In my last rant, I mentioned a few dates that will live in infamy. Today, I want to talk about another day that we don’t hardly remember, but it should be a National Holiday, December 15, 1791. The “Founding Fathers” signed The Constitution of the United States on September 17, 1987. Almost immediately, 12 Amendments to their original Constitution were proposed. These matters were so important to the brand-new citizens of the United States of America, that the necessary mandate of 3/4ths of the States quickly voted to accept 10 of those Amendments. Those 10 Amendments became known as the Bill of Rights and took effect on December 15, 1791.
As of that day, the Constitution guaranteed the American people freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, the right to peacefully assemble, the right to petition the government, the right to keep and bear arms, and the protection from quartering troops in private homes without consent. We also were guaranteed protection from unreasonable searches and seizures, protection against self-incrimination, and the right to due process of law, and all those rights were given in just the first 5 amendments. The other 5 Amendments in the Bill of Rights guaranteed Americans the right to a fair trial and protection from cruel and unusual punishment, among other things.
Recently, the Constitution in General and the first two Amendments specifically have been the subject of much debate. Language has evolved over the past 232 years, and interpreting both the intent of the Founding Fathers, and the spirit of the Amendments has now become a political football. What is and what isn’t protected by free speech? Does freedom of religion include freedom from religion? Does “Fake News” have the same freedom as real news, and what is real and what is fake? Can every citizen own a basement full of assault weapons?
Now, thanks to the State of Colorado, another Amendment has jumped into the spotlight, the 14th Amendment, an old Civil-War era Amendment written with the intent on keeping Confederates, a.k.a. insurrectionists, out of office in the United States. It is just one small section of the 14th Amendment that has caused all this fuss. It is known as Section 3 – Disqualification from Public Office. It states:
“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
Using this Amendment, the State of Colorado has stricken Donald Trump’s name from the primary election ballot there. Did Donald Trump engage in insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution of the United States? That’s something for a court to decide. Did Donald Trump give “aid or comfort to the enemies thereof”? Well, he promised to pardon all those convicted of insurrection and other charges resulting from their activities in the Capital on January 6, 2021. I’d say that offering pardons to convicted insurrectionists most definitely qualifies as giving aid or comfort to the enemies of the Constitution. Basically, he said, “Vote for me, and I’ll set you free.” Now, where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, it was in a song by the Temptations called Ball of Confusion.
Now, some Trump supporters think that we shouldn’t use an old Amendment against their “Orange Jesus.” They claim that the 14th Amendment is out of date because it was ratified way back in 1868. Well, despite being old, it’s still the law of the land, and, for that matter, the Amendment that permits Trump supporters and everyone else to voice their dissenting opinion dates back even earlier to 1791. Their 2nd Amendment right to bear arms is also 77 years older than the 14th Amendment, as it dates back to 1791, also. If you want to talk about updating and rewriting old Constitutional Amendments, I think that the weekly mass murders committed in The United States dictate that the language and intent of the 2nd Amendment should be resolved first.
Thanks for listening to my rant. I’ll repay your time by including a link to a video of Ball of Confusion that shows all the lyrics. I went on YouTube to listen to it and played it over and over. The song came out in 1970, but I was totally amazed at how good it still was and how it easily brought back memories from more than 50 years ago. I was also saddened, though, because, unfortunately, 53 years later, it is still an accurate description of the world of today, a ball of confusion.
(37) Ball of Confusion – Temptations (lyrics) HD – YouTube
So, despite all our progress, things haven’t changed all that much in 50 years. The problems we had then are still with us today.
“…and the band plays on…”
One thing that is the same is that this world still needs a whole lot more Peace & Love.
Peace & Love, and all of the above,
Earl
earlthepearl137 