The Power Vested In We

Of all the Amendments to the Constitution of the United States, which one is your favorite?

The Second gives you the right to own and carry a firearm for the protection of you, your family, and indeed total strangers who need help.  This is a big one for me, since the police are just minutes away when seconds count.

The First forbids Congress from passing any law making an official religion, or barring your participation in any religion of your choice.  I’m not religious, but this is a huge one for a lot of people

How about the Fifth?  That’s great, too.  It protects you from being forced to provide evidence to a court that is trying you for a crime.  That could be the difference between life in prison and freedom for an innocent man or woman.  Or for a guilty one as well, if the police and prosecutor haven’t been able to come up with a solid case. 

What about the Tenth Amendment?  Can you recall what 10A does?  I’m constantly surprised, although less so as the years go by, how many people know so little or even nothing at al about the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and other founding documents.  Not to mention the additional seventeen Amendments that have been passed since the Bill of Rights.

The Tenth Amendment reads:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to
the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

What does that mean?  Everything.  It means that, unless the Constitution SPECIFICALLY assigns a power to Congress, or the Executive or Judicial branches of the Federal Government, it is absolutely against the law for them to exercise that power. 

How many different alphabet-soup departments does or Federal Government have?  DHS, HHS, BATF, DEA, Dept of Ed, DOE, DOI, EPA, CIA, NSA, FBI, TSA, FCC, FAA, IRS, and on and on and on.  How many of the things that these agencies are responsible would be better handled, more efficiently, at a state, or even County level?  How many of the things these agencies are responsible for are even remotely necessary?

The FCC, for example, makes rules.  Rules that result in fines, sanctions  and license suspension for people or businesses that violate these rules.  That means it’s effectively a “law”.  How can that be, when the FCC is not Congress, and only Congress has the power to create laws for the nation?  Whether or not Congress has the power to regulate the airwaves is open to debate as well, based on the Constitution.

Nearly all of these “departments” create rules, and enforce those rules through fines, sanctions, licensure, and imprisonment at some level or another.  Damned few of these “departments” have any real legal leg to stand on when looking at the Constitution. Most were never approved by Congress and operate under the direct supervision of the Executive branch (the President). 

What a horrifying idea!  One person has the power to direct policy for the entire nation without even bothering to consult Congress on the matter.  That’s not a representative Republic, that is a Depotism!  A Dictatorship, even!  No human being should have that much power, and yet we hand the power, which inherently belongs to us, to a new person every four or eight years.  Then they pass a bunch of laws further restricting our freedom, and we get angry and vote for that other party.  Lather.  Rinse.  Repeat.  We go back and forth, getting screwed by the Democrats, then we get mad at them and we get screwed by the Republicans. 

Meanwhile, the people in the States, who truly hold all the power, do nothing.  The Tenth Amendment specifically calls out what is already detailed in the Constitution.  The power is ours.  The power resides with the States, which are run by the people. 

Get involved at your local level.  Tell your local Representatives, we will not stand by and do nothing.  If the Feds don’t want to follow the rules, we will nullify their laws.  We will pass state legislation declaring Federal rules void.  We will do so at a local level if we have to.  The Federal Government SERVES the people, it does not RULE the people!!

Help send that message to DC.  Support the Tenth Amendment Center.  TenthAmendmentCenter.com.