I recently returned from our annual pilgrimage to New England for the
holidays. It involved the usual family maintenance and holiday
celebrating. My parents live in Rhode Island. My brother lives in
Kennebunkport, Maine. My wife's family lives in Lexington,
Massachusetts.
I wrote most of this from Lexington, Massachusetts. It has been one
full year that I have had the luxury and privilege to write these weekly
commentaries for WorldNetDaily. We have covered a wide spectrum. From
the essence of Duty, Honor, Country, to the culpability of the
mainstream media in refusing to cover stories that are significant. We
were among the first to comment on the Newsweek spiking of the Michael
Isikoff story on Monica Lewinsky, which subsequently led to the
impeachment of a president of the United States. I suggested it was
significant because of perjury, obstruction of justice and abuse of
power, not the lurid sex stuff. We were among the first to comment on
the potential dangers of the Y2K problems, assaults on privacy of
Echelon and Axicom, and first to question the circumstances surrounding
the death of James McDougal. We have exposed the inherent dangers of
various executive orders, helped support and defeat legislation and
bragged about my big fish (888 pound Giant Bluefin Tuna).
However, in the wake of the holidays, and the ongoing District of
Criminals drama, I am reminded of the precious gift the framers
bequeathed to us "if you can keep it." I walked down around the
Lexington green Christmas day and stared at the Minuteman statue. It was
quiet, and cold. As I stared up at the determined face of the Minuteman,
I was reminded of the courage and sacrifice of our founders. I am always
personally affected when I walk around the green. The chill that ran
down my spine wasn't caused by the wind or the New England December
cold. I experienced that familiar shiver down the spine that still
happens when I hear the national anthem, or see a solitary bugler
playing taps on the hill of a military cemetery after the echoes of
those last rifle shots. Jonathan Ingalls (a direct antecedent), and
Burgess Metcalf (another direct antecedent) were active participants in
the war for Independence. Ingalls was one of the few with Captain Parker
that day in Lexington when the British came to confiscate powder and
ball. They had been tipped off by Paul Revere and knew "The British are
coming." I often try to remind my radio listeners that the first three
battles of the Revolution were not fought over taxation or
representation, but over gun control. The British, like the Germans, and
Russians to follow, recognized the need of tyrants to disarm the
citizenry. The framers recognized the need for free men to be armed, and
included the Second Amendment in our Bill of Rights. They put it there
not so we could duck hunt, or poke holes in paper. The Second Amendment
is both a recognized right, and a reminder, that (God forbid) if it is
ever again necessary for the citizenry to rise up and bear arms against
a tyrannical government they (we) will have the resources.
Back in the mid-1700s most of the contemporary colonists supported
(at least tacitly) the British Crown. After all, Americans were British
subjects. In fact, if there had been a public opinion poll, it would
have shown overwhelming support for King George (despite his long list
of abuses and oppression). However, public sentiment notwithstanding,
King George grossly abused his power and authority. Our ancestors were
victims of a tyrannical government that ruled by decree that often was
arbitrary and even capricious. Relatively few colonists joined the
founders and my relatives to oppose the Crown. The economy seemed good,
unemployment was low and the majority seemed to, if not support the
king, at least appear content to tolerate their existence.
A small, but dedicated, courageous and committed minority who were
unwilling to sacrifice a little liberty for a little security fought a
revolution, and founded the greatest nation mankind has seen. They gave
us the Constitution and Bill of Rights as a solid foundation for the
republic, and then they dared us to keep it.
As we reflect on the year past, and the year to come, I return to
that recurringly annoying observation about our elected officials of
today and the oath that all take. Presidents, senators, and
representatives all take a solemn oath of office. They swear to
"preserve and protect the Constitution of the United States against all
enemies, foreign and domestic ... and to bear true faith and allegiance.
..." As the nation is now focused on the "Constitutional Crisis" of
impeaching a president, I continue in my search for that fictional
"reasonable and rational man or woman." Since constitutional experts are
cropping up with the frequency of 900 numbers, maybe someone can answer
me this: If and when an elected official who swears an oath to "preserve
and protect" something, and then immediately proceeds to undermine,
abrogate, and denigrate the very document to which they have sworn
allegiance, what is that? Is it perjury? Is it fraud? Is it treason?
Bill Clinton says our framers wrote a "radical Constitution ...
granting radical rights." BULLFEATHERS! First of all, the Constitution
and the Bill of Rights doesn't grant us anything! It merely acknowledges
God-given inalienable rights that NO ONE gave us, AND that no one can
take away from us. California Congresscritter Ellen Tausher was
actually dumb enough to once claim the Constitution was like her "old
blue dress" ... that didn't fit anymore. Nevertheless she swore a sacred
oath to "preserve and protect" that same Constitution.
If, as has been suggested, we are now facing a constitutional crisis,
it is not because one man has violated his oath of office. It is not
because one man has lied under oath. It is not because one man has
abused his power and obstructed justice. The true constitutional
challenge we face is that a Congress infected with partisan pettiness
and myopia are content in their routine malfeasance, and lack the
courage, morality, or integrity to serve the Constitution they have
sworn to protect.
The constitutional crisis we face is not the event of an impeachment
trial of our president. The crisis is the process ... which has been
bastardized, homogenized and televised.
Those colonial revolutionaries were courageous and brave in ways our
contemporary congress can only fantasize through revisionist
rationalizations. The brave men who walked onto the Lexington green knew
the time and place to "lead, follow, or get out of the way." The
congressional Thespians posturing for sound bites, lack the courage to
lead, lack the brains to follow, and suffer an abundance of ego which
denies them the ability to get out of the way.
