Happy New Year?

I have been concerned about an issue to present to my Esteemed Fix America Readers for this first post for 2014. I'm still not certain that I have a clear picture of what lies ahead. I know of all the possibilities but I'm not sure that the American People have what it takes to stop what is happening.

Regardless of how others feel, I do feel that America is exceptional, or at least it was exceptional until the Constitution was set aside for issues of education, social services, welfare,  national security, and what the government now deems is its duty to protect the public from themselves.

Let's start with the myth that we have 'leaders' in government. Since they no longer have proper education in the government standardized public school systems, I offer to my Esteemed Readers a short lesson in Civics.

Those elected to office by the People, are public servants, not leaders. They have a duty and responsibility to meet with their constituents in regard to their concerns and convey the will of the People to their respective legislative bodies.

Next we have the myth about capitalism and free-markets. Contrary to popular belief, free-markets are not synonymous with capitalism. Capitalism is a term that comes from the investment business. Free-markets apply to businesses that produce a product to sell or provide a service at a fee. They invest themselves in their artistry, craftsmanship, and energy and ask a price that will be beneficial (a living wage) to themselves and of value to their customers.

Finally, I would like to mention currency to placate a myth that currency is the same no matter what type is used. Prior to the Federal Reserve Act, paper money was a representation of worth in gold or silver. Coins were copper, nickel, silver, and gold. As per the constitutional requirement, Congress set the standard for currency based on the worth of gold and the other metals. In other words, a U.S. Dollar had a fixed value based on the gold in the U.S. Vaults (Fort Knox) that gave that dollar its worth. 

The Federal Reserve Dollar or more precisely Federal Reserve Note is not money, it is debt. It has no inherent worth whatsoever, in fact because of its over-circulation and the national debt, it is worth less than the value of a real copper penny. Today's coins are sandwiched alloys with very little value.

End of lesson and beginning of commentary!

It is by the consent of the governed that a government is created and sustained. When the government no longer serves the will of the People it not only is the right of the People, but it is the duty of the People to force that government to perform correctly.

The People may write a resolution which they then convey to their elected representatives for sponsorship in their respective legislative bodies. A resolution may be a new law, a modification of a current law, or a nullification of an unconstitutional act or law.

Our Constitution provides us with the means to compel the government to perform as intended without the necessity for an armed rebellion. Of course we can elect representatives that will follow the wishes of their constituents.

There is also another a constitutional provision long ignored by modern jurisprudence. What recourse do the People possess when the prosecutors refuse to call a Grand Jury to indict criminal activity by an elected representative? Citizen Grand Jury is the answer! I've written about this before in the post titled Fixing Government: Grand Jury Presentments. 

Little by little, the People of the colonies began losing their rights to their wealth and property. Taxation was unjustly levied, and their wealth and property was at the disposable of the King's whim. The People began to protest.  First it was by civil disobedience and finally when armed troops came into their towns and into their homes, taking whatever they wanted in the name of the King, the People had taken enough! 

When the founders of this great nation realized that all they had worked for, their wealth and properties, was deemed the possessions of the Crown, that they had less rights than their fellow subjects in Great Britain, they chose to be free men and women and so they revolted. 

It was not easy and it cost many of them their lives. But for them it was far better to die fighting for their freedom than to die in servitude to a tyrannical government. The choices made by my fellow Americans over the course of this year, will determine whether their children will know freedom or only hear of it whispered, by the few who remain who had experienced it once for themselves.