The truth is, the American colonists had spent a couple of generations living under the benign neglect of the crown, with little more than a postal system, courts, some army units, and fairly powerless colonial governors. They learned to live in a society ruled mostly by voluntary coorperation. When Parliment reversed course on all this, it was a major slap in the face. Of course they rebelled.
They instituted the Articles of Confederation in the middle of the Revolution, though it was not ratified until late in the war. The attempt had been made to codify the free society they had taken for granted. But, as we were all taught in state-funded schools, the Articles were “unworkable” and had to be replaced after eight years. Perhaps they should have given it more time.
Then a fairly decent Constitution was put in their place, but one could make the case that the seeds of the Constitutiion’s own destruction were put in place from the beginning, just needing some time and some compliant courts to start the deconstruction.
But the real cause of the Fall of Freedom is the dependency on the Constitution. Every time you say that you enjoy a Constitutionally-protected freedom or right and sit back waiting for people to defend you, you are on the path to losing that right. The Constitution cannot defend you at all; it is a piece of paper. The only protection for us is to teach all the populace what these rights and freedoms are all about, why some purported rights actually are the opposite, and that they themselves are the ones charged with the protection of these rights.
Because if your fellow citizens will not help you protect your rights, the politicians, police, and bureaucrats certainly will not, no matter how well written the document might be. So, good luck!
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.
The truth is, the American colonists had spent a couple of generations living under the benign neglect of the crown, with little more than a postal system, courts, some army units, and fairly powerless colonial governors. They learned to live in a society ruled mostly by voluntary coorperation. When Parliment reversed course on all this, it was a major slap in the face. Of course they rebelled.
They instituted the Articles of Confederation in the middle of the Revolution, though it was not ratified until late in the war. The attempt had been made to codify the free society they had taken for granted. But, as we were all taught in state-funded schools, the Articles were “unworkable” and had to be replaced after eight years. Perhaps they should have given it more time.
Then a fairly decent Constitution was put in their place, but one could make the case that the seeds of the Constitutiion’s own destruction were put in place from the beginning, just needing some time and some compliant courts to start the deconstruction.
But the real cause of the Fall of Freedom is the dependency on the Constitution. Every time you say that you enjoy a Constitutionally-protected freedom or right and sit back waiting for people to defend you, you are on the path to losing that right. The Constitution cannot defend you at all; it is a piece of paper. The only protection for us is to teach all the populace what these rights and freedoms are all about, why some purported rights actually are the opposite, and that they themselves are the ones charged with the protection of these rights.
Because if your fellow citizens will not help you protect your rights, the politicians, police, and bureaucrats certainly will not, no matter how well written the document might be. So, good luck!
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.