The Constitution: A Rallying Point

August 31, 2008 by Aspen Eggimann · Leave a Comment 

“Where are we going from here?”

I’ve been wondering this a lot lately, in regards to America. I hear and read theories about the Information Age and what it will bring, I learn about historical cycles predicting what to expect in the future, and observe the numerous political agendas proposed for the nation, yet still this question remains in a large part unanswered.

It may be difficult or nearly impossible to answer with clarity exactly where we are going, or to make a prediction that would quiet the concerns for the future. While pondering the question I read the following quote from Thomas Jefferson:

“Though written constitutions may be violated in moments of passion or delusion, yet they furnish a text to which those who are watchful may again rally and recall the people.” –Thomas Jefferson to Joseph Priestley, 1802

A written document that immortalizes principles and provides ongoing direction for generations is essential to maintain a strong and free nation.

“The Constitution is a written instrument. As such, its meaning does not alter. That which it meant when it was adopted, it means now.”
– South Carolina v. United States, 199 U.S. 437, 448 (1905)

The principles remain fast in the document, though the actions of men may not follow those principles. The violation of a constitution was foreseen by the Founders as inevitable; men would lose their perspective and deviate from the Constitution in moments of passion — no matter how much the “chains of the Constitution” bound them down. Having a written constitution does more than bind men for a time, however; its real strength is that it provides a rallying point for the People to turn to when the nation flounders and when guidance is needed.

It’s clear that we have deviated from the Constitution in many ways throughout our history, and recent years have been no different. From the repeal of habeas corpus for specified “enemy combatants” to the Patriot Act, we can see the distance we have come from the founding.

The governments’ disregard of our founding document was brought home to me when I read the following story from Ron Paul:

“In 2002, as war with Iraq loomed, I proposed that congress officially declare war against Iraq, making clear that I intended to oppose my own measure. The point was to underscore our constitutional responsibility to declare war before commencing major military operations, rather than leaving the decision to the president or passing resolutions that delegate to the president the decision-making power over war. The chairman of the International Relations Committee responded by saying, ‘There are things in the Constitution that have been overtaken by events, by time. Declaration of war is one of them. There are things no longer relevant to a modern society. We are saying to the president, use your judgment. [What you have proposed is] inappropriate, anachronistic; it isn’t done any more.’
 
What a relief that we have people in our government who will keep us posted on which constitution provisions they have decided are no longer ‘relevant!’” [Ron Paul; The Revolution: A Manifesto, pg 53]

As a nation that has disregarded its constitution and now strongly questions its stability and future freedom the question, “Where are we going from here?” demands our attention. We have, through fear and passion, given up much of our freedoms. But it need not continue. For we will decide what is next. By using the Constitution as a rallying point to recall a people we will regain the freedom and prosperity that the Founders fought for.

In the end our freedom and our future lie with those that are watchful, those that will take initiative in restoring the Constitution. As Thomas Edison said, “The strength of the Constitution, lies in the will of the people to defend it.”

If the question remains, “Where are we going from here?”, the answer is “Exactly where we take ourselves.” If Jefferson is right, if moments of passion will pass and those who are watching can rally the people, then let it be back to the Constitution.

Have YOU read and do you understand the Constitution? Will you become a constitutional scholar and help restore the American Republic?

Move the Cause of Liberty by (1) subscribing to the Sentinel, a free weekly newsletter boldly illuminating the principles of freedom in a darkening nation, and (2) pledging your Life, Liberty, and Sacred Honor to the Cause by signing the Declaration of Dependence.

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Copyright © 2008 by The Cause of Liberty. All rights reserved.

Filed under: America, Constitution, Liberty, Personal Responsibility, Revolution, Rights & Duties
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Embrace Your Weaknesses

February 28, 2008 by Stephen Palmer · Leave a Comment 

We waste so much time and energy lamenting our flaws and weaknesses. If only I was taller, we think. If only I could sing better. If only I was a faster reader. If only I was a more persuasive public speaker. If only I didn’t have to wear glasses. If only I could run faster and jump higher. If only…

If only we could realize that our weaknesses are hidden pearls, possible goldmines of opportunity and success. Then we could fully submit to God, accept — rather than resist — our current state, embrace our weaknesses, and unleash our potential. Our weaknesses, far from being annoying obstacles, can be precious keys that open the doors to our success, wealth, and happiness.

Valley ForgeIt was precisely the weakness of the American army during the Revolutionary War that led Washington to be creative, to innovate and beat the British the only way that they could have been beaten. Thomas Jefferson was shy and considered himself a poor public speaker. Is it any wonder, then, that he found his voice through writing, and produced one of the most powerful political documents in all of history? Louis L’Amour began as a second-rate writer, and his numerous rejection slips propelled him to travel the world and work various jobs to gain the experience and insight that led his treasured tales of adventure.

Jacques Lusseyran, a leader in the French Resistance to the Nazis, also found his greatest strength because of a weakness.

At the age of eight, Jacques lost his sight in an accident at school. The result? “I began to look more closely,” wrote Jacques in the classic And There Was Light, “not at things but at a world closer to myself, looking from an inner place to one further within, instead of clinging to the movement of sight toward the world outside.”

Jacques developed an inner sensitivity, a deep intuition about people and events that was unparalleled amongst his peers. When the Nazis invaded France, Jacques rose as a natural leader in the resistance movement, organizing six hundred youth to distribute pamphlets and flyers exposing Nazi atrocities.

Without his “weakness” of being blind, Jacques would not have developed the internal fortitude and piercing discernment that his duties necessitated. “Sight is a miraculous instrument offering us all the riches of physical life,” Jacques wrote. “But we get nothing in this world without paying for it, and in return for all the benefits that sight brings we are forced to give up others whose existence we don’t even suspect.”

Intrinsic to the universe is a divine scheme of compensation: our greatest strengths coexist with our most glaring weaknesses. However, this cannot be discovered if our energy is spent primarily on animosity towards our weaknesses. Trying to overcome weaknesses with animosity is like fighting fire with fire.

The fires of weaknesses can only be extinguished by the water of acceptance. We must accept and embrace our weaknesses, and therefore open ourselves to the possibilities within our weaknesses, if we wish to overcome and profit from them.

The things that we resist with animosity grow and are magnified; the things that we love and accept are transformed in and through love. The more you resist your weaknesses by disliking them, the further you stray from the wonders that could be yours, and from fulfilling the critical mission that you were born for.

What are the things that you dislike most about yourself? Pay special attention to these, for these things are the seeds of your greatness.

Move the Cause of Liberty by (1) subscribing to the Sentinel, a free weekly newsletter boldly illuminating the principles of freedom in a darkening nation, and (2) pledging your Life, Liberty, and Sacred Honor to the Cause by signing the Declaration of Dependence.

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Filed under: Heroism, Human Nature, Leadership, Personal Mission
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