Rights, Roles, and Freedoms

October 9, 2024: A lot to consider!

We explored more of the court’s role — Is it to protect the minority? Is it to declare whether or not the actions of the other branches are Constitutional? As Justice John Roberts said, It’s not the role of the Court to protect us from the consequences of our own decisions!

And what protections do we have when judges need to be held accountable? The same question goes for each branch, of course, since all officials serve as our “delegates” and must be accountable to the people in one way or another.

What does it mean to impeach someone for “high crimes and misdemeanors,” and what has been the typical result when that is attempted? Since most of us don’t know what that term means, and Congress won’t act “ahead of the people,” it turns out to be rarely used no matter how much it may be needed.

We then began a study of the Bill of Rights, and researched what the framers meant by “unalienable rights.” They listed three in the Declaration, but had many more in mind, and knowing how they defined the term helps to understand other things that were included in the Constitution.

Since those rights are antecedent to government, ie, existing before government and above government’s control, we looked at several rights that clearly existed before the first civil government was instituted. An interesting way to think about it and watch the evolution of those rights through time.

Moving into the first Amendment, we tackled the famous phrase, “separation of church and state.” We traced where it came from, what it meant, and how it was radically distorted and misapplied by one particular judge whose unconstitutional, anti-religion bias has assumed the force of law today.

Expanding on that issue, we began looking at the religious beliefs and activities of those who wrote the Constitution, and it becomes clear that applying the terms “deist” or “atheist” to these men has no basis in history. In fact, there is a recent point in time where the truth was surgically removed from new printings of historical documents in a way to promote that wrong idea. The creative use of three dots … and poof. The truth is hidden, and the lie is told.

Just like today, in the video-editing room!

Our next class, on October 16, goes deeper into “freedom of religion,” and moves on to identify the key writers popular in the “founding era” and the primary sources of the principles built into America. We examine the right of petition — written on a napkin, if necessary — and a great example of a politician defending that right even for petitions he totally disagreed with.

And we conclude with an examination of the most important “unalienable right” of all, what it means, and how it affects everything about our lives and the operation of the government we created. It’s not mentioned specifically in the key documents, but is commented on widely among the framers and was at the core of why America was founded. Do you know what it is? Are you seriously ready to defend it for yourself, your family, and your fellow citizens?