As a parent one of the many joys my children bring me is the unbridled exuberance on display Christmas morning. My wife has a tradition in her family to give each child a new pair of Christmas pajamas the night before. The family bakes cookies. The Christmas tree is lit. The anticipation of Christmas morning is everywhere. The children argue over who will leave the cookies and milk for Santa. As we tuck the children in bed, sporting their brand new pajamas, we see their eyes beaming with the anticipation and excitement Christmas morning will bring.
On Thursday, June 28th the country was like all children going to bed on Christmas Eve. The anticipation of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the case known colloquially as Obama Care was due. The topic dominated news programming. Talk radio was abuzz. Web sites were flooded with articles and commentary. Adults were waiting with baited breath for the ruling.
It is truly sad and pathetic.
The fate of a country lies in the hands of nine politically connected lawyers in black robes. Our unalienable right to contract can be abridged based on a single vote. A 5-4 ruling to uphold Obama Care and the individual mandate may come down to one person. The mere thought that our God given unalienable rights endowed upon us by our Creator can be abridged because of one person is unthinkable. This doesn’t excite me or create unbridled exuberance.
It scares the hell out of me.
The question that everyone should ask is how did the country get to the point where one person, one vote, is sufficient to change the Constitution and abridge unalienable rights? The premise that the government — instituted to better secure our unalienable rights to life, liberty, and property — can use the force of law to compel an individual into a private contract forever changes the nature of the Constitution and the relationship between individuals and government. If the individual mandate were upheld government can compel an individual to purchase anything against their will. The list is indefinite. Government power is unlimited.
How did the country get to this point in its history where a federal government of limited powers has transformed into a national government with unlimited powers? I’m sure each of you has an answer to this question. But, my answer is the combination of judicial activism with citizen non-activism. In other words, the very ideal of co-equal branches of government has long left the barn. We have judicial supremacy; a judicial oligarchy if you will. The other branches of government follow in lock-step with the judicial branch.
The citizens of the United States deserve much of the blame. To sit idly by taking no personal responsibility to defend and protect your God given unalienable rights is an abdication of your civic duty. To expect elected officials and appointed bureaucrats to defend your rights and liberties is like asking the fox to guard the hen house. Yet, that is precisely what millions of Americans have done. Americans bury their heads in the sand believing the fox will restraint itself.
Moreover, all those that believe in failed strategies like “just get my guy in” or “wait until our party gets control of Congress” should carefully evaluate those strategies. Justice Roberts was appointed by the second President Bush. Conservatives and Republicans considered Roberts a constitutional conservative, someone that would rule on their side. Everyone was worried about how Kennedy may vote. In the end, it was Roberts that proved to be the swing vote on Obama Care. The idea that the Supreme Court is reason enough to vote for the Republican or the Democrat has just been obliterated. Everyone that suggests I must vote for Romney because the balance of the Supreme Court is in jeopardy has egg on their face. The balance is long gone.
Anyone that delegates their duty and responsibility to defend their rights and liberties to nine lawyers in black robes deserves to live with the outcome. Washington D.C. is broke and broken. D.C. will never fix D.C. This includes the Supreme Court.
The Obama Care ruling eviscerates the very meaning of a government with limited, enumerated powers. The ruling means government can institute a tax on any economic activity or lack thereof. Your choice is the lesser of two evils. Be forced into buying an insurance policy or pay a tax. Substitute anything in place of insurance policy and see if you like the outcome. Here are few examples:
1) Buy a firearm or pay a tax.
2) Buy U.S. Securities (bonds, notes, etc.) or pay a tax.
3) Buy solar panels or pay a tax.
4) Buy an electric car or pay a tax.
5) Buy vegetables or pay a tax.
Imagine if ten, twenty, or hundreds of these laws are enacted. Your entire income could be directed to buying a product you may not want or paying a tax. The government can control every economic decision in your life or confiscate your property if you are disobedient.
By the way I want to point out that the Supreme Court’s ruling cannot be constitutional according to Chief Justice Robert’s opinion. If the penalty is truly a tax according to Roberts, Obama Care was a bill that originated in the Senate then was passed by the House. All revenue bills (i.e. taxes) must originate in the House. How did Roberts and the majority simply miss that part of the Constitution?
On June 28th, 2012 it was like Christmas Eve for many Americans. A great deal of excitement and anxiety was in the air. Like Christmas morning some are disappointed and others are exuberant. What all Americans got was a lump of coal. Not because of the decision but because most Americans are complacent and apathetic, and do not take any personal responsibility to protect and defend their unalienable rights. But don’t fret, another big case will come along and most of you will be waiting with baited breath hoping the Supreme Court rules the “right” way.
The outcome today is our fault. Everyone single one of us. We tolerated this charade for decades. Hopefully, today the curtain has been pulled back, the tables and chairs rearranged, and the ruling class has exposed themselves at last. We allowed ourselves to be sold down the river and we landed squarely on the government plantation.
Is this your line in the sand? Will you discard the failed strategies of the past? Will you embrace big ideas? Ideas like state nullification, an Article V amendments convention, or states leaving the union?
The time has come to choose. Liberty or oppression. Freedom or slavery. If you choose liberty and freedom join a group, become active, run for office. Do something. If you choose oppression and slavery then my parting words to you are from a Sam Adams quote; “Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.”
A Citizen's View by Scott A. Strzelczyk 