The Federal Observer

If the scientific community is correct, then man has been around for roughly 4800 years. Yet it wasn’t until 1791 A.D. that our nation’s Bill of Rights was added to our Constitution. So, what did the Bill of Rights do; did it introduce a new profound idea, that being that men have rights; or did it merely state the obvious and declare that the rights listed in those first ten amendments were recognized, and that is was not within the power or authority of the government to infringe upon them?

If people would take just a little bit of time and learn about the process by which our Constitution came into existence, and the difficulties encountered by those who supported it, then they would realize that the reason the Bill of Rights existed is because the majority of those who opposed the Constitution feared that it did not provide adequate safeguards against governmental intrusion upon their pre-existing rights. As former Supreme Court Justice William Brennan said, “The Framers of the Bill of Rights did not purport to “create” rights. Rather they designed the Bill of Rights to prohibit our Government from infringing rights and liberties presumed to be preexisting.”

(And If You Still Don’t Get It, There’s No Hope For You)

Time and time again I have written about rights, about liberty, yet people still do not seem to get it. Either people are obtuse, (slow to understand or perceive something), or they simply do not care.

The Preamble to the Constitution is a generalized statement, outlining the purpose for which that document was written. It states, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

When the Bill of Rights was ratified, the ten amendments it comprised became part of that Constitution; therefore the protection of those amendments became the duty of government.

Most long time readers of my commentaries are well aware of my affinity for Thomas Jefferson quotes. Therefore, it may come as a bit of a surprise that my favorite quote comes, not from a founding father, but from Winston Churchill. In a speech given in the House of Commons in 1916, Churchill stated, “The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.”

In his famous, speech, delivered at St. Johns Church, in 1775, Patrick Henry declared, “We are apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts. Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.”

I’ll be the first to admit it I’m not that damn smart. I may spend more time reading than many people do, but that doesn’t make me smarter, just more well-read. I may also have a talent for stringing thoughts together in a manner to produce a convincing argument, but once again, that doesn’t make me smart. You want to see smart, read some of the books I do…those men were smart. I am however, very opinionated. Therefore, since these are my articles, and no one is forcing you to read them, I can pretty much say whatever I damn well please.

Today at work I was having a discussion with a co-worker about what is happening in Georgia regarding Barack Obama’s eligibility to be on the upcoming ballot. My friend told me that he had been discussing the subject with another co-worker and this person had refused to accept that it was happening because he had not seen anything about it on the evening news.

I tell you this, not to poke fun at the co-worker we were discussing, but to point out that most people simply do not wish to spend any amount of time seeking out the truth, or doing any critical thinking on their own.

I’m sure almost everyone you know can recite the pledge of allegiance from memory, as it was something we all grew up repeating day after day in school. As a child I did it because it was expected of me. Then as I grew older, and my sense of pride in being an American grew, I did it out of a sense of patriotism and loyalty.

There is a quote, taken from what is one of my favorite movies, V for Vendetta, where V says, “Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth.” That quote has come to mean so much to me as I have learned that words DO mean things, and often not what we expect them to.

When it comes to mankind, we rarely witness perfection. Oh, we can certainly strive for it, but it is something that is rarely achieved. I think Michael J. Fox said it best, “I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.”

When it comes to systems of government, perfection is hardly ever something the people get, even under the best of circumstances. In a speech written by Benjamin Franklin, read to the delegates to the Constitutional Convention, we read, “In these sentiments, Sir, I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such; because I think a general Government necessary for us, and there is no form of Government but what may be a blessing to the people if well administered, and believe farther that this is likely to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in Despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become so corrupted as to need despotic Government, being incapable of any other. I doubt too whether any other Convention we can obtain, may be able to make a better Constitution… From such an assembly can a perfect production be expected? It therefore astonishes me, Sir, to find this system approaching so near to perfection as it does…”

I am sure that many, even those who weren’t alive at the time, remember the famous speech given by Martin Luther King Jr., in which he said, I have a dream. Has it ever crossed your mind that the drafters of the Constitution had a dream as well? The dream they had can best be expressed in the Preamble to the Constitution, in which they said, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union…secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity…”

For the longest time I’ve had this idea for an article and, for one reason or another, kept putting it on the back burner for later. The other day I just finished reading a book entitled From Sovereign to Serf, and in the process of reading, there it was, my idea, in bold letters right in front of my face. The fact that someone else had, not only, thought the same thing, but actually published it in a book was enough to get me off my ass and start thinking about how to say what I wanted to get across.

