Infringement of Your Freedom
Contents
If it bothers you that the government stores information that will allow them to know where you go and who you have talked to on your cell phone and that you may not be able choose your own physician. You might want to learn more – and do something. 2014/03/25 User:Glenn
If it bothers you that the government stores information that will allow them to know where you go and who you have talked to on your cell phone and that you may not be able choose your own physician. You might want to learn more – and do something. There are three general areas of understanding that could be helpful:
Understanding Personal Freedom
Personal freedom is essentially an inner thing; something inside a man; the presence of something in a man's personality, not the absence of constraint from without. This inwardness is the essence of personal freedom, and we get nowhere until we recognize the fact. Consider the supreme example, Socrates, who was imprisoned for years, yet was utterly free until his death. –The Meaning of Personal Freedom an article by Victor Gollancz
Understanding the Governance Process That Both Protects Your Freedom and Results In Infringement of Your Freedom
The constitutional foundation stone for protecting our freedom is the Bill of Rights – the first 10 amendments. They are listed below, along with some examples of current infringement issues. For a more in-depth understanding of the Bill of Rights and the issues – Bill of Rights 101 and Second Bill of Rights
1. Freedom of religion
In some Muslim sects, the penalty for adultery is stoning. Clearly, this religious practice should not be allowed. But, should Mormons be allowed to have more than one wife? Or, should Catholic Little Sisters be required to provide birth control for their employees who are providing free care to elderly people? Obama Care requires it. But the Supreme Court has ruled that the Little Sisters are not required to comply until the lawsuit has made it through the courts.
2. Freedom of Speech
Understandably, it’s illegal to yell fire in a crowded theater, but should it be illegal for a student to express views against homosexuality. http://www.worldmag.com/2013/06/catholic_student_wins_free_speech_case_in_michigan
3. No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house
There are no major issues in this area.
4. Freedom of press
The primary issue is government demanding that journalists reveal their sources of information – it’s a continuing battle in the courts. http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2012/united-states#.Uvvp5Uax4_M
5. Freedom of assembly
There have been no recent major issues in this regard. The most notable controversy involved the Occupy Wall Street movement. You can get a quick understanding of this issue at: http://harvardcrcl.org/2011/11/05/what-does-freedom-of-assembly-mean-for-occupy-wall-street/
6. Petition the government
There have been no recent major issues in right to petition, per se. However, there is an ongoing controversy having to do with lobbying. You can get a quick understanding of this issue at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_petition
7. Keep and bear arms
This has been a major ongoing issue for many years. The two sides in the controversy are those who want to keep their weapons to defend life and liberty versus those who believe that the government can defend us and that we should get the weapons out of the hands of those who would use them to take our life or liberty.
8. Privacy
This is currently an issue in many areas of our lives. You can get a quick understanding of the breadth of this issue here. A recent example: The Justice Department and most local police forces are currently tracking Americans' cell phones without getting warrants. There may be tens of thousands of cases. For example, in 2010 Michigan police officers sought information about every cell phone near the site of a planned labor protest. State and federal courts around the country have made conflicting rulings in this regard.
9. Liberty 101
The difficulty of the balance between providing us services versus infringing upon our liberties is illustrated by the fact that you may or may not be free to choose the doctor of your choice when Obamacare is implemented.
10. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. This is for both rights that have been reserved for the states and those reserved for the people themselves.
The battleground is more on federal government infringing upon the rights of the people in the states than on infringing upon the rights of the states themselves. This is for both rights that have been reserved for the states and those reserved for the people themselves.
Understanding How You Can Help Change What the Government Does
A concise overview of the overall constitutional balancing problem can be seen by clicking here.
Even though the growth of the federal government in recent decades seems to have made the 10th Amendment (“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”) a dead letter, in reality it isn’t. When government programs violate the Constitution, reformers can turn to the actual written words for guidance and return important powers to the states and to the people – if we can build the political momentum.” So, the question is, how can you become a reformer and help build the political momentum.
