Text from my remarks on Constitution Day
by Rob Roper
There are a couple of things we hear a lot today in political speeches, on the Sunday morning talk shows, and in letters to the editor in our local papers. One is that we are in danger of losing our democracy!… And another is that “authoritarianism” or some version of it — fascism is an equally popular term — is just around the corner.
I won’t say that either of these warnings isn’t a valid concern given that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance, as Thomas Jefferson instructed us. But I will say, if you are worried about either or both of these predictions coming to fruition, the best thing you can do is understand, celebrate, embrace, and enforce the letter and the spirit of the most amazing, timeless, governing document in human history, the United States Constitution.
Now, about losing our democracy. The democratic republic we as a nation have and built over the last two and half-ish centuries – one that has done more to advance the causes human freedom, human rights, human prosperity than any other in the history of human civilization — is the result of fidelity to to our Constitution and the principles that make up its foundation – limited government, separation and decentralization of political powers, individual rights, and equality of all citizens before the law. Where and when we are in fact in danger of “losing our democracy,” it is because we are more and more straying from those principles set forth in our Declaration of Independence and abandoning the safeguards put in place to preserve them in our Constitution.
So, if you want to save “our democracy” – and by that I mean our unique and exceptional republic that Benjamin Franklin warned us we would need to work to keep. If we want to save these blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity, the best thing you can do is to protect and preserve our Constitution. Insist that its boundaries, checks and balances be enforced by the people we elect. They all swear an oath to uphold the Constitution. But it’s our job as citizens to make sure they live up to that oath. There’s a reason the document starts out with “We the people.” That’s where the buck starts, and that’s where the buck ultimately stops.
Now, about authoritarianism. If you’re really worried about the possibility of living under an increasingly authoritarian government, well, The US Constitution is probably the most anti-authoritarian document ever produced to govern a nation. Be grateful for it!
After all, what is authoritarianism? It is a system of government in which the government – not the individual citizens, the government – has the ultimate authority to make decisions about how we act and allocate resources. But look at Bill of Rights in our Constitution. It’s basically a very long and comprehensive list of everything the government does NOT have the authority to do.
The First Amendment could just as easily read, “Congress does not have the authority to make laws abridging freedom of speech or of the press.” Congress does not have the authority to make laws regarding how citizens worship, or with whom we chose to associate.
Our politicians do not have the authority to prohibit us from keeping and bearing arms.
They do not have the authority to invade the security of our persons, our homes, our papers without just cause. They do not have the authority to deprive us of life, liberty, or property without due process of law…. Or inflict upon us cruel and unusual punishments.
The list goes on. And even beyond the list the 9th Amendment might as well say, just to be safe, anything we left out here by accident, well, Congress doesn’t have the authority to do that either. And thanks to the 14th Amendment, these rules apply to our state lawmakers as well as federal.
So, if you are concerned that authoritarianism – or a government dictatorship or fascism… whatever you want to call it — is a looming threat to our democracy and way of life, the US Constitution is your shield and your sword. Pick it up and use it!
However, if you’re in favor of the government being the ultimate decider… of, say, what kind of car people can drive… how you’re allowed to heat your home in winter… what your kids learn in school… What speech is allowed to be published and distributed in public forums, and what speech should be punished… even down to what kind of bag you’re allowed to use at the grocery store and what kind of light bulbs you’re allowed to buy…. Well then, be careful, because you just might be the very authoritarian — or fascist or dictatorial — threat we’ve all been hearing so much about, and the US Constitution is not your friend. Because, I’ll say it again, the most anti-authoritarian governing document for a nation the world has ever seen is US Constitution – as it is written.
But what is the US Constitution but words on a page. So fragile, in fact, that it has to be kept in a special high tech container in the National Archives or else it would just turn to just dust and blow away in the wind.
That ink and parchment has no power of its own. The rights and principles that our constitution speaks to only exist to the extent that we as a people and a culture want and are willing to hold those values in our hearts, live those values in our lives, infuse those values into our communities, and teach these values to the next generation.
Clearly we need to do a better job of this. And doing that job is up to us. We the people.
So, I will end my thoughts today with a proposal. It’s not my own, and I don’t remember where I originally heard it, but I think it’s a good one. And it is this: When school children stand up first thing in the morning, look at our flag, and put their hands on their hearts – instead of the Pledge of Allegiance, let’s have them recite the Preamble to our Constitution.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish [our] Constitution for the United States of America.
Because before we should ask anyone to pledge loyalty to a flag – what is a flag? — we need to do our job of teaching and explaining what they are really pledging loyalty to. The United States is unique in that we were founded upon an idea – that we are all created equal with certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. What we are pledging allegiance to is those principles – not our government, regardless of what it does. Or politicians regardless of what they do. Or a particular political party or political leader – but those principles and that idea.
Our constitution is the mechanism through which we attempt to live up to that idea – “more perfectly.” We’ll never be perfect, as the document itself in its wisdom recognizes, but its promise is that we can be a more perfect nation today than we were yesterday, and more perfect nation tomorrow than we are today. That has been the true history – the observable path — of our nation from its birth to the present, and this is precisely because of our great Constitution, not in spite of it. It can be our future too if, as Ben Franklin challenged us, we can keep it.
