Saturday, January 26, 2008

Constitution Of The United States


It is too probable that no plan we propose will be adopted. Perhaps another dreadful conflict is to be sustained. If to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God.
—George Washington, remarks at the first Continental Congress, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 14, 1787.—Max Farrand, The Framing of the Constitution of the United States, p. 66 (1934).Washington was the presiding officer.

In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.
—Thomas Jefferson, from the fair copy of the drafts of the Kentucky Resolutions of 1798.—The Writings of Thomas Jefferson

I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.
—Thomas Jefferson

I hope and pray that we can all learn all we can about the Constitution. I have been trying my best as of late to read all that I can and gain a real understanding of what our founding fathers wanted us to know. I have been slowly working my way through The Federalist Papers. They are hard to understand, but very inspiring when you do begin to understand them. Last Saturday Doran and I went to an Eagle Forum convention up in the Salt Lake area. There were a lot of topics that were discussed and I have to admit that most of it was over my head. I did enjoy learning though and I realized how distracted we are in life from learning about the things that should mean the most. It reminded me of a scripture:
  1. 21 And others will he apacify, and lull them away into carnal bsecurity, that they will say: All is well in Zion; yea, Zion prospereth, all is well—and thus the cdevil dcheateth their souls, and leadeth them away carefully down to hell.
I know that I have really been lulled into thinking all is well way too often. If you believe what the main stream media tells you then you get the picture that things are not all that bad. The truth of course is a little more serious than that. I am grateful that we live in an age when we can go to other sources for information and not have to rely solely on television for our news. As Doran and I were driving home from the convention we were listening to KSL and they were reporting on who won what in Nevada. Doran was a little surprised that they mentioned who took first, second, and third on the democratic side, but only mentioned first place for the republican side of things. I can't help but wonder if Ron Paul had taken first would they have skipped reporting the republican side of things altogether. I have to admit that I gave up on main stream media reporting awhile ago. It was when I was working at Wal-mart distribution center and I remember for about a week straight the only thing I heard about was how O.J. Simpson had stolen cable television. It was then and there that I realized that they only report on what they want to report on and the most important things that are happening in the world are whatever they want to be the most important things. I could care less that O.J. Simpson stole cable. That was not news to me and it did nothing to enlighten my mind or help me to understand anything of real importance, So I am not surprised by the media blackout against Ron Paul. If he has done nothing else, he got me interested in government, which is something I never dreamed I would care about at all, and I am grateful for that. I do not ever want to have the same look on my face as McCain had on his during the Florida debate When asked a question by Ron Paul he had that "I have no Idea what this man is talking about" look. It was just about the funniest thing I had ever seen. I want to be able to answer tough questions like that. I know that eventually I will get all this information in my head and then maybe I will understand the debates a little more :-) I sure wish I had paid attention in school now. Anyways I hope that all of you can study up on the issues and understand everything that is going on so we can all make an informed choice in the election coming up.

[Alexander Hamilton]
AFTER an unequivocal experience of the inefficacy of the subsisting federal government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America. The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences nothing less than the existence of the UNION the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an empire in many respects the most interesting in the world. It has been frequently remarked that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force. If there be any truth in the remark, the crisis at which we are arrived may with propriety be regarded as the era in which that decision is to be made; and a wrong election of the part we shall act may, in this view, deserve to be considered as the general misfortune of mankind.

Robert