You all know by now that I have written extensively about the Constitution; about the various branches and powers given to our system of government.

In 1993 I took my very first baby steps of learning the truth; undoing all the lies and propaganda I had been spoon fed for the previous thirty-five years. This journey began with me writing letters to my elected representatives over the issues of illegal immigration and gun control. It wasn’t until I heard the term North American Union on the Lou Dobbs show that I began to learn the real truth…a process which continues to this day.

Many of you may have heard the word plateau used to describe points in a process in which you hit a wall and make no further progress. Weightlifters use it, as do people trying to lose weight. I remember one time when I was taking Kenpo Karate classes in the Air Force. I just could not stretch my legs far enough to do the splits. One day my instructor came up and said that I had hit a plateau, that I needed something to help me progress further; he said that my inability to do the splits was not a physical limitation so much as a mental one. As soon as he said that he kicked my rear leg out from under me and I went all the way down into the splits. Was he taking a chance that I may have been hurt, or did he realize that I needed to break through a mental barrier that was prohibiting me from progressing?

I tell you this story because unless you are willing to overcome certain mental barriers you will never learn the full truth about the nature of the evil which has been perpetrated against you by your government.

In 1791 Thomas Paine wrote a book entitled The Rights of Man in which he said, “When I contemplate the natural dignity of man, when I feel (for Nature has not been kind enough to me to blunt my feelings) for the honour and happiness of its character, I become irritated at the attempt to govern mankind by force and fraud, as if they were all knaves and fools, and can scarcely avoid disgust at those who are thus imposed upon.” I can relate to how Paine must have felt when he wrote those words because disgust is the overriding sentiment I feel towards a good many people in this country.

Although there has been a renaissance of sorts, an awakening by citizens concerned with the actions of their government, has it come too late in the game to make a difference when it comes to preserving our few remaining unalienable rights?

There are times that I ask myself if I am the one that is strange, engrossing myself in books instead of other things like television or sports, or if it is everyone else who is strange and I am among the few surviving normal people left in America. I doubt I’ll ever get an answer to that question; however the fact remains that I love to read, particularly books on our nation’s history, the philosophies of our founders, and those of the men who influenced them.

There is a huge difference between watching TV and reading. When you watch most TV shows the plots are easy to follow, there are images to keep your attention focused, and you just sit back and enjoy it…it is a passive act. Reading, on the other hand, requires that your mind absorb the words, ponder them, and come to your own conclusions regarding the information you have read. To put it plainly, reading requires you to THINK, while television DOES NOT.

A couple of days ago a friend (thanks Wendy) sent me a video of discussion from the floor of the US Senate on S1867, or the National Defense Authorization Act as it is commonly known. The video can be found HERE.

In this video you will notice some of our elected officials advocating for “enhanced” interrogation techniques to be used on those whom some bureaucrat in our government might deem to be potential terrorists. If past performance may be used as an indicator, the fact some like-minded bureaucrats once determined a 14 inch shoestring to be an automatic weapon, should not inspire anyone with confidence in the ability or discernment of any bureaucrat.

“There are only two mistakes one can make along the road to truth; not going all the way, and not starting.” ~ Buddha

“The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is.” ~ Winston Churchill

It seems that more and more Americans are becoming fed up with their government, as the approval ratings for both Congress and the President hover near record lows. This can be attested to by the increasing numbers of people who have come out in support of Ron Paul. The 2012 Presidential elections may give us a clearer picture as to how many of disgruntled voters there really are, but will they tell the whole picture? Will they be voters who are simply disgusted by the constant bickering and gridlock between the two parties; will they be people who want a return to a more responsible and limited government as outlined by our Constitution; or will they be people who have finally come to understand that there is something else going on besides incompetence and partisan rivalry?

Some of you are probably already asking if the title of this article is some kind of a joke, or a trick question. It isn’t, I honestly want to know if you think that there might be times when breaking the law is justified. However, before you give me your answer I’d like for you to put aside your emotions, your loyalty to whatever political party you belong to, and just THINK about the facts I am about to present to you. Can you do that for me, just this once?

To be able to answer the question I pose to you properly, you must first understand what a law is, who has the authority to enact laws, and under what authority do THEY act, and for what purpose are laws enacted? You cannot answer the question without first giving these subjects proper consideration as well. 