Rob Roper is a freelance writer with 20 years of experience in Vermont politics including three years service as chair of the Vermont Republican Party and nine years as President of the Ethan Allen Institute, Vermont’s free market think tank.
Categories: Commentary
Until there are some kinds of consequences for violating our Constitution by these unscrupulous politicians then it is a document that means nothing. Violations of the Constitution or the Bill of Rights should carry the most severe punishment. Any violation of the Constitution erodes our system of being a representative republic.
This was the ruling of The United States Supreme Court shortly after the “civil war” in Ex parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 2 (1866) which yet stands to this day: “Neither the legislature nor any executive or judicial officer may disregard the provisions of the constitution in case of emergency…
“Section 98 therefore, anyone who declares the suspension of constitutionally guaranteed rights (tor freely assemble, earn a living, freely worship, etc.) and or attempts to enforce such suspension within 50 independent, sovereign, continental United States of America is making war against our constitution(s) and, therefore, we the people. They violate their constitutional oath and, thus, immediately forfeit their office and authority and their proclamations may be disregarded with impunity and that means ANYONE, even the governor or President.
Thankyou Rob,a very excellent and well written and said,article ,keep up the good work,making it known what the Constitution is therefore and encouraging people to use it,, Representative Charles Wilson
The Constitution is key to freedom and liberty. Any attempt to suspend it, even temporarily is an assault on this most precious document. Sasha Latypova in her Substack post of today asserts the following:
The State of War:
“Public Health Emergency” declaration
suspends the Constitution, consolidates
all power in the Executive branch (HHS)
The Weapons:
EA Countermeasures purchased by
US DOD under Defense Production and
Other Transaction Authority
The Shield:
2005 PREP Act removes liability for
“covered persons” using”covered
countermeasureson condition of
following orders of “health”authorities
= license to kill
Therefore we must cancel the Prep Act.
If we want people to be correctly informed shouldn’t we rightly call our United States of America a “Constitutional Republic?”
In repeatedly calling our United States of America a democracy, I believe we downplay the fact that our US Constitution is our Supreme Foundational Law; and if correctly respected, is to be fully adhered to without any exceptions by any person, elected or otherwise.
I believe that the article is in fact well written but it uses the wrong and I mean wrong words because by definition DEMOCRACY is mob rule. To equate our Republic, not a democratic republic but a REPUBLIC as any kind of democracy is just wrong. (It does not appear in the constitution at all) We the people are in charge only if we exert our rights to be basically left alone from government intrusion. Natural law has simple things that being No crime if no one was harmed. We have forgotten that. I invite all to join as I have to the National Liberty Alliance
https://www.nationallibertyalliance.org.
They will teach you how to take back our country w/o violence by as Trump states, “Using the LAW” to stop them.
Yes, I know it seems tedious but, in fact BECAUSE of our (mostly everyone except a few of us) lack of diligence with our freedom and expressing our rights the people in DC and or capitol have forgotten or are ignoring who they work for, US.
jamesvitolanese; There is a punishment for the treason they are doing, it is called DEATH.
* In the United States, both federal and state laws prohibit treason. According to the federal definition in Article III, Section 3 of the United States Constitution, treason is defined as “only in levying War against [the United States], or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort” 1. The penalty for treason under U.S. Code Title 18 is death or not less than five years’ imprisonment (with a minimum fine of $10,000, if not sentenced to death). Any person convicted of treason against the United States also forfeits the right to hold public office in the United States
*taken from web
If you take the actions of anyone promoting this Fascist, Communistic, progressive, Socialist, Trans inclusive government or any that promoted lack of “rights” (like gun rights) or any such thing that the left promotes that is against the Constitution /Oath of Office, it is by the legal definition TREASON.
I think things will change when a high profile lefty is put down on national TV for what they have done, will get this country BACK on the right track, until then, they will not ever take us seriously, just like King George.
Nuff said
The problem we’re having isn’t that individual liberty and freedom are under attack. The problem is how to reconcile the conflict that occurs when one individual believes another’s liberty and freedom is infringing on their individual liberty and freedom.
On one hand, I don’t care how a progressive/democrat chooses to live…. as long as that choice doesn’t adversely affect me.
Now consider the progressive/democrat saying the same thing… because they do.
Question: If I choose to not drive an electric vehicle, am I infringing on those who believe that EVs protect the environment we share? If I choose not to be vaccinated, am I endangering the others by spreading the disease the vaccine is intended to stop?
For the record: my answer to these questions is a resounding NO. But what do we do when the progressive/democrat claims the answer is a resounding YES?
What are we to do when our mere existence as a human being is a perceived threat to the existence of another?
This is the end game. And I fear we’re closer to seeing this question answered than most of us think we are.
“What are we to do when our mere existence as a human being is a perceived threat to the existence of another?”
