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Third, forget the Judiciary, of either the States or
the General Government. Even if no judges could be condemned as political
hacks, puppets of special interests, and poltroons, the courts would
nonetheless remain slow, uncertain, and (worst of all) adventitious in their
decisions. For the issues they address depend entirely on the cases that
happen to come before them. And most of the matters critical to
America’s future—such as the unconstitutionality of military
misadventures in the Middle East—even honest and competent judges will
likely consider too controversial to tackle, but instead will shunt off into
the legalistic never-never land of “political questions.”
And
reliance on the legal profession? Heaven forfend! America is today treading
water in History’s septic tank largely because her lawyers have been
trained to drive on both sides of the legal street, depending on who is
paying the fare. Of course, some lawyers are ideologically opposed in
principle to limited government, and enter public service in order to expand
its powers. But what about all the others who are not committed subversives?
If large numbers of lawyers in public service—each of whom had sworn to
uphold the Constitution as a prerequisite to becoming a member of the Bar in
his home State—had simply said “NO!” to politicians’
demands to draft, enact, and enforce such police-state measures as the
Patriot and Military Commissions Acts, and done so volubly in public, with
resignations from office, remonstrances from their Bar Associations, and all
the other publicity that modern communications can make so effective, would
America be suffering from these problems now?
So
what does all this leave as America’s best, perhaps last, resource? The
only solution is the constitutional check and balance provided by—and
that can be provided only by—We the People themselves, through
“the Militia of the several States.”
But,
today, We the People have neither “the Militia of the several
States” nor a fully constitutional Militia in even a single State. Instead,
We the People must have recourse to nothing but protests against their public
servants’ excesses. True, these are not always bootless—as the
popular uprising against the recent bill for providing illegal aliens with
amnesty under another name has proven. (Although the proponents of the bill
promise to keep on trying, until they wear the country out.) Nevertheless,
there being no single lobbying group or federation of such groups that can
call out an overwhelming national constituency through the full range of
critical constitutional questions, such protests must suffer from the
inefficiency of having to mobilize, organize, and energize people anew on
each separate issue.
And
even when properly organized, ad hoc protests—or the efforts of actual
lobbying groups—enjoy no specific legal authority, other than the
general right in the First Amendment to “the freedom of speech”
and “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the
Government for a redress of grievances.” Which prove less than useful
when public officials pay no attention to—or penalize—the
protestors.
Distinguishably,
“the Militia of the several States” wield not just legal, but
constitutional, authority. They are the only establishments the Constitution
describes as “necessary to the security of a free State.” They
are the only establishments the Constitution explicitly authorizes “to
execute the Laws of the Union.” They are not dependent upon public
officials, politicians, political parties, special-interest groups, or the big
media—because the Constitution recognizes them as permanent
establishments within its federal system. And they are politically and
socially unifying forces, because they draw from the entire
community—thereby negating the tactic of “divide and
conquer” on which the Forces of Darkness primarily rely.
We
the People are this country’s earthly sovereigns, the source of the
Constitution. We the People are this country’s electors, deciding who
shall administer the Constitution in the People’s interests in the
State governments, Congress, the Presidency, and (indirectly) the Supreme
Court. But, to make sovereignty and voting truly effective at all times, We
the People must also be this country’s ultimate check and balance on
public officials who, between elections, refuse to follow the Constitution.
If
“the Militia of the several States” existed in their proper
constitutional form, exercising their proper constitutional powers, most if
not all of the fears catalogued at the beginning of this commentary would not
be plaguing Americans today. For, in their regular meetings, Militia
companies across the country would have investigated what has been going on,
what is at stake, who is at fault, and what they should do with respect to
all of these matters—each of which is an aspect of “homeland
security,” and therefore within the purview of the Militia.
No
one should assume that the Militia would resort to violence. Even when fully
justifiable, violence is always expensive, typically unpredictable, and
usually undesirable—because when violence begins, reason ends; and then
anything can happen, and often does. Even in self-defense, personal or
political, violence is always the very last resort, to be relied upon only
when all else fails. Therefore, for anyone to advocate, condone, or even
suggest violence by the Militia would be counterproductive and even puerile.
With
respect to remedying the problems cited heretofore, it would also be
contraindicated. Sufficient for such situations would be simply a nationwide
Militia remonstrance to rogue public officials in the General Government,
informing them that: (i) the course they were pursuing was wrong and
dangerous; (ii) in those circumstances they ought to take certain actions and
refrain from taking certain others; and (iii) if they refused or failed to
heed this advice, immediate consequences (not just consequences at the next
election) would follow. Then, if the politicians remained obtuse, obstinate,
and obdurate, the Militia would call a day, a week, or more of “Down tools!”
