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It's bad when diplomats from other countries come to America to give us lessons on our own Constitution. However, when a political candidate runs on the platform of "getting back to the Constitution", and can't even be heard by the majority of Americans because of biased journalism and railroading by his own political party, we have a problem. Daniel Hannan, Member of Parliament for England became an internet sensation by standing up to Prime Minister, Gordon Brown over fiscal policies similar to the Obama administration's. He is an admirer of the U.S. Constitution, and a fan of Dr. Ron Paul.
In a recent interview with Judge Andrew Napolitano, Hannan stated that the problems America faces today and in the past do not come from the Constitution, rather a failure to uphold and adhere to its standards. The purpose of the Constitution is to limit government, not to strengthen it. The Bill of Rights does not give rights to the people, it supports unalienable rights that are intrinsic to every individual. As a human being, you have a right to your opinion. The Constitution simply supports your right to have it and express it.
The origins of the U.S. Constitution are not entirely noble. In fact, its origin can be traced principally to one individual, Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton was a staunch Federalist and believed firmly in a strong centralized government. Prior to the writing of the Constitution, America was a confederation of loosely aligned sovereign states, each with its own constitution. Discussions and debates circulated among the various provinces regarding unification and The Federalist Papers, authored by Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison, mostly argued for a central government.
Arguably, the greatest proponent of freedom, Thomas Jefferson himself was an anti-federalist. Jefferson believed in the absolute minimum when it came to government. In fact, he stated that the best form of government was represented in the Native American tribes. However, he also saw this as impractical for a nation which was rapidly growing to the size and scope of America.
Those assembled at the Philadelphia Congress were originally given the responsibility of simply amending the Articles of Confederation which were not much more than agreements between the separate colonies. However, once convened, the congress closed the doors and began hashing out today's Constitution. No doubt if Hamilton had succeeded in his plan, the Constitution would have been more of an authoritarian document. However, the soft spoken Madison saw the dangers both of authoritarianism, and of a true democracy and established the different branches of government which act to balance one another out.
Many anti-federalists were not happy with a constitution that spelled out the responsibilities of the government, but did not mention the rights and protections of the people. Among these were Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry and James Madison. Although some were opposed to spelling out the rights on paper and thus defining them (or limiting them), it was argued that the rights needed to be spelled out in order to ensure their protection. The Bill of Rights does not presume to provide these rights, rather it recognizes their inherent nature and protects their sanctity.
Many today who argue against the Constitution argue against the abuse of power and for the rights of the individual. Anarchy in the sense of supporting individual rights simply will not work, especially on a large scale such as the U.S.. In order to live and work together, common laws and agreements must be made in order to ensure justice and freedom for every individual. The problem is not that the Constitution gives the government too much power. The problem is that legislators cross the lines, sometimes out of good intentions as in the case of FDR, sometimes with malice. However, it is up to "We The People" to remain vigilant and call legislators to account whenever we see that the Constitution is being violated. If the doors to governance "by the people" have been closed, then the call for a new Revolution needs to resound in order to restore the Constitution to its rightful place
.For more info: Oligarchy vs. Republic; Alexander Hamilton; James Madison; Thomas Jefferson; The Federalist Papers; Daniel Hannan
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