First, unless you physically threaten them, ( which I do not condone) they have no backbone or are just wimps who need a good talking to anyway. ANYONE who wants to take your freedom or wants to discriminate because of a fear of you, is no friend of America or the Constitution and should just be ignored. A hissy fit is not a way to promote patriotism nor helping anyone to see things “your way”
So, real simple, Guard against THEM . SHUN THEM, Ridicule them. Just as they do to us. DISCRIMINATE against them, they do, And mostly, DEFEND YOUR LIBERTY, by any means necessary.
Any person who does not accept that we ALL have rights, like to own and carry a gun should just move to, well, China, that may be more to their liking.
You’re verifying my suspicion, Shannon. We’re all going to be defending our individual liberty – ‘by any means necessary’.
Praemonitus praemunitus.
Once we pack the Supreme Court with six more Justices, this irksome document can be rendered moot.
Richard,
Do I understand correctly that you think our US Constitution is irksome?
Meaning of irksome: causing annoyance, weariness, or vexation: boring, wearisome; tedious; or troublesome
Will you please elaborate?
Can someone explain how/why the Constitution can be suspended during a supposed ‘Emergency’?
Great question! One would have hoped it had been asked and answered in a high school civics class. But I digress.
Read Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution for starters. It’s called the Suspension Clause and relates to what is known as a writ of habeas corpus. Interestingly, there has been much written about The Civil War and the fact that Congress never formally declared war against the confederate states. In 1862, President Lincoln issued Presidential Proclamation 94 which suspended the writ of habeas corpus, a tool preventing the government from unlawfully imprisoning individuals outside of the judicial process.
Yes. It’s complicated. And in being complicated, ‘interpretation’ comes into play. Is suspension allowed by authority of the president or the congress or both?
Keep this in mind. The U.S. Constitution is an operating manual that relies on individual human beings coming to consensus. Being ‘human’, however, means sometimes being ‘flawed’, and making flawed judgments. The Dred Scott SCOTUS decision is an example of what is today deemed to be flawed reasoning – which is one of the reasons we have a tiered judiciary of federal judges, with various levels of appeal, and the SCOTUS being the final arbiter.
Today, in my opinion, we are fast approaching a second civil war. What form it ultimately takes, kinetic or non-conventional, remains to be seen. But I believe we’re already in the initial phases of a non-conventional civil war. Surely, the imprisonment of many of the various Jan 6 prisoners without due process is as kinetic as a conflict can get.
Read Tom Paine’s ‘The Crises’ too.
“These are [yet again] the times that try men’s souls.’
It can’t be suspended. It’s only suspended if we let it. That is what the 2nd Amendment is for.
This was the ruling of The United States Supreme Court shortly after the “civil war” in Ex parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 2 (1866) which yet stands to this day: “Neither the legislature nor any executive or judicial officer may disregard the provisions of the constitution in case of emergency…
“Section 98 therefore, anyone who declares the suspension of constitutionally guaranteed rights (tor freely assemble, earn a living, freely worship, etc.) and or attempts to enforce such suspension within 50 independent, sovereign, continental United States of America is making war against our constitution(s) and, therefore, we the people. They violate their constitutional oath and, thus, immediately forfeit their office and authority and their proclamations may be disregarded with impunity and that means ANYONE, even the governor or President.
Ex parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 2 (1866)
11. Neither the President nor Congress nor the Judiciary can disturb any one of the safeguards of civil liberty incorporated into the Constitution except so far as the right is given to suspend in certain cases the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.
Again, the safeguards are there “…except so far as the right is given to suspend in certain cases the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus.”
20 years after 9/11, mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed still awaits trial…..
Yes, the 2nd amendment exists to let cirizens defend themselves. And I’m afraid it actually may come to that.
Remember your oath? Those who swore to uphold the Constitution (or for those who were allowed a pass on that vital rule) shall be held to account for their dirty deeds done with dirty, dirty money. The rats and roaches are scrambling to hold onto their ill-gotten gains and cover up their fraud and corruption. The white-hot spotlight is fixed upon them now. Their entire empire built upon lies and deception is crashing down – those who looked the other way and helped them are going down in that pile of debris as well. Declared and decreed.
The underlining problem is wisdom and education. In vermont and across the nation this has been vacated from the public sphere. We are reduced to the carnal nature, the world and how,it operates. Without discernment we are inclined to believe ourselves to such a point that we go beyond narcissism,beyond sociopath and into the realm of self professed God. We idol ourselves and our thoughts.
We no longer know the difference and how to tell the difference between truth and lies, between earning money and stealing money, between lust and love, between sex and love.
We are so easily torn from our foundations because we have none.
We are anxious, lost and alone and where does society tell us to solve our problems? Big Pharma hooks on their drugs. The drug dealers from Lowell mass tell us for a good time take some of this. The gas station provides the twinkles, thedoritoes, the Orange crush and while we are temporarily satisfied the pathetic we are on does not give us peace. We fight online on Facebook, but we have fewere friends and even less peace. If we are fighting we are full of pride, we are assuming the title of God, all powerful and unforgiving God that rules the c angel culture in Vermont.
We have an underlying issue of facing the wrong direction for our problems, most in Vermont are facing the wrong direction, looking for solutions in the wrong places, hence our fundamental problem, to which a change of governor or power by political party will only temporarily fix.