No one in the Militia, or in Militiamen’s families, would go to work or
perform any other than absolutely necessary humanitarian services (such as
medical care, fire-fighting, feeding the homeless, and so on). Inasmuch as
tens and tens of millions of adult Americans would be involved, the country
would grind to a screeching halt. And not only in private enterprise, either,
but also in the public service—for most individuals in public
employment, even though exempted from regular Militia duties, would
nevertheless remain members of the Militia, or find themselves within some
Militiaman’s family, and if not subject to Militia discipline then
confronted with the sanction of ostracism by their family members, friends,
and neighbors.
If
this would not bring rogue public officials and bureaucrats to their senses,
and if not to their senses then to their knees, in record time—and
nonviolently, too—what would? How could the miscreants stop it? How
could they get around it?
Moreover,
just the possibility of such actions would deter rogue public officials from
setting out on legally questionable courses in the first instance. For they
would not want their possibly unconstitutional adventures immediately and
effectively challenged before the Nation as a whole.
Perhaps
most importantly, such Militia remonstrances would not be acts of civil
disobedience, but of constitutional obedience. They would be examples of the
Militia’s taking responsibility to “execute the Laws of the
Union” against rogue public officials. Without violence or the threat
of violence, yet with irresistible effect.
Unfortunately,
however, this country does not enjoy the benefits “the Militia of the
several States” could provide. Which raises the question: What more
does it take than for the Constitution itself to tell Americans that
“[a] well regulated Militia” is “necessary to the security
of a free State”? Not optional, but “necessary!”
An
old saw has it that there are three types of minds: Best are those that
understand some matter all by themselves. Adequate are those that understand
the matter when it is explained to them. And useless are those that never
understand the matter, even after it has been spelled out for them over and
over again.
Obviously,
few Americans fall into category one, at least as to “the Militia of
the United States”—or else these commentaries of mine, let alone
my book Constitutional “Homeland Security,” would not be
necessary. The question now is, how many fall into category two? I expect
that there are millions and millions of them—certainly enough to do the
job. But to prove my point—and, more to the point, to help save this
country—I need assistance in two areas: (i) funding my work on the
Militia, and (ii) spreading the word.
1. Unfortunately,
I do not set the schedule for the Forces of Darkness. Apparently, they have
projected 2009 as the year in which the first foundations of the North
American Union will be poured. One can also anticipate that the Presidential
Administration to be inaugurated in January of that year will quickly prove
to be the worst in American history (up till then). So I need to finish two
more projected books on the Militia, and to draft comprehensive model
legislation for at least one State, before that fateful month.
Work
of this criticality and complexity cannot be done as a sideline or hobby.
Which means putting in more effort than I can possibly afford without outside
support. For that reason, I need to find a group of (say) ten or more
well-to-do patriotic patrons, each of whom can contribute what will be
personally a small sum for him, but which collectively will provide a
substantial amount to subsidize my work and help to see it through to
completion.
Other
than winning some lottery, I have no viable alternative. No patriotic
endeavor of this kind is ever likely to break even, let alone become a paying
proposition. This is because patriotic work is what economists call a
“collective good”: when one person produces it, others can reap
the benefits without paying the cost of production. Because of these
“free riders”, “collective goods” tend to be
underproduced, even though they may be very valuable. For example, whoever
writes the first model statute to revitalize the Militia in some State will
obtain no monetary benefit from his effort, even though it will surely prove
a very difficult job to do correctly, because State legislatures do not buy
model statutes. And once a model statute for one State has been published,
anyone else can adapt it or its ideas for any and every other State. So who
but an independently wealthy public benefactor will take on the task?
The
Forces of Darkness count on this difficulty to advance their agenda. Their
political, economic, and social imperialism is designed to earn huge monopoly
profits for specific individuals and groups—so they will expend
whatever moneys may be necessary to succeed, up to the amounts of the
anticipated profits. Whereas most patriotic endeavors can be expected to earn
little to no profits—and if they are successful at all may help to
produce only the general benefits that come to everyone of good will, in
different degrees, from living in a free society. Therefore, without
subsidies, patriotic work will likely not be done to any significant degree,
to a sufficient degree, or in a timely fashion.
My
fear, and what should be your fear too, is that, if revitalizing “the
Militia of the several States” is not accomplished—to the full
extent mandated by the Constitution and within the timetable the Forces of
Darkness seem to be setting—then America will surely suffer some or all
of the horrific scenarios that the prophets of doom are predicting. I have a
way, not only to overcome that fear, but also to remove its source. But I need
your help, or the help of someone you know. So please contact me—by
mail only at 13877 Napa Drive, Manassas, Virginia 20112.
2. Even
the best model statute for revitalizing the Militia in some State will not
succeed without grass-roots pressure on legislators. And that will require
massive public education and mobilization. The Internet can supply the means,
if its leading spokesmen for patriotism—outside of News With
Views—will speak up in favor of revitalizing the Militia, as some of them
are already doing. Encourage them to republish or link to my commentaries.
Even better, encourage them to recruit others who can write effectively on
the subject, to publish their work, and to spread the message into every
corner of the electronic universe. To fuel the issue to such white heat that
it cannot be ignored.
Edwin
Vieira
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