Since the Supreme Court is in the middle of hearing a case that will decide if our republic is going to continue or will degenerate into a tyranny of unlimited government power, this seems like a good time to go back and look at some of Thomas Jefferson’s thoughts on how we should interpret the Constitution.

In a letter to Supreme Court Justice William Johnson on June 12, 1823, Jefferson gave him this advice:

“On every question of construction, we should carry ourselves back to the time when the Constitution was adopted, recollect the spirit manifested in the debates, and instead of trying what meaning may be squeezed out of the text, or invented against it, conform to the probable one in which it was passed.”

This seems like a pretty solid, common sense approach to interpreting the Constitution, but we can be fairly certain that it’s not what we’ll see from the Supreme Court’s decision on Obamacare.  When it comes out later this year, read through it and count how many times the justices discuss the writings of the Founders – or even mention them.

This concept couldn’t be more important because this case would be a slam dunk if it were decided based on the Founders‘ intent.  It’s simply unreasonable to assume that our Constitution could possibly have been ratified had the people at the time believed that it gave the federal government the power to force them to buy a product.

But there is a significant chance that Obamacare will be upheld because the decision is almost guaranteed to be filled with references to the decisions of other courts and obscure legal concepts that are only loosely related to the Constitution itself.  Which brings us to another piece of advice that Thomas Jefferson had for Justice Williams that day:

“Laws are made for men of ordinary understanding, and should therefore be construed by the ordinary rules of common sense.  Their meaning is not to be sought for in metaphysical subleties which make anything mean everything or nothing, at pleasure.”

But this is exactly what we are doing by interpreting the Constitution based  on previous court decisions and how individual words can be twisted instead of relying on original intent.  After years of this approach, the Constitution now means everything and nothing all at the same time.  If Obamacare is upheld, it will mean that a document that was written to put strict limits on the government is now being used to justify giving that same government unlimited power.  Yay freedom!

In this interview, I talked with Mr. Morris about the Constitution (naturally).  He gave me his recommendations for Constitutional amendments, his concerns about some international treaties that Congress will be considering this summer, and his thoughts on how the Constitution will affect the 2012 elections.

Whether you agree with Dick Morris or not he brings up a lot of thought provoking points, so this video is definitely worth a look.  Also, don’t forget to check out his new book – Screwed – which is coming out next month.

Power in the people is like light in the sun, native, original, inherent and unlimited by any thing human.  In governors, it may be compared to the reflected light of the moon; for it is only borrowed, delegated, and limited by the intention of the people…

James Burgh, Political Disquisitions

Unless we learn the lesson that James Burgh is trying to teach us in this quote – and get it ingrained in our minds and our hearts – it may be impossible for us to regain our freedom in this country.  Over the years we’ve allowed most of our politicians to develop a smug attitude of superiority as if they are a part of a special, protected class of people.

When a person is elected to political office, he is taking a step down – not up.  That person is becoming a servant, not a master.  But somehow – as citizens – we let ourselves get pushed around by the various political institutions of this country rather than banding together and reminding our politicians who is really in charge.

The truth of the matter is that all political power originates in the people.  So to whatever extent our politicians do have power, they only have it because we have allowed them to borrow it.  The people who run our government are not born with special powers of judgement or wisdom that makes them uniquely qualified to tell us how to live our lives.  So why do we sit back and accept it when they try to tell us what we can eat, what we must buy, or what we should feed our kids?

None of this should be construed to mean that we shouldn’t give our politicians the respect they deserve.  But we have to avoid putting them on a pedestal too easily.  A person should never be considered special just because he’s a member of Congress.

In his book Epic of America, James Trunslow Adams uses an anecdote that perfectly illustrates how we as citizens ought to react to public officials who start to get too impressed with their own power:

To a crowd that pressed too closely on a political procession, a gentleman at the head had called out, “Make way for the representatives of the people!”  “Make way yourself!” was thundered back.  “We are the People themselves.”

We must never underestimate the position of authority we hold as citizens of this country.  Looking at our politicians as if they are somehow better or more important than we are is not the mindset of a free people – it is a mindset that leads to slavery.  So every time a politician throws his weight around with us, our response ought to be, “Don’t you know who I am?  I’m a citizen… and any power you have is because you are borrowing it from me.”

The problem is, as conservatives we are often put in the position of defending the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the ideas of our Founding Fathers.  Any time you are defending your position you aren’t gaining ground.

If you want to learn how to take conservative ideas on offense, let Calvin Coolidge give you an example of how to destroy progressive ideas:

“About the Declaration there is a finality that is exceedingly restful.  It is often asserted that the world has made a great deal of progress since 1776, that we have had new thoughts and new experiences which have given us a great advance over the people of that day, and that we may therefore very well discard their conclusions for something more modern.  But that reasoning can not be applied to this great charter.  If all men are created equal, that is final. If they are endowed with inalienable rights, that is final.  If governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed, that is final.  No advance, no progress can be made beyond these propositions. If anyone wishes to deny their truth or their soundness, the only direction in which he can proceed historically is not forward, but backward toward the time when there was no equality, no rights of the individual, no rule of the people.  Those who wish to proceed in that direction cannot lay any claim to progress.  They are reactionary.  Their ideas are not more modern, but more ancient, than those of the Revolutionary fathers.”

