Everyone has heard the quote "they who can give up essential freedom for a little temporary security deserve neither", written by Benjamin Fanklin in 1775. In some ways he is right, but in today's society, must of us are not aware of the essential freedoms that we are losing. I also propose that the erosion of our rights is in proportion to the erosion of our society as a whole, which i will explain more. For those that don't remember social studies, let us review:
1st ammendment- freedom of speech and press, rights to assemble. Is your speech really free when it is monitored by your government? Does the press have this right when they are bullied by the government? Remember when the White House declared Fox News not news? Maybe you agree, but not the point. Allow this precedent and the next White House may do the same to MSNBC or ABC News or CNN. The press and news is free to have opinions also, they are not state run or monopolistic. People can choose their news and hence, their opinion. The government does not have the power to limit our news consumption. Do not let it!
2nd amendment - right to keep and bear arms. Remember the distinction here is to both keep them and bear them. Gun rights have been under assault for a long time. Before anyone calls me an NRA mouthpiece you should know, I do not own a gun of any kind. Have never owned a gun, expect for a .22 single shot rifle that I inherited for a few months before I sold it at a yard sale. Guns are not just for hunting and protecting your home. It is a constitutional right to keep them. Not to mention that 3D printed weapons stand to upend all gun legislation in the US. Our hearts in the right places when we try to ban weapons but the true problem is people. The erosion of the nuclear family has given rise to many broken families and homes, which has lead to a rise in crime. Children from broken homes are nine times more likely to commit crime than those from traditional home.
3rd ammendment - protection from quartering troops. I do not think the government intends to allow troops to squat in your home while at war or at peace, but this is designed to protect you from it anyways. At least without your consent.
4th ammendment - protection from unreasonable search and seizures. Along with free speech, the taking of our personal information from Internet servers worldwide, and data from phone records is unreasonable. Yes, warrants were had in some cases, but we need to discuss the difference between the law this falls under and the intent. The scope of the Verizon warrant was set to send all data, daily for millions of Americans. This is clearly not the intent , nor within the scope of that law. The rest of the disclosed seizures of private American data was warrant-less and even under the expanded Patriot act was never intended to target Americans en masse.
5th ammendment - rights to due process, double jeopardy, self incriminating and eminent domain. The fact that the Obama Administration admitted to killing 4 Americans intentionally with drone strikes is the most disturbing information not cared about out there. No matter the crime or circumstance, our constitution allows all citizens these basic rights. A trial should have been done for these 4 in absentia, with all means to notify the alleged criminals of the trial date and location. Once found guilty, the law would have met its demands and burdens and an order for execution could have been carried out legally. Now with drones able to operate in the USA borders, and with government agencies taking action against political rivals in the US, we allow more illegal murders like this to continue. Less discussed is our right now to incriminate ourselves, which is essentially waived when the government has all our private communications, even protected communication, at hand for use as they please. Yes, safeguards and laws are in place to protect that data from being used maliciously. Were there also safeguards and laws to prevent the IRS from targeting political rivals as well?
6th ammendment - trial by jury and the rights of the accused, speedy and public trial. The above argument also holds her as well.
7th ammendment - civil trial by jury. Which reminds me, why does congress try private companies in congress for the way it operates its own business? If it is breaking a law, this should be handles by the proper courts and authorities. If this is just some sort of civil proceeding that then levies a fine to be paid to the government, then is sounds like a civil suit to me, in disguise.
8th ammendment - no excessive bail or cruel and unusual punishment. To which I have only one thing to say: Obama signed law in December 2011 that allows Indefinite Detention of terror suspects, even American citizens, without trial.
9th ammendment - you have other rights not listed here, they are protected too. Our founders were smart in crafting this final version of the first 10 amendments. They covered us (or tried to) from advancements that fundamentally changed our society and required new rights to appear. The burden is then on the government to show that these common rights do not exist. For example again, that our right to privacy in our personal email account exists is a common idea grants by the 9th ammendment. Or as 3d printed weapons become more available, the government must prove our right to manufacture our own weapons (which is currently very legal) does not exist before they can ban such rights.
10th ammendment - power not specifically given to the federal government is retained by the States, or the people. Therefore, if we didn't say the fed has his right in the constitution, they don't have it. This is the crux of the argument of the Affordable Care Act, which was illegal as crafted and sold and passed. The Supreme Court had to redefine the individual mandate as a tax to make it legal.
This has been going on for many years, but the complete disregard of our rights and the erosion of our freedoms has accelerated at an alarming rate in the past few years. And this is only based on what we know is happening today. Where do you see yourself, and your freedom, in another 10 years? Or those of your children? I have never been so temptd to become a libertarian.
