What does Freedom mean to you? For too many of us freedom just means freedom of choice or the freedom to buy more stuff. We have the freedom of choosing from 13 different makers of plasma screen TV’s, the freedom to buy a car whenever we want to, the freedom to watch 167 channels of televisions, or the freedom to shop at Wal-Mart 24hrs a day. I contend that these are not the freedoms that our founding fathers risked their lives to preserve.
If you read the Bill of Rights keep in mind that all of these injustices were ones that they just suffered from a tyrant that they just rebelled against.
The Bill of Rights: A Transcription
The Preamble to The Bill of Rights
Congress of the United States
begun and held at the City of New-York, on
Wednesday the fourth of March, one thousand seven hundred and eighty nine.
THE Conventions of a number of the States, having at the time of their adopting the Constitution, expressed a desire, in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.
RESOLVED by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, two thirds of both Houses concurring, that the following Articles be proposed to the Legislatures of the several States, as amendments to the Constitution of the United States, all, or any of which Articles, when ratified by three fourths of the said Legislatures, to be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of the said Constitution; viz.
ARTICLES in addition to, and Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, proposed by Congress, and ratified by the Legislatures of the several States, pursuant to the fifth Article of the original Constitution.
Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights."
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Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
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Amendment II
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.
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Amendment III
No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
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Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
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Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
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Amendment VI
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.
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Amendment VII
In Suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.
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Amendment VIII
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.
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Amendment IX
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
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Amendment X
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.
We have been free so long that we think nothing about being able to display the Presidents picture with a Swastika behind him, or call for a revolution against our government. Both of these actions against King George III’s government would find you prison (well I don’t think that the swastika would have offended anyone in the 1780’s). Now we live in a time when our rights are being eroded from both government and corporate pressure but also at our own request.
In our quest to protect us from the “Bad People” we have given up some of our rights to keep us safe. We have given the ok for cruel and unusual punishment, illegal search and seizure, and trial by jury. That is pretty much the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th amendments that do not apply to the “bad people”, my question to you is who are the “bad people”? Who have we given the power to designate which people are “bad” too?
We have ceded rights to corporations and large Wall Street banks which enable their influence to squash the rights of real people. We now have a justice system that gives you as much “justice” as you can afford. When you are trying to fight a large corporation and they can spend over a $1000000 in pre trail motions what chance does that give you or me? Our forefathers tried their best to give us a level playing field when We The People , have to deal with entrenched wealth and power. We have let those same powers slowly chip away at those protections. Now well meaning people who are angry at how things currently are in our country are calling for the end of these protections. They have bought into the illusions that large multi-national corporations will regulate themselves and protect the consumers. I ask you to point to anytime in the past when this has worked, when profits were over-ruled by empathy. A corporation only serves itself that is its sole reason to exist, to increase its wealth and power. If corporations were people they would be called sociopaths.
I am not calling for the banning of corporations but I am saying that they need to be regulated and that we need to control and closely watch what powers we give to our government. Our Founding Fathers sought to create a state in which a man no matter their wealth our social standing had equal footing against the most powerful powers in the country. That the rights of an individual triumphed over the rights of profit, we have lost this and we must now fight to regain what so many sacrificed so much to give us.
