Thursday, September 24, 2009

FNP Article 9/20/09

I decided to discuss this Letter to the Editor (LTE) here instead of the back-and-forth in the comment section. Here's the LTE: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/opinion/display_lte.htm?StoryID=95470

Essentially, this LTE confirms exactly the premise of the LTE, that the country may be approaching a point of being hopelessly divided...at some level. Both camps, as I expected, arrived in the comment section; those holding to a "Living Constitution" position and those of us supporting an Originalist view of the Constitution. In this regard, the battle lines could not be more stark; sadly, there are few national leaders in either party that genuinely support the originalist view. At least their voting records would not demonstrate they're commitment.

So, what do we do here at We Surround Them Frederick?
  1. Remember, you're never going to win 100% of the people to the originalist view of the Constitution. Don't get frustrated or discouraged if you don't persuade every friend or family member to your view point. That's not the goal and we do not need 100% of the people to prevail. When I wrote the LTE, I knew a certain number of people would take an opposing view. What we need is enough people to gain power and reorient the debate to one that we can win; namely, that the Founders did not envision a HUGE, all-powerful central government. If this becomes the debate, freedom loving citizens will respond.
  2. Remember that we're up against decades of entrenched ideas about the role of government in our lives. We've all been raised (even us grey-hairs) under a school system that never taught the Constitution and the principles around it's founding. We've been raised to believe the vast bloated central government is the way it should be and have been told to ignore history that informs us that there has never been a liberty minded country with a large and pervasive central government...we will be no different.
  3. Remember, we're at the very early stages of the battle and they (the Living Constitution) crowd have had a 100 year jump on us. This will not be won in months and there will be many losses along the way. Our responsibility is to hold to our principles, not despair, and keep pressing ahead.
  4. Finally, muster courage to engage your friends, family, co-workers. Learn about the principles of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Read...read...read. Be prepared.

Folks, it has been an absolute highlight of my life to see what we have already accomplished as a group...together. Who'd have thought that by clicking a simple button 6 months ago, we'd have found 270 like minded people, made new friends, organized local TEA parties, launched a radio show, and have become a resource to the community for Constitutional issues. Who'd of thought.

This is just the beginning, we're getting our feet under us and while the future will be full of ups and downs, one thing I know for absolute sure, together, we're going to force our community to confront the realities of the consequences of a LARGE and BLOATED federal government.

Keep talking to your friends, invite them, connect them. My hope is by the end of March 2010, one year after We Surround Them Frederick was formed, there are 1,000 members connected to us.

Blessings to you all,

Mark Kreslins

1 comment:

  1. Hi Mark, I posted the question below in a comment on a blog post from a few days ago that has been pushed down by new articles, so I thought I'd re-post it as I think it's one of the most important questions--not in terms of understanding where your argument comes from (Mr. Lyons has been very helpful explaining that already), but what it hopes to achieve.
    ----
    Say that your interpretation of the Constitutional limits (what you call the Originalist view) caught on and became popular enough that someday the major federal spending programs created since the New Deal were declared unconstitutional. Where would that leave us?

    Whether because of it, or in spite of it, America rose to superpower status only when the federal government increased in size and power. Things have been going this way, as you mention, for most of the last century now, and very few people seem at all interested in unraveling the tapestry that got us to where we are, but instead favor trying to improve what we've got.

    So my question is in two parts: 1) What is your vision for how the country ought to look? Which and how many programs would you want to see dismantled? Why are you so sure that setting the clock back on decades of legislative and judicial consideration and adaptation would be beneficial? And 2) How feasible is this vision, given the ways in which the US and the rest of the world have transformed since the Founders' time? Are there any examples of other countries where a limited federal government has been successful? (I'm no scholar in such matters, so I honestly don't know.)

    Basically, over the last couple of weeks I've come to finally understand the argument that groups like yours have been using, but I'm still not sure what the vision for the future is. Even if you're right about the Founders' intentions, what makes you confident that their vision will work today? How well did it even work for them? Early American history was still marked by frequent political, social, and economic turmoil--revolts, rebellions, recessions, the Civil War, and finally the Great Depression, which immediately followed a decade of lack of federal oversight and intervention in the economy. (I'm oversimplifying a lot of complex issues here, I know, but I'd just like to clarify what it is you want to return to)

    Hopefully I'm not asking you to repeat material you've already covered elsewhere, but if so, feel free to reply with a link! Thank you for your time and, as you say, for being a resource for gaining a better understanding of this movement.

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