The Bill of Rights -
Void where prohibited by Law
By John W. M. Flaherty
(Published 11/15/94, Gloucester County Times,
NJ)
In 1787, after a long summer of heated debate and difficult
compromise, the founding fathers presented the people of the United States with a document
which would form the crux of an experiment in government. This document was the Constitution.
Desperate for the formation of an open government free from the oppression and impunity of
the recently vanquished British crown, the people placed the trust and hopes of their
fledgling nation upon the shoulders of 55 men in Philadelphia. These 55 men were therefore
shocked and surprised when the "people" rejected this Constitution.
The reason the citizens refused to accept this new document was simple. There were no
safeguards written into the Constitution to protect the people of this new nation from the
oppressive weight of their own government.
The constituents of the new congress insisted on a guarantee which would secure them
against the wanton or intrusive tendencies of the State. They insisted on a "Bill of
Rights".
The founders felt that this so-called "Bill of Rights" would be redundant and
unnecessary. They had carefully written the Constitution to specifically outline the
limited powers of the Federal government. The citizens wanted a warranty to protect rights
that the government had no power whatsoever (as outlined by the Constitution) to either
remove or otherwise alter. In the minds of the founders, this was akin to the people
asking the government to guarantee that the sun would rise the next day, as if the
government could stop it from doing so in the first place.
Nevertheless, the people would not retract their demand. The specter of injustice suffered
under British rule was all to vivid. Eventually the founders acquiesced, yet many remained
convinced that this new "Bill of Rights" was superfluous and unneeded.
Over 200 years later, the founders have been proved wrong, while the conventional wisdom
of the common man has been vindicated. The U.S. government has manifest into a
juggernaught of restraint and intrusion. The precious liberties outlined in the "Bill
of Rights" have not been protected by that so-called "redundant and
unnecessary" appendix. On the contrary, these liberties have been assaulted from
every angle despite the assurances of the founders.
To illustrate, I offer the following examples:
Yet it goes on and on. When will we learn? 82 years go,
several farsighted Congressmen suggested a ceiling of 5% on the Federal Income Tax when
that particular affront to the people was being ratified. Their attempt to limit
government power was also laughed off as unwarranted. As if the Income tax would ever
exceed 5%!
In closing, I present for your consideration, the tattered remains of the Tenth Amendment;
"The powers not delegated to the United States government by the constitution are
reserved to the States and the people respectively"
Now that is funny!
