Thanks to Bob Atwood & Bud Day – SALUTE In 1787, 55 men gathered in Philadelphia to create a new form of government, based upon the natural rights of the citizen as defined by Thomas Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence. Those Framers instituted a government based not upon any right of birth or wealth, but upon the unalienable rights of free citizens.
Their legacy to us, The Constitution of the United States, created the federal Republic, deriving its powers from the will of the People. The Constitution is the fulfillment of a promise made in the Declaration of Independence. WE are the People . Our powers are defined by natural law and there is no government, no individual, which may with impunity deny us our
sovereignty.
Our Constitution begins with those three glorious, eternal words…We the People . That magnificent document limits the powers of the federal government. It contains no such limitations upon The People. For years now succeeding administrations and Congress under the control of the oligarchs have steadily eroded the strength and vitality of this great Republic.
In this year alone, amidst promises of belt-tightening, spending freezes and fiscal responsibility, the federal deficit will hit two trillion dollars. Congress has raised the debt limit to nearly fifteen trillion dollars. The economic programs of the last and the present administration are nothing more than throwing our wages at the very same interests which helped them get elected. The health insurance companies are evil, so Congress exempts them from anti-trust laws. The automobile manufacturers are incompetent, so Congress gives them billions of our dollars. The banks are evil because they engaged in lending policies dictated by the federal government.
This is not good stewardship of the public trust, it is economic suicide. This is not government based upon constitutional means, it is tyranny!
Today is Tax Day. (Feel free to boo and hiss!) Today we will grumble and complain about what little we get in return for our hard-earned wages. I would not be so happy to accompany that chorus were I able to see the federal government at least try a few common sense programs for reigning in the mindless spending. Those who write and enforce the tax laws are themselves unable, or unwilling, to abide by the dictates of a system so monstrous in size and scope. Each year they tinker around the edges, further muddying the waters until there is no way any of us could understand whether or not we are in compliance with the law. What we really need is the elimination of the current system of taxation in favor of either a flat tax or a national sales tax. And, …either of these must leave the federal government with just enough income to manage the security of the Republic. It is not enough for us to meet today all over the Republic, and do nothing but raise our voices in opposition to the economic blunders of our alleged leaders. We must put forth our own agenda, rooted in the First Principle of this great nation; the unmanageable and irrefutable natural rights of the citizen. Government exists for no other reason than to protect those rights. Now, we must be honest with one another. In the current political world, one party seeks to define us as ignorant children or dangerous radicals.
That is their fear speaking. They have good reason to fear the free citizen. We do the voting. The other side of the same coin seeks to attach itself to this movement, absorb it, claim it as its own so that they may regain power. I do not believe them. I do not trust either of them. The oligarchs, Republican and Democrat, have proven themselves incompetent, and unreliable. , and They are willing to do or say anything to get elected and then stay there. They ignore the Constitution and even dare to exempt themselves from the laws they demand we obey. We free citizens, who gather here today, rest our authority not upon party or misguided ideology. We have in each of us those unalienable, natural rights that no Congress may usurp. This is why I say to you today that our first action, our responsibility as free citizens, is to send a clear message to those who have abandoned the principles of the Republic. We have the power to break their hold upon our nation. I ask you all to consider this course of action, one I have already taken myself. If we are serious about our liberty, then we must first, free
ourselves of the party yoke. If you are a Democrat, leave them . If you are a Republican, leave them . (They have already left you!) If you are an independent, consider one of the alternatives to the political status quo. I have joined a coalition I know to be dedicated to the principles which made this Republic strong. I am a Whig. I invite you to join me. Second, The Bible says that our God is strong to the pulling down of great fortresses. Well, we are strong too. We are free citizens. We are The People, and we alone, have the power to pull down the strong fortress built by the interests of party and power. We cannot depend upon Republicans or Democrats to heed the voice of the People. We cannot depend upon some political epiphany which will turn their hearts and minds to the manifest limitations imposed by the Constitution. (That would require they actually read the document!) We cannot depend upon others to protect and preserve our natural rights as citizens. We must do that ourselves! Only we can prevent our great Republic from becoming nothing more one huge debtor’s prison. Our civil liberties, protected by the Constitution, cannot flourish without economic liberty. We must stand together or surely we will lose those
liberties so dearly protected by the blood and sacrifices of our forbears and all those who today wear the uniform of the United States’ military! Liberty and Opportunity, now and forever, one and inseparable.