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Plainsman1963

Why we have no “constitutional” rights
Backwoodshome.com | John Silveira

The other day I read an article concerning a suit brought against the government by some of the 550 or so detainees at the naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The litigants’ complaints include the use of “evidence” obtained by torture which their attorneys claimed violated fairness and due process. Our government’s position, stated by Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Brian Boyle, is that the detainees “have no constitutional rights enforceable in this court.” I read those words and my first thought was, “Of course they don’t have constitutional rights because there’s no such thing as constitutional rights in this country.”

Our rights are not constitutional rights. Our Founding Fathers never intended them to be. They set this country up with the understanding that our rights are God-given or natural. They are not gifts from the government; they are not granted by the Constitution. On the other hand, there are constitutional rights in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and a host of other countries. And in those counties both the people and the governments consider their rights to be gifts from the government and subject to government approval. The United States is the only country in all of history set up with the philosophy that rights are separate from and not dependent upon the government.

Nowhere does the Constitution say we are being granted rights. When rights are mentioned, it says only that the government cannot deprive us of them. And nowhere does it say our rights are peculiarly American rights. In fact, the Declaration of Independence specifically says...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights... That, folks, is the philosophical and legal basis of this country.

Why, then, do we even have a Bill of Rights in our Constitution? The Federalists—Hamilton, John Adams, etc., didn’t want one because they feared not only would any rights not included be denied, but that the government would then begin acting as if the government itself, and the Constitution in particular, would be viewed as the source of our rights. The Democrats—Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, and others wanted a Bill of Rights because they feared that without it the government would eventually assume our rights didn’t exist. Part of the compromise to make sure “unenumerated rights” were not ignored was the Ninth Amendment. It specifically says, The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

The bad news is that history has shown that the fears of both Federalists and Democrats have come to be realized: bureaucrats (including government lawyers), congressmen, presidents, and even the courts spend an incredible amount of time, effort, and your money trying to circumvent the one thing that makes the United States unique in history. They have come to the view:

• any right not specifically mentioned in the Bill of Rights is nonexistent.

• the rights that are mentioned are pliable.

• the Ninth Amendment is dead.

and worst of all:

• the government or the Constitution is the source of our rights.

That’s how other countries treat rights, and we are be-coming more and more like the rest of the world.

What are we fighting for?
We claim to be fighting in places like Afghanistan and Iraq for freedom. Then let’s exercise that freedom. If the government believes those they hold at Guantanamo are a threat, let them have their day in court. Make the government close what is in essence the same type of concentration camp in which we held Japanese-Americans during World War II. Let the government make its case against the detainees in front of the American people and the world. And those among the prisoners they can prove guilty? Imprison them, shoot them, or whatever else must be done with them. Then let the others go. It’s not just the rights of those at Guantanamo I’m concerned with, but the rights that our Founding Fathers said belong to us all.

If we don’t put a stop to these government abuses, if we don’t change their mindset, if we refuse to draw a line in the sand, we are going to wake up one day and find all our “God-given” rights gone. What will be left are the rights the politicians and bureaucrats want us to have, rights they can rescind anytime they find them inconvenient, rights that are nothing more than privileges, like the kind other governments let their citizens have. If we keep allowing abuses such as happened to Japanese-Americans during World War II and now to detainees at Guantanamo, one day it will dawn on us that we too no longer have our God-given rights but only those rights the government currently allows the prisoners at Guantanamo—none at all.

And to do this, not one word of the Constitution or the Declaration of Independence will have to be changed—they just have to be ignored.

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"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards." - Claire Wolfe

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16204ever

Yes, the Ninth Amendment was DOA from the start. The government realizes that is a dangerous one, probably the most so.

Even "great" "liberal" judges such as Hugo Black took the attitude that since the Amendment doesn't list what it means then they are all too stupid to figure it out.

But that is the entire goddamned point.

The fact that they AREN'T listed is this amendment's power. It means the People are really in charge, and if the Constitution doesn't give the Government explicit rights to do something then it cannot do it. The government doesn't see it this way.

The Ninth says this:

1. A man's home is his castle. In it, you have the right to do anything consenting adults want to do. You are protected with Privacy.

2. Drugs are legal, usage is up to the individual.

3. Assisted Suicide is legal, it is up to the individual. Your body is your own.

4. Abortion is legal, it is up to the individual.

5. Seatbelt use is up to the individual.

6. And many more.

The federal government was meant to maintain roads, maintain a SMALL army if any at all, and regulate weights and measures for commerce. That is it. No more than this, certainly not all this "safety" bullshit they use to infringe on our lives.

The Ninth Amendment is absolutely the most horrifying Amendment to the Feds.

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2point4

One day? I feel that day has already dawned on us and the rights the politicians and bureaucrats want us to have, rights they can rescind anytime they find them inconvenient, rights that are nothing more than privileges, like the kind other governments let their citizens have, is all that is left.

I think this has a lot to do with globalization. A one-world government is where we're heading, and I don't mean the UN. It's going to be a modern day good-ol'-boy network and then the fun will start. Maybe not in any of our lifetimes, but hopefully civilization destorys itself before it comes to that.

Hashishi

Make sure you're wearing a nappy before clicking this LINK.

And don't forget to read the signatories at the bottom of the "Statement of Principles" section HERE.

Higher Logic

Nothing beats this name though: Francis Fukuyama. Whenever I read it, it looks like "Fuck Ya Mama" Yup, the fabulous signatures of the PNAC crew. It's got 'em all. My dad used to work with Dan Quayle too, he's an asshole. And William Bennett can go fuck himself.

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2point4

ehh...you lost me at 'good for America and for the world'...

I did check the Signatures link...personally, I like Fredcicle.