ARTICLE 1, BILL OF RIGHTS
Wendy here! This blog post was sent days ago and I missed posting this one as well! In my defense we’ve been super busy with a “Local Food Drive Thru” our community has started so it’s for good reason! Would also like to add a link to an interview with Joel that is in the Washington Post this morn! Sending lots of love and wellness to all of you xoxo
The Musings of the Lunatic Farmer do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Polyface Farm; they are meant to stimulate unorthodox thinking especially in the arena of preserving liberty.
The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, were enacted December 15, 1791 as a precondition to procure several state signatures to the overall document.
The first article, known as the Freedom of Expression right, says this: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
To be sure, these are limitations on the Federal government, not the state or local governments. By the way, that includes the "free exercise of religion." It's simply not a federal issue; it's ONLY a state or local issue. And yes, that includes the church and state. Remember, when this article was ratified, several states had official state religions; state and local religious exercise has nothing to do with the Congress or the whole country at large. These are prohibitions on CONGRESS.
Now that we have that straight, what I'm focusing on here is the "right of the people peaceably to assemble." If one thing is coming out of this coronavirus situation, it is a test run to see how compliant people will be with federal government edicts. Ben Franklin said that when people give up their freedoms for security, they deserve and get neither.
Here is my point: a fundamental difference exists between government prohibiting something using police power and recommending--even strongly--a course of action but leaving the citizens free to make up their own minds. It's like the people who constantly invoke Jesus against me for not wanting government programs to help the poor. "Didn't Jesus say to help the poor?" they ask. Of course, but He didn't say for the government to help the poor. He commanded you and I, personally, individually, to help the poor. To equate taxes confiscated from the barrel of a gun with tithes and offerings voluntarily collected in a hat is both unjust and preposterous.
So here we come to the right to assemble. For sure, if nobody wants to come because they're afraid of the virus, or if a business tells their workers to stay home because of the virus, that's all fine. That's people making their choice and business deciding what to do with their stuff (property and investment). But for the federal government to mandate and then enforce anything that bars people from getting together in whatever quantity they want to is the definition of tyranny, which is what our founders feared.
Is there something worse than coronavirus? Is there something worse than death? Patrick Henry said yes: enslavement and loss of liberty. Yes, he left out African Americans and all of us today repent for that reality. But that glaring inconsistency does not diminish either the truth or power behind the sentiment.
Like you, I've hard every kind of rumor regarding the coronavirus. Here are just a few so you know I've been listening:
1. The American military made it as part of biological weapons and the Chinese stole it.
2. The Chinese made it as a biological weapon and released it to bring down the world's economy and make President Trump defeatable.
3. It's a conspiracy by the swamp to destroy the economy and bring down Trump.
4. It's a fairly benign thing whipped into a frenzy by the press to bring down President Trump.
I'm sure there are plenty of others floating around out there. I have no idea what the truth is; it's likely we'll never know. I do not trust anyone in government to give me a straight answer, and I trust the press even less. What I do know is that the "right of the people peaceably to assembly" is a cornerstone of civic discourse and societal freedom; abridge that and you have tyranny in some form. Who is thinking about that cost as we deal with the outbreak? I don't have all the answers, but these are things worth thinking about; otherwise we may give up ground quickly and irrevocably that our nation has defended and borne as a light to the world. As I travel the world, one of the most consistent and routine shocks is to realize that no other country has an equivalent Bill of Rights. America is unique in that; cherish it.
Should assembling be prohibited?