AUTHORS NOTE: Everything I discuss in this article is not intended to support nor condone that acts which I discuss. I am merely trying to get people to THINK about their views and perspectives on the subjects discussed.

For years now the internet has been filled with Patriot Movement websites, and now with the rising popularity of Congressman Ron Paul, the ranks of Patriot Movements such as the Tea Party, these numbers have increased exponentially. Is this evidence of the people of this country finally waking up and learning about the principle of liberty and individual rights, or is it a phase brought about by the pitiful economic state in which our nation finds itself? Only time will tell I suppose. However, if you will permit, I would like to take a few moments to discuss the difference between what I see going on right now, and the Patriot movement that brought about our nation in 1776.

In his farewell address, George Washington warned that we should “…guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism…” Adlai Stevenson, Jr. once said, “Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.”

This past weekend I had an encounter at my local mall with a particularly naïve young salesgirl over my decision to buy my wife a firearm for Christmas. I won’t go into detail the conversation that took place, but if you want to read it you can do so at: http://www.federalobserver.com/2011/12/11/a-christmas-shopping-tale/#comments

Just today at work I had another conversation, again with a woman, who found it disturbing that I purchased a rifle yesterday. In fact, this person said that she would NEVER let her husband buy a gun…of any kind.

My wife knows how I feel about guns and if she ever told me that I could not buy a gun she had better never ever step foot into J.C. Penney, Kohls, or even think about watching QVC again! It is a paradox that I do, but I don’t understand why people, especially many females, have this almost paralyzing fear of guns.

Women expect their husbands to provide for, and protect them, but then some of them deny their husband the ability to do so by saying they won’t allow them to buy a gun to defend them, or their home, from intruders. Yet at the same time they are perfectly willing to spend all kinds of money on fancy clothes and jewelry so they can LOOK nice. I find no logic at all in that.

It is my belief that an overwhelming majority of Americans do not have even a basic understanding of their nation’s Constitution. Yet these people vote based upon misguided beliefs as to what they believe their government is supposed to do. It would be easy to lay the blame schools for not providing our children with a proper education, yet the schools themselves are not entirely to blame.

The various departments of Education, from the Federal Government all the way down to the local school districts, play a large part in setting the curriculum which is then taught to our children. So, if our children are graduating from high school without understanding their government, then much of the blame should be laid upon the shoulders of those bureaucrats who determine what is, and what isn’t, taught to our kids.

If I had but one wish in this world, it would be that I was given the opportunity to outline the course requirements for civics. If I were granted that wish, our kids would graduate high school with a thorough understanding of our system of government…or they would not graduate at all.

I know that sometimes when I write I come across as sounding arrogant, obnoxious, and downright insulting, however, all I am trying to do is what Jefferson admonished Madison to do in a letter written in 1787, “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people… They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” To me, right beneath my eternal salvation, the preservation of my liberty is at the very top of my list of things of great importance.

That is why I spend so much time researching and writing about the subject, because I see my rights being stripped away from me by a tyrannical government, with the vast majority of the people in this country not even understanding what their rights are.

I can almost hear people’s thoughts before they even begin to read what I am about to say; “Neal has finally gone off the deep end, talking about zombies now.” When someone mentions the word zombie the first thing that comes to peoples mind are brain dead flesh eating ghouls, like the ones seen in the move Resident Evil, or on the TV series The Walking Dead.

But you know if you look zombie up in the dictionary, one of the definitions you will find is: “an offensive term for a person considered to lack energy, enthusiasm, or the ability to think independently.” If you apply that definition, there certainly are a great many zombies walking amongst us right now. Zombies don’t think, they don’t prepare, they act on pure animalistic instinct; and their only instinct is to survive.

I have often wondered why it is so difficult for me to get people to open their eyes and see the truth, especially when the truth is so readily available. In all my discussions with people I often feel that I am in a battle of minds with people who are utterly defenseless. Samuel Adams once said that “Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason.” While that may be true, it still does not explain why people refuse to accept the truth when it is right in front of them. The truth is that your thoughts about what is right and what is wrong, what is the nature of our government, and what is best for our country, are not yours; they have been carefully crafted and designed to make you obedient little workers and consumers, as George Carlin once said, “They don’t want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. They’re not interested in that . . . that doesn’t help them. That’s against their interests. That’s right. They don’t want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly they’re getting f*cked by a system that threw them overboard 30 f*ckin’ years ago… They want obedient workers people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork.”