Doubtful At Best

by
Jim Bowman

Americans have been very lax with their Blessings. In a country that offers so much, how is it that we take it all for granted without caring to ensure its operational integrity? No wonder that today, we are on the precipice of joining the rest of the third-world inhabitants!

Logic and common sense tell us that our freedoms all come with limitations. Think about safety on the highways; posted along with the speed is the word “limit.”
It’s required and even practical since men and women usually require controls. So, on this point, while certain acts have received freedom’s legal pass, explain the actual speech involved when burning our National flag or the value of “privacy” after becoming pregnant?

These queries are citizen-related; what about those that the citizens elect for representation? This two-sided coin meshes and thus increases the election of buffoons or worse. Once again, freedom only works properly when a responsible, alert, and informed citizenry is its guide.

For some time, those graduating with law degrees never once opened up or studied the law of our land, our Constitution. The majority of representatives have law degrees. Although otherwise upstanding, why is this law degree such an attraction for holding office to both the candidate and the voter?

This leads to two obvious injustices which have remained either unnoticed or, more likely, unknown. Over time, both have sewn a terrible web of intrigue and criminality.

The first is this weighty weapon of issuing an “Executive Order.” Its frequent defense is that George Washington issued them! Yes, he did, but what is not mentioned is that he used them sparingly and within the proper legal framework. As its title infers, they were strictly for issuing corrective measures to problems within his “Executive” branch. Today’s version of EO usage is similar to transforming a young and innocent lady into a common streetwalker!

Still, it’s a problem solver. Can’t get it through Congress? “Don’t worry about that old fuddy-duddy document from 1787 or the system of governing which has worked so well, we’ll just pass an EO!” The subsequent results from these illegal actions are the proof! And now, with the American people experiencing this abuse for so long, it’s considered routine!

The second Constitutional crime came with the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment. The basic purpose of its writing was to ensure equal rights to those who were freed. So, it would seem that this needn’t be an Amendment but rather a legal directive with an expiration date. However, even the legal ratification of the Fourteenth seems questionable given the late Congressman Lawrence P. McDonald’s book, We Hold These Truths.

To quote, “Three-fourths of the states did not ratify the proposed amendment, as required by the Constitution; but…Congress had the Secretary of State proclaim it ratified anyway –on July 20, 1868.” He further states, “…the Fourteenth would have foredoomed freedom under constitutional law because it conflicts so sharply with the rest of the Constitution.” Back then, it was an accepted fact that ratification by the rebellious states was a precondition to being re-admitted into the Union.

More affecting and more understandable is this asinine judicial interpretation that once an illegal enters American soil, her forthcoming baby will be granted citizenship! This interpretation directly challenges the purpose of America’s immigration process and requirements if all an immigrant has to do is to sneak in through the southern border so that her child would be automatically rewarded!

Another knock on the Fourteenth is the redundancy. It repeats the “due process clause” of the Fifth Amendment and the “equal protection clause” of its previous Thirteenth Amendment. Still, its judicial referencing continues.

Today’s Courts depend too much on this particular amendment. It has gotten to the point that it is a catch-all for so many assorted rulings. It seems that the late Congressman may have been correct when theorizing “…would have foredoomed freedom…”

Quelling any reader curiosity, Rep. McDonald is a relative unknown today since he was among those aboard the #007 flight of the Korean Airlines, which received scant media notice, simply due to the fact that it was downed by none other than our Russian trading partners.

Author

  • Jim Bowman

    Originally from Philadelphia, Jim is a widowed Vietnam vet, father of two (son & daughter), three grandchildren, a retired boilermaker, and an op/ed writer for approx 35 years. He has two published books  -Our American Being, Righteously Free, and 2011’s The Roar of Ours.

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