NOW

I fear that we are entering the darkest times in American History.  We made it through Salem, outlasted slavery, marched through the Trail of Tears, imprisoned thousands of American citizens of Japanese origin, endured the blunder of Vietnam, ignored the Rwandan genocide, survived unspeakable horrors of terrorism, imperialized Iraq, and are in the midst of unspeakable environmental destruction.

But now is the time when the people of this country choose if we are going to be an oppressor of the world or its savoir.

It would be ridiculous to criticize a totalitarian regime for providing health care for all its citizens.  It would be unspeakable to define a tyrannical government as one that would decrease pollution and lead the world toward sustainable human survival.  It would be blasphemous to describe a dictatorship as a government that provides universal access to a world class education no matter the cost.

On the other hand, no one describes a Democracy as a system that supports government spying on its citizens without due process.  It would be insane to call a place where thousands of people die of preventable diseases the “land of the free.”  A dastardly deed it would be to call a country that invades other countries without provocation a beacon of liberty.

The Constitution is the basis of our democracy.  Not the Magna Carta.  Not the Code of Hammurabi.  Not the Mayflower Charter.  Not the Declaration of Independence.  And NOT the Bible. It’s the Constitution and the Constitution alone.  We are welcome to interpret the meaning of the Constitution.  We are welcome to change the Constitution only when there is an overwhelming majority of people in support of it.

We have changed our Constitution only 27 times.  The first ten happened at the same time: we call it the Bill of Rights.  They expand and protect our rights from government intervention.  They allow and support the freedom of the people and the press.

The 11^th Amendment clarified the Constitution (Article III Section 2) regarding lawsuits from citizens against the state.

The 12^th Amendment changed the way the President and Vice President were elected.

The 13^th Amendment banned slavery.

The 14^th Amendment expanded rights further to include citizenship, equal protection, and due process.

The 15^th Amendment expanded the right to vote to include all men of legal age.

The 16^th Amendment allowed Congress to levy more taxes.

The 17^th Amendment changed the way Senators were elected.

The 18^th Amendment prohibited the sale, distribution or manufacture of alcohol.  This was the first amendment that overtly decreased the rights of the people.

The 19^th Amendment expanded the right to vote to include all citizens of legal age.

The 20^th Amendment clarified the way officials were elected and established a line of Presidential succession.

The 21^st Amendment repealed the provisions of the 18^th Amendment.

The 22^nd Amendment changed how many times a person could be elected President to only twice.

The 23^rd Amendment expanded the representation of the District of Columbia.

The 24^th Amendment expanded the citizens’ right to vote.

The 25^th Amendment clarified Presidential succession.

The 26^th Amendment expanded the right to vote to include 18 years or older.

The 27^th Amendment clarified how members of the House of Representatives and Senators were paid.

The only time the Constitution has decreased the freedoms of the people, the people replied by removing that amendment.  The people will not tolerate any decrease in freedom by the government and our Constitution is a living record of the expansion of freedom for all people.

How could a person call themselves patriotic when they want to change the Constitution to decrease the rights of citizens on the basis of their sexual orientation?

How could a person be patriotic if they criticize the media–an entire entity that exercises the 1^st Amendment of the freedom of the press?   Even if the press is wrong, our Constitution protects their right to publish research.  Our constitution protects their right to muckrake.  Our Constitution protects their right to express the opinions of the people and other interests.

How could these people hijack the country like they have?

You have let them.  Let’s take the country back and elect Barack Hussein Obama as our representative to expand the rights of the people and move our country away from totalitarianism toward true freedom and democracy!