Over 200 years ago (245 this July 4th, to be exact), Revolutionary colonists declared separation from England, forming a new country. After winning a war, then determining that their governing documents, the Articles of Confederation, simply were not sufficient to actually govern, those same colonists got together and created the post impressive political document in history. The US Constitution turns 232 years old this year. Not only did the Constitution establish the structure of our government (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches), it also set limits upon what areas the Federal government (Congress) could write laws over. The intention was: laws governing individual States were the responsibility of those States, laws on a multi-State or national level were to be the responsibility of Congress. The default setting was FREEDOM, as the Bill of Rights (the first 10 Amendments) were limits on Congress, not the People. In fact, the 10th Amendment specifically states that “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.” It is 2021. How are we doing? Let’s dig.
Federal authority has been exceeding its intended limits nearly since 1789. The Commerce Clause (Congress shall have the power “[t]o regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes.”), also known as the Interstate Commerce Clause, intended to keep Congress out of intrastate commerce law. Congress breaks this premise daily, from regulating health care (by law, an intrastate concern), to governing over water rights that stay within a given State. The 10th Amendment may as well not exist, as Congress grabs whatever powers it wants—even if they are not ‘delegated’ or enumerated to them.
Recent political activity shines a fairly bright light upon the direction of our country. Hate speech legislation completely contradicts the 1st Amendment (free speech and exercise of religion). The pure irony is that political speech is the HEART of the 1st Amendment, and speech that some do not want to hear is the very reason for that Amendment. The Biden/Harris Administration is currently lobbying the Supreme Court to allow federal agencies the ability to enter homes and confiscate weapons, all without warrants. This not only violates the 2nd Amendment (the right to bear arms) directly, it also lays waste to the 4th Amendment (illegal search and seizure, without probable cause). If current proposed legislation becomes law, all gun owners will have to register their weapons—a violation of the 5th Amendment (testifying against oneself). Law-abiding citizens will become felons overnight, just by exercising their Constitutional rights.
If these practices become ‘lawful’, one must ask: are there any meaningful limits upon Congress at all? Are any of the Bill Of Rights still in force? The same folks that decided to surround themselves with razor-wire topped fences, manned by armed National Guard troops, are telling you that YOU should not be able to protect yourself with arms! (And their neglect of the Southern Border Wall is a separate topic).
To summarize: our trend line is TERRIBLE. It is AWAY from freedom, not toward it. Congress, already an abject failure at self-policing, is now completely without any Constitutional limits or borders. Rights enshrined in our Constitution now appear to be negotiable points for Congress to consider removing. Congress exempts itself from the laws they demand the citizenry follow. They champion the ‘rights’ of illegal aliens, ahead of the citizenry. They borrow tax dollars to distribute to foreign countries. They spend our tax dollars like drunken sailors (no offense to drunken sailors—they are limited to their own cash). They have become exactly the type of government that the colonists declared independence from 245 years ago.
