Inalienable Rights,Is this our future? by Bentree
(libertarian)
Monday, March 8, 2010
Revisiting the Bill of Rights
It is asserted that the Constitution and Bill of Rights are living documents that must be allowed to evolve over time. For what purpose? Do progressives feel constrained by the words and intent of the Founding Fathers? Progressive evolution is in fact a devolution. Is this why Communism appears to be a dead end in man's evolution?
Progressives are masters of the science of obfuscation are they not? What are the real intents of the Healthcare Bill and the Cap & Trade Bill?
All science would be superfluous if the outward appearance and the essence of things directly coincided. Karl Marx, Capital Vol. III Chapter 48 (1883)
Is the real purpose of these bills to codify in law as well as in practice the final steps to our subjugation?
I would submit that the continued and progressive acceptance and acquiescence by the public in general of all manner of laws and regulations putting restrictions, prohibitions and taxation on, including but not limited to, the use of private property, business operations, firearms, speech, and the right of assembly, demands a pragmatic rewrite of the Bill of Rights. The purpose of this rewrite would establish the community/collective as the primary focus of all prerogatives and responsibilities in providing for the general welfare of the people.
Is the following political absurdity? A peek into the future?
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS I - X, Amended
Amendment I , Deleted, Rendered mute.
Deleted text: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II, Deleted, Amendment has been declared redundant and counter-productive to the Collective.
Deleted text: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Amendment III, Deleted,This amendment assumed there was in fact an individual right to private property.
Deleted text: "No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law".
"Redistribution of wealth", "freedom from constitutional restraints," "the Constitution is a charter of negative Liberties", "Political and Community organizing to put together the actual coalition of Power to bring about redistributable change." Barack Obama
"We must stop thinking of the individual and start thinking about what is best for society." Hillary Clinton
Amendment IV, Rewritten, The basis for the original 4th Amendment was the belief that the rights of the individual took precedence over collective rights. An obvious road block to the collectives continuity.
Deleted text: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized".
RewrittenAmendment text: To insure Collective continuity all individual personal and financial transactional records will be the property of the Collective. Community agencies, coordinators and boards will have direct access to these records to facilitate Community Financing and Redistribution, regardless of form. Compliance would be assured by the confiscation of all excess in financial transactions. A new, Personal Community Fiduciary Responsibility plus Healthcare card, hereafter referred to as the "Community Continuity Card". "CCC" will be issued to all designated members of the Collective. The goal is to provide seamless timely financial support for Community Imperatives such as Free health care, Housing, Basic food, Free Community Transportation. The list of all services to Community members will of course be comprehensively enumerated over time as well as the responsibilities of all members of the Collective.
The need for streamlining and reducing the cost of redistribution is foremost, Income being an obsolete term, all distributions to individual and multi-individual cohabiting units through the Community Continuity Cards will be granted according to determined need. The distributable level of all consumables, allotments, stipends, healthcare, will be determined by specific Community Consumer Continuity Controllers and or Committees.
NOTE: A byproduct of this resurgent paradigm is a more earth-friendly consumption of resources. Our allotted habitable space will be of such nature as to maximize resources with the commensurate reduction in construction outlays, energy usage and pollutants. Extra storage will no longer be needed.
"The slave frees himself when, of all the relations of private property, he abolishes only the relation of slavery and thereby becomes a proletarian; the proletarian can free himself only by abolishing private property in general." Frederick Engels, The Principles of Communism (1847)
Amendment V, Deleted, The preceding Amendment Reduces the 5th Amendment To rhetorical "jibber jabber"
Deleted text: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation".
Amendment VI, Lawyer intensive, Edited
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial. //Deleted text:by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor,//Retained text: and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.
Amendment VII, Lawyer intensive, Edited
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by// Delete;jury, Insert; judge shall be preserved. //Deleted:and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
Amendment VIII, Deleted, Deemed superfluous
Deleted: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
Deleted: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Amendment X, Deleted, Deemed moot
Deleted: "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".
Postscript: I've often wondered if Marx and Engels were alive today would the historical evidence of events following their deaths, including the murderous regimes of Stalin, Mao, Ho Che Min, Pol Pot and Castro have tempered their ideology? Would the utter brutality and the deaths of hundreds of millions that were directly attributable to Communist regimes convince them of the insanity of their beliefs?
The answer begs another question. Has this made any difference to the pseudo-intellectual elites in the present day that have the benefit of historical hindsight? I believe we can yell out a resounding "no" to that one. Once the current leadership on the Hill and in the White House have codified their ideology into total power over our everyday lives, their brutality and true nature will present themselves as they always have throughout history.
Are we so tone deaf as to ignore the cries of millions of victims of communism?
Is this to melodramatic? Just how farfetched is this rewrite of the Bill of Rights? In reality their will be no "Bill of Rights" no "Constitution" no "Declaration" Those documents will be relegated to the ash heap. We are on the precipice with more than 100 years of precursors codified into law already that piece by piece have diminished our rights while stealing our birthright.
Will we take advantage of the means still left to us or will we wait until we are down to the last resort?
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Posted By: Jahfre Fire Eater
Date: 2010-03-08 15:33:42
Hi Bentree,
I believe it was a mistake to include the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. Additionally, I believe it is a mistake to allow one's rights to be defined by a document. Rights only exist when they are being exercised; use 'em or lose 'em is a better description of rights than "inalienable".
Inclusion of the BoR in the Constitution set the precedent for the "living document" by amending it 10 times in the first congress.
James Madison, the father of the BoR was, apparently, a man of whim, not a man of principles, as evidenced by his reversals on major matters throughout his life. Similar to Ronald Reagan, his early convictions soon fell prey to the ends-justify-the-means mechanisms of politics; leaving as his legacy, a mockery of much that his reputation was built on.
Madison was largely responsible for ensuring the constitution evolved from a protection of individuals against the ever-growing nature of government power and oppression into a tool viewed by the majority as an obvious choice for the oppression of individuals they disagree with. Madison's vision of "checks and balances" were more like "controls and manipulations" where, checks and balances implies principles of operations that ensure the people's protection from government oppression, and, controls and manipulations are subject to the whim of the day as decided by the controllers and manipulators, not by the people.
As for your vision of our future history, who knows? I believe the USA ended on the day a spending bill was originated in the Senate for wall street bail outs. Both houses and the president, Bush, were willing to ignore the Constitution to get that bill passed. Since then, the Constitution hasn't been a viable protection against the government. Like a leash on a tiger, the Constitution is only a symbol of limits on government. Without individuals exercising their right of representative government to elect folks who will uphold the Constitution, it is nothing but a piece of paper. It has no force and no powers beyond those created in its defense by individual citizens.
The 2010 caucuses, assemblies and primaries are approaching fast. Anyone who is serious about the defense of liberty should be actively promoting their views to candidates who may be on the D or R primary ballots. If you want to participate in the delegation and nomination process call your local party chair person today and get looped in. If you just want to shape candidates, you don't need to join the party but if you want to help get certain candidates on the ballot you must join the party and champion your candidates through the primary process for your state. Do not trust your neighbors to promote liberty advocates or constitutional enforcers for you. Once these primaries are over nothing else anyone does makes much difference. The wheels are in motion at that point. Between the primaries and the election it doesn't matter what your party affiliation is. The only time a party registration is important is during this season, now, today. The caucus and assembly season is now. Only registered party members have access to the mechanism by which candidates are selected for the November ballots. Everyone else deserves what they get, come November, for their non-participation now when it matters most.
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