(Please refer to this link for the Constitution http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html)
Article 1 Section 8 of the US Constitution outlines the very
specific areas in which Congress can legislate. These cover things like taxing,
borrowing money, regulating naturalization and bankruptcy, trade with other
countries, that sort of thing. Many people do not quite understand what the
government can and cannot do. ALWAYS because they take someone else’s word for
it, rather than study for themselves.
People think that the Bill of Rights is THE list of our
rights, but it is not. The Bill of
Rights was meant to be a “guideline” for which to prohibit government from
regulating. The 9th and 10th Amendments were meant to be
a “catch all” for anything NOT covered by the Constitution and the previous
Amendments. Again, Americans, whose
rights are impacted, do not even know about these Amendments. There has been a
lot of talk lately about the 10th Amendment, mostly by governors wanting
to ensure they have the power they crave.
The initial framing of the Constitution was a very
contentious process waged by two camps, the Federalists (Alexander Hamilton,)
who wanted to have a more powerful central government and the
Democratic-Republicans (Thomas Jefferson,) who wanted a very limited and very
small central government. They finally developed a Constitution that would be “prohibitive”
in to the government. In other words, it spells out specifically what the
government CAN do, anything else, it may not touch. This posed a problem for
some people, because they thought (rightly) that this approach could cause
problems of ambiguity in the future, i.e. “it doesn’t say we can’t”. This is
where the Bill of Rights came in, an effort to cover everything that could
possibly be conceived (and thereby not need much revision, therefore NOT be a “living,
breathing document”) to spell out things that the government COULD NOT UNDER
ANY CIRCUMSTANCES VIOLATE.
Take a look at the 9th Amendment “The enumeration
in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or
disparage others retained by the people.” What does that mean? It means just
because some rights are specifically listed in the Constitution, other things
aren’t protected, or whether it’s there or not there, they can’t touch it.
How about the 10th Amendment “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.” Huh? The
Constitution again outlines what things the government can do (that’s Article 1 section 8 again.) It also lays out how the government will be constructed, a Legislative Brand, Executive Branch and Judicial Branch. It also says how the people in these branches are to be appointed, elected etc.. as well as how many how they are to be paid, all of that. It also says how the States are supposed to work with each other and limitations on what a state can do. This is all covered in Article 4. So what the 10th Amendment says is, if the Constitution doesn’t say anything about it, then the states and the people have the right. What most of these governors who are talking about the 10th Amendment do so in the context of what power this gives the states, and they don’t really talk about the last part, “or to the people.” This gives way to the states limiting rights, so the states were put in check with the 14th Amendment “Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Constitution again outlines what things the government can do (that’s Article 1 section 8 again.) It also lays out how the government will be constructed, a Legislative Brand, Executive Branch and Judicial Branch. It also says how the people in these branches are to be appointed, elected etc.. as well as how many how they are to be paid, all of that. It also says how the States are supposed to work with each other and limitations on what a state can do. This is all covered in Article 4. So what the 10th Amendment says is, if the Constitution doesn’t say anything about it, then the states and the people have the right. What most of these governors who are talking about the 10th Amendment do so in the context of what power this gives the states, and they don’t really talk about the last part, “or to the people.” This gives way to the states limiting rights, so the states were put in check with the 14th Amendment “Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
You have heard a lot of talk lately about legalizing
marijuana. Many people think it is a good idea, many don’t. Politicians like Ron Paul, Gary Johnson and
locally, Beto O’Rourke believe it would be a good idea. But why do they? Do
they just want to be able to get high? Do they want to appeal to the ever
critical stoner vote? Or is it more? You
might be asking yourself “How did this essay start talking about the
Constitution and now talking about Marijuana?” It’s very simple. I’m not
talking about marijuana. I am still talking about the Constitution (and no, I
am not high.)
I am using marijuana as an example of what the government
CANNOT do, but has done. As we have examined, the Constitution is very clear
about what the government CAN do. Unfortunately, over time, people have
misrepresented what certain phrases mean. In this example, the phrase
misrepresented has been “general welfare”. The government has thought that
general welfare means “individual well being.” It does not. General welfare encompasses
things like roads and sewers, and even these are debatable.
It was understood by the Founding Fathers that there was
such a thing as Natural Law or Natural Rights. This is where the phrase in the
Declaration of Independence came from “We hold these truths to be self-evident,
that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with
certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness.” No government has the ability to separate an individual’s rights
from the individual, UNLESS that individual has been convicted of a crime
perpetrated against someone else. Does a person have a right to hurt themselves?
YES. Does a government have a moral obligation to prevent them from hurting
themselves? NO. Government is NOT a moral entity. It is an entity of justice.
It does not care what a person does, as long as that person does not violate
ANOTHER PERSON. I could set myself on fire, but I cannot set you on fire. I can
shoot up mayonnaise if I want, but I cannot force you to.
The point I am trying to make is this; We must know what our
Constitution says, how it protects our rights and what our rights are, or more
precisely, what the government can do. No one will protect our rights for us,
we have to be constantly vigilante to protect them ourselves. Can the government tell us how big of a soda
we can buy? NO. Can the government MAKE us get shots? NO. Can the government in
the form of our school system tell us what to do with our children? NO! Just
think about everything that the government says you can and cannot do. Is it
listed in the Constitution? Stand up for your rights. Live Free!
