Government

Discussing the Bill of Rights is not an Argument about Politics

4 Comments
  • Those citizens had had enough of finding soldiers on their doorsteps demanding food and lodging and treating the family like personal slaves. They demanded the federal government manage its own income and expenses wisely and provide for the soldiers in the national army itself.

    • The Bill of Rights is one more way that our Constitution states its real purpose: to protect and preserve the freedom of the citizens.

  • There are restraints on jury trials, speedy trials, search and seizure, and so forth in the Bill of Rights. All those restrictions on the government are intended to protect the liberty of the citizens and prevent them from being treated like criminals for merely disagreeing with the federal government’s administrative arm.
  • Amendments 9 and 10 nail down the principle that if a power the federal government wants to use is not in the Constitution, then it belongs still to the people. These amendments strongly reinforce the principle that unless a power is granted to the federal government in the Constitution, the federal government does not have that power.

    • As you can see, this is not about politics at all. It is about the rights of people. The Bill of Rights is one more way that our Constitution states its real purpose: to protect and preserve the freedom of the citizens. In the Constitution a federal government is defined, but its purpose is to benefit the people; there is nothing in the Constitution which authorizes government to limit the freedoms God has given to everyone. The discussion of the Constitution and its purpose is not a political discussion at all. The discussion only becomes political when it addresses the question of whether one candidate or another will do a better job of complying with the Constitution, or whether a proposed bureaucracy will serve the people without impeding their freedoms.

    The content of the Bill of Rights is a statement of faith in God. It expresses confidence in God and in God’s gifts to human beings, with liberty being at the pinnacle of God’s gifts to us.

    To discuss the Bill of Rights is to discuss the moral climate in which the country will operate. The first ten amendments to the Constitution speak powerfully of God’s view of what makes us human. God created humans in order for humans to relate to him freely. Public morality is shaped by the necessary tension between the laws required for public safety and good order and the liberty God gives humans. The intent of the Constitution, and the intent of the Bill of Rights, was to create a government that had only the power necessary to enforce safety and good order without the power or the mandate to trample human beings in the process. That intent is a moral statement. A discussion of the meaning of the Bill of Rights is a moral discussion, not a political one.

    Pages: 1 2 3

    4 thoughts on “Discussing the Bill of Rights is not an Argument about Politics”

    1. I think that it is interesting that you were “admonished by someone for bringing up politics” on Facebook. They don’t want you to have intelligent conversations on Facebook? More importantly, would they also admonish you for posting about religion? In Proverbs 3 it says that we are to acknowledge God in all we do; I believe that this includes Facebook. What do you think?

      Like

      1. You and I agree. In the Bible, I learn that our lives are to be living testimonies of our faith and our commitment to God. Unlike our current administration, I don’t make a distinction between who I am at Wal-mart and who I am at church. My personal moral standards are shaped by my faith, and they go with me everywhere.
        Thank you for the reblogs!

        Liked by 2 people

    2. The ignorance of whoever took exception with your original post is a large part of the serious problems we have with our country today. Keep up the good work.

      Steve

      Like

    Comments are closed.