Reflections on the Constitution

Like many Americans, recently I have been thinking a lot about The Constitution. I understand it way better now and have learned some things that have been very enlightening to me, and I want to share them with someone. Thank you for listening. (I will throw in some pictures to keep your attention.)

I've always believed that The Constitution was inspired by God, but until I started my current job I didn't actually know very much about it aside from the rights spelled out in the Bill of Rights. Now that I understand more of the philosophy in it, I see more clearly just how unique and wonderful of a document it is. Because, really, these days just about everyone in the first world has freedom of speech and religion, so there has got to be something more to it.

Our Founding Fathers understood clearly that it is the nature and disposition of almost all men that as soon as they get a little authority they will begin to exercise unrighteous dominion. They had seen the effects of a strong central government and how it took away the individual rights of the people. Not just the right to speak and worship and assemble, but to govern themselves and to be able to use their property they way they wanted.

They also understood that rights do not come from the government, they come from God. There is no actual right that the government can GIVE us. The government does not give us permission to say what we want, go where we want, print and read what we want, what to do with our money, etc. The government is simple suppose to allow these rights. Which leads to my main point here, which is the single largest threat to any of our rights, freedoms and liberties IS government. What other organization would even think to tell us we can't say something, assemble somewhere, worship the way we want or spend our money the way we want? And I think this is something that we as Americans have lost sight of.

With this in mind, our Founding Fathers designed a outline for a government (The Constitution) whose very purpose was to protect people FROM the government. The Constitution is largely a document of "thou shalt not's." The government SHALL NOT INFRINGE on the rights of the people to keep and bear arms. The government SHALL MAKE NO LAW establishing a religion or PROHIBITING the exercise thereof. The government SHALL NOT VIOLATE a person's right to secure his property. All of these are just examples from the Bill of Rights (and if you study the Bill of Rights, every single one is telling the government what it cannot do). Most of The Constitution is a big "NO YOU CAN'T" to the Federal Government. As one small example: No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by the Law (Article I, Section 9).

The Founding Fathers intended for the government to be small and thus leave individual rights and property alone as much as possible. And THAT has been the key to America's success. And therein, (in my opinion) is the REAL key to equality-- ALL men have equal access to their own lives and the fruit of their labor, without the government interfering. America was built on the idea of self-reliance and industry, but the current entitlement mentality has made us lose sight of our foundation.

Here's a rule of thumb my boss taught me for understanding the difference between a right and an entitlement. A right is something you do: I have the right to vote, to worship, to speak, to go on a walk, to have a job, to own a gun, to buy stuff, etc. A right is NOT something that someone else gives you, especially when you keep in mind that the government cannot give you anything without first taking it away from someone else (in other words, saying that they do not have a right to their own property). So, I do not have a right to: receive government money for buying a car or a house, universal healthcare, welfare, social security, money for researching wildlife, etc. (As an aside, any state that wants to can offer these benefits, but the federal government under the current way it is legally obligated to run has absolutely no business doing any of it.)

We, as a people, have lost sight of this idea and that's what has caused this massive government spending, unreasonable taxes (most people work 4 months a year just for Uncle Sam), huge federal debt (because four months a year obviously isn't enough so our grandchildren will need to pay for our living expenses) and thus the decline of individual liberty. It is all very discouraging.

But, there is hope! I firmly believe that there is not a problem wrong with the federal government today that cannot be cured by getting back to The Constitution.

WARNING: THE NEXT SECTION CONTAINS MY PERSONAL ENDORSEMENT OF A POLITICAL CANDIDATE. (Also, it only applies to my Utah readers.)

That is why I passionately and adamently support Mike Lee for Utah Senate.

I like Mike for the following reasons:

*He is a constitutional lawyer who has been concerned about state sovereignty and thus meticulously studying The Constitution since he was 10 years old. This is not a passing fling for him.

*He has dedicated his career to getting government out of his law client's businesses
*He has sworn that he will not vote for any bill that is not in harmony with The Constitution and I believe and trust that he will actually do it.

*He finds solutions for real-life problems (ie the fact that the Feds own 60% of the land in Utah) using The Consitution.

*I've heard him speak several times and am always impressed with his straight-forward and practical answers to complex issues.

Further, I think that Mike's suitability for the job can also be highlighted by the pathetic attempts others have used to discredit him: that he's a Washington lawyer (yes, he was the law clerk for Judge Alito who is the most conversative, constitutionally-based judge in the Supreme Court), that he makes $600,000 and hasn't paid off his student loans (because he has a lower rater on them then his mortgage and there are tax advantages to keeping them), and that he waves The Constitution around and quotes from it too much when speaking (the same way a preacher might wave around the Bible, in my opinion). If this is the worst you can throw at a candidate, I think it reflects well on said candidate.

Mike wants to run a clean campaign, so I am not suppose to throw any mud at his opponent. So, in my official role as a Mike Lee volunteer, I will simply say that Tim Bridgewater is a very nice man, but I like Mike better. However, as a blogger, I will share with you a website that I find very interesting entitled "Stop Bridgewater." People like Bridgewater because he is a self-made man who has been very successful in business. However, as the website points out, the majority of his business practices have involved receiving and using earmarks and other government funds. He is now claiming to be a advocate of small government after earning his fortune at the tax payer's expense.

I like Mike because he is just what we need right now-- a solid conservative who understands the proper role of government and will work tirelessly to get us back to the vision our forefathers had for this country. A man who would look at a bill like the now-infamous "No Child Left Behind Act" and recognize right away that it would be a dismal failure, and thus refuse to vote for it. (Unlike some people who would push it through, form a business profiting from it, and then denounce it as soon as it became unpopular. I'm looking at you, Tim Bridgewater.)

When I hear Mike speak, I feel hopeful about the future of our great country. Not a false hope based on promises of receiving more from the government, but a real hope that with hard work and dedication we can get back to what we used to be and what God and our forefathers intended us to be-- a republic dedicated to protecting individual rights. A place where people stand accountable for their own decisions, take care of themselves, and choose to help others. That is the America I love and the America I know Mike will help preserve.

So, please Utah friends, please go vote on June 22nd (next Tuesday). This election could come down to a few hundred votes and every person counts! Like Gandhi said, I know great things can happen if we will BE the change we're looking for in the world.

Also, as Levar Burton says, "You don't have to take my word for it." Study the candidates yourself. Be an informed voter.

Thank you for letting me share.