Calvin Coolidge – July 5, 1926

There you go – the next time some fool starts attacking our principles or the Founders it’s time to go to on offense.  Ask this person, “Ok, what exactly about our principles is outdated – are all men not created equal?”  This person will try to redirect the conversation from this question because – more than likely – he was initially just repeating something some campaign talking point or something his college professor told him.  But don’t let him off the hook – remember, you’re on offense here.  Demand an answer to that question.  Then move on to the others.  Do we not all have equal rights?  Are the people not the source of political power?

Coolidge nailed it in this quote – there is no moving beyond these three principles that make up the foundation of our country.  Everything that progressives want to do moves us away from one of these principles in some way.  We must force them to defend this ground if we want to move the debate in a positive direction.

Here’s one example of how it works: progressives want to take property away from some people in order to give it to others who progressives feel are more deserving.  As President Obama would say, “At a certain point, you’ve made enough money.”  This is where you go on offense.  Ok, at exactly what point in the income scale do you forfeit your property rights?  So we don’t have equal rights to keep property we’ve earned?  Who will be taking these rights away?  I thought our rights came from God.  And on and on.

This is ground that the progressives simply cannot defend.  Remember – as long as they are on defense they cannot gain ground.

If you are a person who loves freedom, it’s time to get to work.. and it’s time to go on offense.  Liberty is not for those who are willing to sit back and allow others to make decisions for them.  Liberty is earned by people who are willing to be eternally vigilant in its defense.

On that same day in 1926, Calvin Coolidge described the type of people we need to be if we want to preserve our freedom:

“The American Revolution represented the informed and mature convictions of a great mass of independent, liberty-loving, God-fearing people who knew their rights, and possessed the courage to dare to maintain them.”

For decades now many conservatives – myself included – have had the option of paying lip service to how much they love their rights and their liberty without consequence.  Those days are over.  Our rights and our liberty are currently under a direct assault.  The time has come to make a decision – do you have the courage to maintain them?

Take a look:

• We no longer focus on what government can’t do to us.  Our current political conversation largely surrounds what we should expect the government to give to us.  That has gotten us to the point where apparently the government now has enough power to force us to violate our religious beliefs… but who cares?  Look… free condoms!!
• This nation was founded with the mindset that individuals should have the freedom to do whatever they choose (to the greatest extent possible) and that the power of the government should be strictly limited.  But the prevailing wisdom in Washington D.C. is that the government can do whatever it wants and that the freedom of individuals should be limited.
• There is no provision in the Constitution for entitlement spending, yet we increase it.  National defense is one of few areas of spending specifically mentioned in the Constitution, yet we decrease that.  Our politicians talk as if entitlement spending were mandatory and defense spending were an option.  It seems that our politicians now feel it’s now a higher priority to protect Americans from the burden of paying for their own retirement than to protect them from foreign invasion.

Our Constitution was founded on principles that have been proven to be effective in protecting our rights as individuals.  When we do the opposite of what is provided for in the Constitution, it only makes sense that we would get the opposite of protection.  And that’s what we’re getting – the government is waging an all out assault on our liberty.  But who cares?  Look… free condoms!

Thomas Jefferson

It’s just a fact that concentrating power in one area will lead to the destruction of liberty.  Government power is a lot like radiation.  In small amounts, radiation can cure cancer.  But if you concentrate too much of it in one area – like a nuclear bomb – it will destroy everything in its path.

This is why the Founders were so careful about widely distributing power when this nation was formed.  Power in this country was divided up not only among the three branches of the federal government, but also throughout many state and local governments.

But over the last 100 years, we have continually transferred more and more power to Washington D.C. – and more specifically, to the executive branch.  We’ve gotten to the point where our federal government now has control over our health care and – in some cases – what we eat.  As Jefferson points out, history tells us this won’t end well for us.

This isn’t a theory – we know that concentrated power destroys liberty.  We can’t continue to disregard the experience of history and expect to keep our freedom.  That would be like continually increasing the dose of radiation for a cancer patient and assuming that it wasn’t going to kill him at some point.

So we can either continue on our path of giving more and more power to Washington D.C. or move in the direction of more evenly distributed government.  Either way we know what the result will be – it’s up to us to choose freedom or tyranny.

John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government

The purpose of making laws isn’t to prevent people from doing something, it’s to maximize their freedom.  The proper role of government is to protect our God-given rights* – so the laws passed by governments should make our rights more secure.

As counter-intuitive as it is, this means that when the government passes a law – that law should actually make you more free – not less.  Unfortunately, few if any of our current politicians understand this concept at all.  Think about how many of our recent laws prohibit us from making our own choices. We now have laws that dictate what we must teach in schools and what we must feed our children while they’re at school.  We also have laws that ban one product after another.  None of this makes us more free.

So how can a law make people more free?  Simple.  When a government makes a law prohibiting theft, that makes everyone more free.  Since a person knows that no one is allowed to steal his possessions, he doesn’t have to spend all of his time at home trying to protect his property from the rest of society.  That gives him the freedom to leave his house and go into town to get a job, start a business, or whatever else he wants to do.  This law against theft allows him to make the most of his liberty.

The value of understanding the true purpose behind making laws – and forcing our politicians to understand it – is unimaginable.  It is the difference between living in a society that constantly tries to control our behavior and one that helps us make the most out of the greatest gift on earth – Liberty.

*they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, among these are Life Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.– That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men…