“The Constitution is not a living organism. It’s a legal document, and it says what it says and doesn’t say what it doesn’t say.”- Justice Antonin Scalia
Recently, I was the guest speaker in a high school government class. I taught the Bill of Rights from the late Justice Scalia’s perspective. So, in talking about the right to peaceably assemble, I asked the class if that meant busting into a store and taking merchandise in protest because you didn’t like a particular outcome, ruling, or event. In unison, these 17-18 year olds said “no.” I believe most Americans understand that we cannot give free reign to our emotions when a sporting, political, or a social event doesn’t turn out the way we have planned. We are not free to do whatever we want without restraint. The Bill of Rights gives us individual liberties, true. It does not give us the right to collectively gather and destroy people or property in protest. To do so is against the Laws of Nature and Nature’s God. We know this instinctively. We ALL know it.
So why are people who are elected to serve the public and take an oath to uphold the Constitution (state and federal), giving a “pass” to lawlessness?” Better yet, why are We the People tolerating it? This has been going on for the better part of a year now.
That begs the question: Are powerful people (elected and non-elected) tolerating lawlessness for their own selfish ends? What do they hope to gain? Let’s think about that for a moment. Why are nightly looting, burning, and destroying reported with seemingly no change and no pushback?
- Do these people think they will be easily re-elected?
- Do wealthy people who contribute financially to rioters believe they will change anyone’s life for the better?
- Do they believe they can gain the entire country and not lose their souls?
- Wait. Do they believe they can gain the entire country? What would it look like if they did?
- Will We the People allow the language in the First Amendment to become diluted?
Here’s what happens when lawlessness is not confronted: Leaders rise up. If no one upholds the law, someone will step up to fill that vacuum.
In the 1930s, it was Hitler who rose up. In fact, many rogue leaders stepped up in the twentieth century to the detriment of their own people and the world. It was the bloodiest, murderous century on record.
What will become of our country if we no longer enforce the law? Someone or some group will step up. We will be forced to obey their made up laws rather than our own Supreme Law of the Land, the U.S. Constitution, with its limited, defined powers, especially our Bill of Rights.
This is Common Sense Civics and Citizenship.🇺🇸
