Replies

The Most Important Amendment

Many Americans and almost all of the mainstream media share a misconception about the Constitution.

The misconception is that the Constitution is about the people, it is not. The Constitution is solely about how the central government is to function within the herein granted powers.

Remember that the 2nd protects the other 9.

I once saw an interesting analogy from Vin Suprinowicz. He said the amendments in the Bill of Rights are like gates into a castle. Protecting only some of the gates still allows the attackers to get in through the others.

That's not totally valid, but at times it does help to consider them in context, or consider the differences among the amendments as well as the words of each one.

It is extremely significant - in my mind - that the 2nd Amendment is the *only* one that has no limitations on the right being protected, except to limit it to "the People" who comprise the citizens of the United States.

All of the others have some defined conditions under which it does not apply. For example, the 1st only protects against the actions of Congress. The 4th only protects against 'unreasonable' searches. The 8th only protects against 'cruel and unusual' punishment, and so on.

But in the 2nd Amendment, the right of 'the people' to keep and bear arms 'shall not be infringed.'

The Constitution, which is the basis of the US society, is all about ensuring that "the People" will not be crushed under a heavy-handed government. That doesn't have to come only in the form of jackbooted thugs knocking on your door in the middle of the night. The Second Amendment is a reminder to all of us that "We, the People" are the sovereign power now, not kings and princes or bureaucrats. It's important that the government remembers to respect "We, the People" - and in support of that, unlike all prior governments, the right to keep and bear arms does not reside with the aristocracy or government, but with We, the People.

If we ever forget that, we've lost the most fundamental truth about what it means to be American.

The First Amendment is a catch-all of rights upon which the Congress may not trample: It protects an individual's freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press, as well as the right to assemble and to petition the government.

The American press corps is very, very focused on the First Amendment and will go to great lengths to make sure that right is not diminished.

The author's bias/prejudice/blindness shows through. When citing the FIRST amendment, he is wrong about the very first thing in the very first amendment that is removed from government intrusion.

If one goes to the amendment, it says: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

The penultimate freedom is religion and our God-given right to follow God.

And it makes sense, for it is God who decrees life, self-protection, truth in relationships and dealings with one another.