Posted on 03/22/2007 11:28:22 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
...We constantly present the false impression that government can solve problems that government in America was designed not to solve. Families are significantly less important in the development of children today than they were 30 or 40 years ago. Religion has less influence than it did 30 or 40 years ago. Communities don't mean what they meant 30 or 40 years ago.
As Americans, we're not sure we share values. We're sometimes even afraid to use the word values. We talk about teaching ethics in schools -- people say, "What ethics? Whose ethics? Maybe we can't." And they confuse that with teaching of religion. And we are afraid to reaffirm the basics upon which a lawful and a decent society are based. We're almost embarrassed by it.
.... What we don't see is that freedom is not a concept in which people can do anything they want, be anything they can be. Freedom is about authority. Freedom is about the willingness of every single human being to cede to lawful authority a great deal of discretion about what you do.
... The fact is that we're fooling people if we suggest to them the solutions to these very, very deep-seated problems are going to be found in government.
... They are going to have to be just as solid and just as strong in teaching every single youngster their responsibility for citizenship. We're going to find the answer when schools once again train citizens. Schools exist in America and have always existed to train responsible citizens of the United States of America.
If they don't do that, it's very hard to hold us together as a country, because it's shared values that hold us together.
(Excerpt) Read more at query.nytimes.com ...
I don't think you and I disagree on these issues. I'm assuming we both think that central governmental authority should mostly be limited to the preservation of our liberty (the "securing of those rights). Yes, that includes national defense and neutralizing Islamic terror.
I'd like you to convince me that Rudy doesn't disagree either, that he really understands and cares about our founding ideals, but convince me in some other way than trying to justify his statements in this speech. Because I think those 2 sentences of his were either boneheaded or wrong headed.
I don't think we had a president in nearly 100 years who believed in our founding ideals, except for Ronald Reagan, so if Rudy understands them, that makes him a major exception.
You're making authority sound benevolent, which I don't think is it's nature. Necessary in some ways? Yes. Beneficial if limited? Yes. But always something to be feared and kept under restraint.
Again, I doubt we are in disagreement on this.
If you want to find someone to argue with then go find someone else.
The fact is, the Federal Constitution IS the supreme law of the land.
When the states ratified it, they accepted that precept.
Don't let THAT little fact get in your way.
I'm a big supporter of the 10th Amendment, that does not change the fact that what is in the Federal Document takes precedence of state constitutions when those constitutions are at odds with the Federal one.
If that bothers you so much then go talk to someone on the Supreme court or push your congressman and senators to hold a CONCON and try to get it changed.
Oh now...that gives your position away completely.
"Oh now...that gives your position away completely."
Yeah I'm sure it does louie
I said that the BOR's restrictions where restrictions on the Federal Government, and not on the State governments.
You say that I'm wrong, and if I don't agree with the notion that Constitutional restrictions on the Federal government regarding the 2nd extend to the States, I should take it up with Supreme Court...so I did, and here's what they said:
U.S. v. Cruikshank (1876)
The second amendment declares that it shall not be infringed; but this, as has been seen, means no more than that it shall not be infringed by Congress. This is one of the amendments that has no other effect than to restrict the powers of the national government,
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