"Where the people fear the government you have tyranny. Where the government fears the people you have liberty." -- John Basil Barnhill, 1914
The aforementioned quote is often mistakenly attributed to Thomas Jefferson. This quote actually surfaced in 1914 as part of a series of debates on socialism. I guess it is true as King Solomon asserted in Ecclesiastes, "there is nothing new under the sun." That goes along with the sage wisdom of one Spanish political philosopher, George Santayana, "those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
So, how did we find ourselves in such a grave situation in America that we have avowed socialists as representatives at various levels of government? The answer is simple, we never said “no.”
This is one of my favorite times of the year--it is March Madness. And there are two different NCAA basketball tournaments going on right now, Men's and Women's. So, what happened in the NCAA swimming championships just recently? If you have not been following, a fella decided he was a girl and was allowed to swim in the NCAA Women's swimming championship, and we know what the results were. At some point in time, when this absurdity of gender dysphoria was unleashed upon our Country, someone should have possessed the moral courage to say “no.” Sadly, we have elected officials, especially in local school districts, who are allowing this to occur.
We are living in a time in America where a certain group of individuals are turning their ideology into policy. And most of this is occurring through the use of edicts, orders, mandates, and decrees. None of which are constitutional, because in a Republic we are to be governed by the rule of law. Instead, we are being ruled as subjects.
And in the case of the NCAA, we have these corporate oligarchs who are imposing their ideology upon our nation. Some of them are doing so in a very fascist manner, that certainly applies to the big tech platforms who now believe that they are the arbiters of our speech. Last time I checked, every citizen in the United States had the constitutional right to free speech. Citizens also have the right to peaceably assemble and petition their government for redress of grievances. Yet, we are now faced with being disparaged as a domestic terrorists if we speak out at school board meetings, believe in election integrity, want our borders secured, and challenge the political elites.
Much the same as with parenting, if you do not say no early on with your child, you reward their bad behavior. That is also what we call Pavlovian.
Since we have failed to say "no", we are on the precipice of losing constitutional governance in America...some would say we already have. I am not one of those.
Our Declaration of Independence clearly states that government exists based upon the consent of the governed, and that States gave birth to the federal government, not the opposite. However, all of this is being turned upside down. And no, the American people do not consent to open borders, inflation, high energy costs, and the eradication of women's sports...not to mention government approved indecent exposure of biological males before our daughters.
Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution outlines the 18 duties, responsibilities, and jurisdictions of the federal government. Mandating mass mask wearing as part of protecting our individual health is not listed. But, protecting our individual rights is cornerstone to the existence of the federal, all levels, of government.
We have to say no to government agencies, bureaucracies, who mistakenly believe that they can treat us as subjects, not citizens. We have a constitutional republic, and it's time to say no to the ATF, CDC, and TSA and any edicts that are not based on legislation passed by our duly elected representatives.
It is incumbent upon the American citizenry, electorate, to become better informed, educated, and then activated. How offensive is it for the Biden administration to believe some that know nothing Tik Tok "influencers" are supposed to explain energy policy or foreign policy to us? Then again, if we fail to just say no, there will be more of these disrespectful antics.
I think there should be referendums proposed all across the Country establishing recall petitions of elected officials who believe we are subjects and they are rulers. It is imperative to hold these people accountable and stop allowing them to believe they rule over us. No, election cycles are not sufficient in many cases. And this is not about liking or disliking, but again, constitutional governance.
It is time "We the People" just say no. If we do not, then the words of Ayn Rand ring true, "The uncontested absurdities of today are the accepted slogans of tomorrow. They come to be accepted by degrees, by dint of constant pressure on one side and constant retreat on the other -- until one day when they are suddenly declared to be the Country's official ideology".
Our motto at the American Constitutional Rights Union is "Live Free"...it's time to just say “no” if we still want to Live Free.