State of the Union

Every Independence Day I take the time to study the Constitution of the United States.  It gives me the opportunity to get to know in more depth the freedoms guaranteed in that document and the limited role of government authorized by it as well.  This year as I begin my study, my heart is weighed down with sorrow. 

The events of the last week have sickened me.  The Supreme Court in a move that stunned and shocked the Nation declared the Affordable Healthcare Act, a.k.a. "obamacare", as Constitutional.  This based on the premise that the government is given authority under the Constitution to tax the people of this Nation.  Though it is true that the Congress has the power to tax us, they don't have the power to regulate our lives and purchase habits.  A tax is a "tariff" if you would on a purchase.  A mandate is being told that you must do something. The dictionary defines a mandate as an authoritative command.  Let's see, the law states, buy insurance or face a penalty.  That sounds like a mandate to me. 

George Washington, our First President and great Statesman said this in 1796, "Towards the preservation of your government...it is requisite... that you resist with care the spirit of innovation upon its principles, however specious the pretexts.  One method of assault may be to effect, in the forms of the Constitution, alterations which will impair the energy of the system, and thus to undermine what cannot be directly overthrown."  I understand the desire to help others.  My heart burns within me to help those in need.  That being said, I understand that it is my duty to help those in need, not the governments.  The Constitution is plain in its delineation of powers.  The power or authority to help the needy lies in the people not in the government.  We cannot effectively preserve our Nation and neglect our Constitution.  We cannot seek for security and sell our birthrights.  We cannot give away our freedom and expect liberty.  If we continue to chop away at the Foundation of our Nation, we will shortly wake up to find that we are neither free or secure.  The enemy which we fight lives within each one of us.  That desire to allow someone else to take care of our obligations and to shirk our duty.  The laziness in which we view or exercise our Rights is causing a moral decay in this Nation that is epidemic.

We must fight off the natural man within us, and stand up and be men and women of resolve.  We must put our shoulder to the wheel and push along the cause of Freedom, or we will not be free.  We must turn the tide of socialism or progressivism and swing our Nation back to the Articles of the Constitution.  We must seek out men and women who know and understand, and then who love the Constitution and will fight for it. 

Our Nation is in trouble.  It's not Obama, although he is pushing it along very rapidly, but it is our Congress and Courts that are aiding in the destruction of this Nation.  Washington is full of liars and soothsayers.  Show me a true Statesman in Washington and I will work with that person to make a difference.  Show me a person in Washington with a backbone willing to make the hard decisions and I will support that person.  I am determined to see this Nation survive the attack from within.  I am determined to see this Nation forever remain a Nation United!