The Constitution

"Our perculiar security is in the possession of a written Constitution. Let us not make it a blank paper by construction."

-- Thomas Jefferson

"A Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. LIberty, once lost, is lost forever."

-- John Adams

The United States Constitution weighs in at a slim 4400 words. The brilliance of the document is that it recognizes that human beings possess inalienable natural rights simply in virtue of their humanity. The government does not grant human beings rights. The Constitution, simply stated, is a simple instruction manual for a free republic with a limited government.

The Constitution specifically enumerates the powers of Congress (Article I, Section 8), the President (Article II, Sections 2 and 3), and the Supreme Court (Article III, Section 2). If a power is not specifically enumerated in these sections, then the federal government does NOT possess that power. It is that simple. This is succinctly stated in the Tenth Amendment: "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."

The Constitution,the Bill of Rights, and other key Amendments to the Constitution recognize familiar rights including freedom of speech and religion (First Amendment), the right to bear arms (Second Amendment), the right against unreasonable searches and seizures (Fourth Amendment), the right against self-incrimination (Fifth Amendment), the right to a speedy and public trial (Sixth Amendment), the right against cruel and unusual punishment (Eighth Amendment), the right against being enslaved (Thirteenth Amendment), etc. However, the point which is often missed is that the federal government does not grant these rights but rather recognizes that these are natural rights that we possess in virtue of our humanity. Another point which is also often missed is that the rights specifically stated in the Constitution are not the only rights that we as Americans possess. This is stated in the Ninth Amendment: "The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people."

The bottom line is simple. If something that the federal government wants to do is not listed among the enumerated powers, then it cannot do it. While those such as Congressman Pete Stark believe that the federal government "can do most anything in this country," this is poppycock, to put it mildly. The mission of this blog is to examine current events in these important times through the prism of freedom and natural rights and with an eye to the Constitution.