One JU blogger, in a recent article, referred to the Constitution as "just a piece of paper" in order to defend the government's right to apprehend criminals by any means necessary. Sad that anyone in this country truly thinks that.

See, our government was intended to be a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people". That is a concept repeatedly reiterated by our founding fathers, and by standardbearers for democracy since that time. Because of that, the government only has rights that we assign it.

If you or I break the law in America, we have law enforcement personnel to hold us to the law. The policeman to issue the speeding ticket, and to apprehend us for commission of other crimes. In a nation of laws, that is how it works. There is always someone to hold you accountable.

But when the government breaks the law, who is meant to hold them accountable? The answer is quite clear: THE PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. We have the RIGHT to petition our government for redress of grievances, and, in fact, a responsibility to the same. In a democratic government, WE have the power over the government, rather than the government having the power over us.

Most people (except those who have consistently read my blog) might be surprised to learn that the Constitution grants us no rights whatsoever. This is for a very good reason: because the Constitution was meant to limit the power of the government, and because our rights were considered to be inalienable and God given (see the Declaration of Independence on this one). It is also because if the government has the inherent ability to assign rights, it also has the inherent ability to revoke them. The Bill of Rights were considered so crucial, so vital to the Constitution that many supporters refused to sign the Constitution unless they were added.

This document so contemptuously referred to as "just a piece of paper" is the document that every member of the United States Government has SWORN AN OATH to defend. If they refuse to defend it, and insist that it is irrelevant, as some would suggest, they have broken their oath of office and must be removed from office by the people of the United States of America. I am not meaning to suggest that our government has necessarily done that (although I DO have some serious questions), but that anyone who suggests they have a right to do that might be well advised to study the Constitution.

If the government is not expected to follow its own laws, how, then, can it expect us as citizens, to follow the law? They are the servants of the people, the people are NOT the servants of the government in our democracy, and to suggest otherwise borders on treason!