy criticism (Fox News) is made the punchline of a joke that isn't funny.
With the stance of the president very weakly denouncing the oppression of the Iranian people, and resoundingly against the constitutional uprising in Honduras, he has placed his foreign policy squarely at odds with the rule of law and constitutional freedom. What does this say about his deisigns for America?
Thomas Jefferson said "When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people there is liberty."
On this Independence Day, in which direction are we headed?
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