Posted on 06/30/2014 12:14:50 PM PDT by PoloSec
Today, the people who still love America rejoiced at the much anticipated decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Burwell, Secretary of Health and Human Services v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. At stake was the very concept of religious freedom itself. Should a private, family-owned company have the right to refuse to pay for employee insurance that covers contraceptive measures that violate their religious conscience?
Thankfully, the court ruled the answer to that question was “no.” Liberty-minded Americans have been touting the decision as a victory. I, on the other hand feel this is nothing to crow about.
We never should have been here in the first place.
The Constitution is clear about our right to religious freedoms and our right to live according to our religious sensibilities. The very concept of Obamacare is in complete violation of our founding documents. And yet, thanks to 5 people in a population of over 300 million, our healthcare choices are now subject to the whims and fancies of a distant bureaucracy- a bureaucracy that has an agency that can take away everything you’ve worked for with one stroke of a pen but “loses” 2 years worth of potentially incriminating emails. I don’t know about you, but that’s not comforting, no matter what was decided today.
The truth is, we are still victims of Obamacare. This is a policy that goes against everything this country was founded on, every freedom so many immigrants die trying secure for themselves by making perilous journeys to our soil. Liberty lovers shouldn’t be crowing about this “victory” for religious freedom. We should be rioting in the streets that religious freedom has to be taken to the Supreme Court. We should be outraged beyond measure that the judicial branch of our government has so much power over the rest of us.
I’m an immigrant. I was born and raised in another country. What I know of the American system of government is completely self taught. I’m no Mark Levin. I fold laundry and write things that make people angry- and sometimes happy. Neither endeavor is exactly rocket science. But even I know that the judicial branch was designed to be the weakest branch of our government, and for good reason.
I don’t care if you call yourself “leftist” or “conservative” or “the man in the moon”…if you think nine people should have the power to change your most basic freedoms- your life, your work, your possessions- in one court ruling then you are not a believer in our process of democracy. You do not believe in freedom. You believe in tyranny. You would be a great fit for a place like Iran or Saudi Arabia, where only a few elite decide what “freedom” means for the general population.
No intelligent American can think that is good. Congress is supposed to have the most power because Congress is where the people are represented. Both sides of the political spectrum are forever screaming about “we the people” not having proper representation. Then both sides of the political spectrum get downright giddy when the SCOTUS hands down a decision in their favor.
Both sides should be ashamed by that attitude…and terrified. We may not agree on the way forward for our country but surely we can all agree that these fundamental issues of life and liberty should not be in the hands of just a few people. These are all issues we should be deciding for ourselves via our representatives. The courts were only meant to rule on constitutionality, not morality; and yet we are consistently bringing them cases of morality.
Again, I’m not a constitutional scholar but I suspect all of this is happening because of the absolute yellow-bellied, weak-willed, willy-nilly, squishy, corrupt politicians who currently run Congress. They have all conveniently exempted themselves from the consequences of their own laws over the years. They don’t feel the need to fight for your individual freedoms because they will never be affected. They don’t care what power the SCOTUS has, as long as their lunches are paid for and the congressional gym stocks towels with the proper thread count.
Americans have the authority to curb the power of the Supreme Court. When we sit out elections because we are mad about the candidates, we are only handing more power to the judicial branch. We don’t appoint Justices. Our representatives appoint those people. We should all – all of us, left and right – be voting for people who appreciate the power and the limits of the courts and only wish to rule according to the explicit edicts of our Constitution.
I don’t care what you believe politically – freedom works the same for you as it does for me. If you don’t want nine people to decide your fate because they may believe different things than you then you damn well better start making sure the courts remember their place in our government.
Somehow we have let the weakest branch become the most powerful. That’s scary. That’s nothing to rejoice over.
If ever there were a time for outrage, it’s today.
It saved them millions in fines...that’s something to crow about.
Exactly. We have a Bill of Rights. It is our defense against any abusive and oppressive government. We should not be asking the government what the Bill of Rights means. It's our job to TELL THEM what it means.
It was a narrow victory, and the 4 who voted against the Constitution are certainly something to worry about.
Thankfully, the court ruled the answer to that question was “YES.” [FIFY]
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