The federal government is not legitimate; it is a rogue government. It operates in violation of the principles of our Declaration of Independence and the laws of our Constitution. It routinely degrades the unalienable rights of WE THE PEOPLE.
It has no legitimacy.
NOTE: I also recommend this diary... The General Strike
[ continue below the fold ]
We talk of fixing it by pressuring government officials and winning elections. But it’s too late for that. Because an illegitimate government, a tyranny, does not get fixed even if we could elect a benevolent leader.
The President effectively has the powers of a dictator. He can label anyone an enemy combatant and make him disappear into a secret prison. He can torture at will. We still have "laws" on the books, but these laws are routinely broken by the President in secret. And revealing his lawbreaking is itself a crime that is punished.
A Rogue Government
A legitimate government CANNOT:
- Delegate the power to make war from Congress to the President, in direct violation of the Constitution.
- Torture.
- Operate secret prisons.
- Suspend habeas corpus, except in case of rebellion or invasion.
- Engage in unreasonable search and seizure.
A legitimate government get its just powers from the consent of the governed. And it’s powers are limited to only those powers delegated by WE THE PEOPLE to it. A legitimate government is a servant of the people, not its master.
We have a rogue government. We cannot reform it. It is our right, indeed our DUTY, to do what we can to remove it.
My words are not sedition. They are the ideas of our founders. They are the very idea of America.
Why Have A Government?
The very purpose of having a government is to secure our unalienable rights. And any government that fails in its most fundamental purpose has no right to exist.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
This government does not secure our rights. It denies them, belittles them, and violates them.
This government is not worthy of our respect; indeed, it is worthy only of our contempt. Because it is contemptible.
No Reform
We talk of fixing the government from within the system. But this is a mistake. The system itself is broken. It has been broken for a long time, but in the last six years it has been broken beyond fixing.
We may win some elections. But it will only change the people, not the broken system. Even a benevolent dictator would still be a dictator.
In 2006, we elected a new majority in the House and Senate to fix things. They have failed. I have heard that we still need more votes. But this Congress has failed to use the powers it has to change things. Why should we expect that additional votes would bring about change when they aren’t doing what they could now?
We have some decent, honorable leaders, like Chris Dodd, who respect the Constitution and want to restore it. We have others who are only seeking power. But good people like Dodd can’t succeed because the system is against them. And a Democratic dictator, even if s/he passes healthcare reform or other positive measures, is still a dictator.
We need to re-institute checks and balances on government power. We need to make the government accountable to WE THE PEOPLE. We need to government to fear us. Nothing less will make any difference.
What To Do?
Until now, the public discourse has been dominated by those that hold our Constitution and our rights in contempt. We can change this. We don’t need to wait for some mass movement to form from below.
Each one of us, individually, can change this. We can work daily to remove the veneer of legitimacy from this rogue government.
I am always hearing:
The Democrats don’t have enough votes (to pass good legislation; to override an evil veto.)
The right wing is too powerful.
We must force the Democrats to develop a spine.
If we just win the next election, we can change things.
This thinking is wrong. Instead, we must conduct ourselves as Americans. We must be proud of our Declaration and our Constitution. We must proudly speak our for our unalienable rights. We must strongly denounce the government for abusing powers that we did not grant it. We must say "we no longer listen to what the President says because he always lies." We must say "the President’s responsibility isn’t to protect the American people; it’s to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution. He has failed to do so, and daily violates his oath of office."
We must say "we don’t listen to the tough talking Democrats, who have also been lying to us...because they never take action that matches their words."
We must say, again and again, "we do not recognize this government." We must say "we don’t consent to this government, because it has exceeded the powers that WE THE PEOPLE have delegated to it."
We must say "this is a rogue government because it violates rather than protects the unalienable rights of WE THE PEOPLE."
Saying these things, again and again, with more and more of us saying it will change the focus of things. We will ignore the stupid, venal attempts to take attention away from the crimes of this government. We won’t pay attention to or comment on the smear and lies and distractions that the media eats up. We will turn off the TV when such nonsense appears on our TVs.
We will say enough is enough.
We will speak truth and talk about the only thing that matters to real Americans: removing this illegitimate government and restoring the Constitution and our unalienable rights.
And we will strike. We will strike peacefully however we can. We will strike by reducing our spending. We will strike by calling in sick for work. We will strike however we can and whenever we can. We will strike using the tactics of Martin Luther King and Gandhi.
The Democrats won’t save us. The Republicans won’t destroy us. WE will stand up for ourselves and for our country and for our ideas.
Read this link: it’s an excellent call to action for a general strike, with practical advice. With your help, it could be the beginning of changing everything.
http://www.harpers.org/...
For those who despair, I can only remind you that India ejected the British and the Czechs kicked out the Soviets. We are occupied by tyrants, but they can only continue with our support. We can withdraw our support, and they will fall.