By Michael Bielawski
A handful of mostly conservative leaders gathered at the front lawn of the Statehouse on Saturday morning to a relatively small crowd of about 25 public listeners to hear about Constitution Day and why the document is more relevant today than ever.
Peter Teachout says it’s the first and longest-lasting
“It was an experiment in democratic self-government, a test of people in a nation as diverse at that time could govern themselves, this is something that had never been tried before,” said Peter Teachout, a law professor at Vermont Law School, who was the first speaker.
According to concerned attendees, the experiment could fail if people don’t start paying more attention to this document which seeks to protect fundamental rights for citizens under an accountable government.
Teachout continued about the new precedents set by the document.
“Holding government officials accountable through regularly scheduled elections is so ordinary and we’ve come to expect it, but this was not the practice in most countries in the world or any other country in the world at the time,” Teachout said.
He noted that the average lifespan for a nation’s constitution around the world is just 17 years, while the U.S. version has remained in its original foundation for all this time.
“Compare France, France during that same period has gone through ten different Consitutitons,” he said. “They adopt a Constitution, repeal it, adopt another, repeal it, and so on.”
Rob Roper says to use it as protection from authoritarianism
Rob Roper, the former president of the Ethan Allen Institute as well as a regular political commentator for Substack.com, talked about how this document is our society’s first line of defense against authoritarianism.
“If you are really worried about the possibility of living under and increasingly authoritarian government, well the U.S. Constitution is probably the most authoritarian document ever produced to govern a nation,” he said.
He added that we need to be more principled if we are to keep our current government.
“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 into place to preserve them in our constitution,” Roper said.
At another point, Roper listed several ways that governments have steadily chipped away from citizens’ ability to make their own decisions about transportation, heating, education, and more.
“However if you are in favor of the government being the ultimate decider of say what kind of car people can drive, how you are allowed to heat your home in winter, what your kids learn at school, what speech is allowed to be published and distributed in public forums, and what speech can be punished? Even down to what kind of bag you are allowed to use at the grocery store and what kind of bulbs you are allowed to buy for your lights.
“Well then be careful because you just may be the very authoritarian threat we’ve all been hearing so much about.”
Gregory Tharer thanked as host/organizer
Gregory Thayer, former Rutland GOP chair, opened up the meeting. He hosted the event and was largely seen as the organizer to bring everything together. He commented that perhaps it’s time to engage with the many folks who were not at the Statehouse for Constitution Day.
“Personally I feel it’s time that we all have to have the hard conversations with people including loved ones,” Thayer said. “Respectfully and with information, I think we can do that, but it’s up to you.”
Also speaking at the event in support of the Constitution were current lawmaker Rep. Charles Wilson, R-Lyndon, and Gerald Malloy the former Vermont GOP nominee running for U.S. Senate.
Mass media outlet attacks Constitution
On Monday CNN was under scrutiny for an opinion piece they ran arguing that the U.S. Constitution is outdated. The Western Journal reported on the piece, their headline is “CNN Gets Roasted for Absurd Chyron Warning Constitution is ‘Outdated, Puts Democracy at Risk’”.
The author is a reporter for the Vermont Daily Chronicle
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Categories: Society & Culture
Excellent program, each speaker offered terrific insights…..I will be going every year!
If you want to know why the Constitution could “fail” it is real simple.
“It was an experiment in democratic self-government, a test of people in a nation as diverse at that time could govern themselves, this is something that had never been tried before,” said Peter Teachout This guy is a teacher and is wrong.
This guy teaches the wrong things. We are a Constitutional Republic. Teaching anything else is just wrong.
“Holding government officials accountable through regularly scheduled elections is so ordinary and we’ve come to expect it, but this was not the practice in most countries in the world or any other country in the world at the time,” Teachout said
Problem is even though there are ways to make them accountable the people we give that responsibility to DO NOTHING. Also as we have seen mostly of late, elections can and are stolen, manipulated and in some cases just canceled all together.
Then to add insult to injury they, when found out, pass laws to 1 keep us from knowing what they are doing and 2 pass more laws saying what they do is immune from prosecution.
As a perfect example I still see Eric Holder walking around smiling even though he was found in contempt of Congress. But look Owen Shoyer is getting 2 months for the same thing. Another is how rich Nancy Pelosi is from being in politics (mostly from insider trading that to them is legal
Remove the lying Sovereign Immunity from the government as they are NOT SOVEREIGN, only We the People are. They keep making laws to make sure we can or will do nothing to them, to stop them.
Just ask that poor woman who shot that social worker and her 2 relatives if she thinks the government is fair or just. That is the failure of not the Constitution but of the people who swore an oath to protect and defend it.
On Sunday for a Constitution day Event.
General Flynn, Spoke on the Constitution of our Republic .
Being the only thing that Binds Americans Together .
It was Created to Govern a Moral society .
God
Family
And Country .
Most of Vermont has Abandoned God .
Democrats and Republicans alike .
Power , Greed , Position
Predictive Programming .
Psychological warfare of the Past 100 years have All but eliminated Morality .
With God’s help and Citizen Media we may turn the tide .
I don’t know why I woke up and started singing this two days ago. I haven’t sung it or heard it in years. I even remembered most of the words. But it makes me happy, so enjoy!
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
The United States Army Field Band
https://youtu.be/Jy6AOGRsR80?si=dXnH2tQXtdgga-_T
Thank you, Pepe, for the link.
America is an amazing country and Americans are a great people. I thank God for it and for them.
Re: “If you are really worried about the possibility of living under and increasingly authoritarian government, well the U.S. Constitution is probably the most authoritarian document ever produced to govern a nation,” he said.
Did Mr. Roper really say this? It must be a misquote.
Authoritarian: “Characterized by or favoring absolute obedience to authority, as against individual freedom.”
“Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic voting.”
The U. S. Constitution is the polar opposite of being ‘authoritarian”.
“Could fail”????
The US Constitution did not and does not fail. Those who circumvent it and subvert it are the failures. It was the wealthy banksters and industrialists who took over the Congress and the Oval Office (Woodrow Wilson) to finance their wars and their foriegn interests and it’s run that way ever since. The Republic was turned into a Corporation (the Federal Reserve) and those who towed the line (Governors and State Legislatures) fell in line with the giant ponzi schemes – i.e. Pork Fed America. The Corporation is failing as it should due to greed and criminal corruption. Fraud has a limited shelf life. The rickety, dry rotted shelf that the US Corporation sits upon is coming undone, falling apart, crashing onto the floor. All we are seeing now is the final flailing, wailing destruction of 100+ years of criminal conduct and the criminals cannot stop their own demise. The financial system is done, the justice system is done, the criminals running the show (top to bottom) are done. The Republic will stand, as one nation, under God – the People will take it all back and all the stolen assets too. Get ready!
How the Senate and Congress should be.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/l-van-beethoven-symphony-no-7-op-92-zagrebacka-filharmonija-5488713?ea_src=frontpage&ea_med=lead-story-epochtv-0
How the Senate and the Congress are.
https://www.inquirer.com/resizer/bZT3N6Xgp21nuoh16A5rX5U_Srw=/700×467/smart/filters:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/5DUPYAJJXDPJXRBTMEDIMVIILM.jpg
As the only sitting legislator speaking on the Constitution Celebration I wonder why my picture was not taken our speech was not at all mentioned,this is very odd and rude way to treat a sitting legislator? Representative Charles Wilson