“…power over a man’s subsistence amounts to a power over his will.” -Alexander Hamilton in Federalist Paper #79 A malignant idea exists in socialistic thought that societies can have political freedom with limited economic freedom. More precisely, this dangerous idea is that political and economic freedom are separate and distinct freedoms and that one can [...]
“The fabric of American empire ought to rest on the solid basis of the consent of the people. The streams of national power ought to flow immediately from that pure, original fountain of all legitimate authority. –Alexander Hamilton Simply put, legitimate foundation means the will of the People at large, while legitimate authority is the [...]
The most common–and grossly incorrect–answer to this question is that we are a democracy. The right–albeit simplistic–answer is that we are a republic. A more sophisticated answer is that we are a constitutional republic. The most thorough answer came from James Madison, who said that our form of government is an “Extended Limited Commercial Federal [...]
According to the American Founders, the proper role of government is to protect unalienable rights. The government cannot rightfully do anything that an individual cannot rightfully do. In other words, if it is wrong for an individual to steal another’s property, then it is wrong for the government to do the same thing. As Cleon [...]
Unalienable.com has the following great definition of unalienable rights: “The absolute rights of individuals may be resolved into the right of personal security, the right of personal liberty, and the right to acquire and enjoy property. These rights are declared to be natural, inherent, and unalienable. “By the ‘absolute rights’ of individuals is meant those [...]
The Declaration of Independence states that “…all men are created equal…they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” Sir William Blackstone wrote: “Man…must necessarily be subject to the laws of his Creator…This will of his Maker is called the law of nature…This law of nature…is of course superior to any other…No human laws [...]
Minnesota Representative Michele Bachmann once accused Barack Obama of holding positions that are “anti-American” (and she was not the first). What did she mean? In order to define what it means to be “anti-American” we should define what it means to be “American” and use examples from history to see if our judgment is fair [...]
This is part 2 of a 3-part series, which is continued from this series. Read Part 1 Here Read Part 2 Here At this point, we should note that while traditional tribal culture does have much to teach us from its idyllic simplicity, it is far from perfect. Studying its pitfalls and common flaws is [...]
In 2002 President George W. Bush said, “The public education system . . . is where children from all over America learn to be responsible citizens, and learn to have the skills necessary to take advantage of our fantastic opportunistic society.” At first blush this is just a gaffe, Freudian in my opinion. But there [...]
This is part 3 of a 3-part article. Read Part 1 Here Read Part 2 Here The most accurate way, then, to diagram the American governmental system is to diagram the local system correctly, then the federal and state levels with their three branches each, separations of power and checks and balances. But how exactly [...]
