If You Can't Do It, the Government Can

By David L. Miner

In the last essay, we discussed the issue of rights and where rights come from. We saw that the Founding Fathers believed that all rights originate in the Creator and rested in the people. We also saw that the people delegated certain responsibilities to the State and federal governments, and only certain responsibilities. Based on these statements of fact, we come face to face with a very important question: If We the People cannot require others to submit to a course of action, can our government require us to submit to that same course of action?

This question is very important, even critical, in virtually every discussion of individual sovereign rights versus government authority. Can the government, any government, require you and me to perform some action or submit to some requirement that you and I cannot require our neighbor to perform or submit to? The quick and simple answer to that question is a resounding “NO!” Let’s see why this is true.

First, we have established the fact that our federal Constitution is founded on the belief that all rights in America rest with We The People. Second, we have established the fact that our Constitution is founded on the belief that the federal government has no right or authority that was not delegated to it by the Constitution. Third, We The People cannot delegate any authority to anyone which We The People do not first possess. This bodes ill for our federal government.

You see, the federal government almost daily involves itself in restrictions and requirements on American Citizens that We The People do not have and never have had the authority to do. Let us explain.

Do I have the right to save for my future retirement? The answer is a simple, “Yes.” Do you have the right to save for your future retirement? Again, the answer is, “Yes.” But do I have the authority to require you to save for your future retirement? The obvious answer is, “No.” Do you have the authority to require me to save for my future retirement? Again, the answer is, “No.” Even if someone's failure to save for their future retirement affects someone else negatively, neither you not I have the authority to require that person to save for their retirement. So, since that is true, can you and I delegate to the government the authority to require you and me to save for our respective or collective futures? The answer is again a resounding, “No!”

Do I have the right to contribute to disaster victims here and around the world? The answer is a simple, “Yes.” Do you have the right to contribute to disaster victims here and around the world? Again, the answer is, “Yes.” But do I have the authority to require you to contribute to disaster victims? The obvious answer is, ‘No.” Do you have the authority to require me to contribute to disaster victims? Again, the answer is, “No.” Then can you and I delegate to the government the authority to require you and me to contribute to disaster victims here and around the world? The answer is again a resounding, “No!”

Do I have a right to remove guns from my house as an effort to reduce the risk of accidental injury in my house? The answer is a simple, “Yes.” Do you have the right to remove guns from your house as an effort at reducing the risk of accidental injury in your house? Again, the answer is, “Yes.” But do I have the right to force you to remove guns from your house? The obvious answer is, “No.” Do you have the right to force me to remove guns from my house? Again, the answer is, “No.” Then can you and I delegate to the government the authority to force you and me to remove guns from our houses? The answer is again a resounding, “No!”

Do you begin to see the obvious reasoning here? Can We The People delegate to our government any authority that we do not first have? Absolutely not! Can our government then exercise authority it has not been delegated? Again, absolutely not! Not, that is, and still call itself a Constitutional government.

Has the federal government exercised authority that We The People have not delegated to it? The obvious answer is, “Yes.” Can the government expect We The People to consider it Constitutional while it is usurping authority we never granted it? Again, the answer is a resounding, “No!”

Now comes the really hard questions. Can We The People require our federal government to live within its limits of authority? Before you answer that question, you should know it was a trick question. We The People have already required the federal government to live within its limitations. We did so in the document we wrote and called the Constitution for the United States of America. Has this document made very much difference in the government’s grab for more power and authority? No, it has not.

If the Constitution, the document that creates the federal government and gives it all of its powers, cannot stop the federal government from exceeding its lawful authority, what do you really and truly believe will bring our federal government back into lawful submission to We The People and our Constitution?

"Those who make peaceful change impossible," said John F. Kennedy, "make violent change inevitable."