Constitutional Principles

Our society currently operates under the premise that "doing the right thing" outweighs the importance of abiding by the standards of the U.S. Constitution.

What is it that sets the principles of our Constitution at odds with the progressive agendas of social conservatism and leftist liberalism? What is it that makes the Constitution an obstacle to the goals of these groups? It is the belief that personal freedom guarantees the common good of the society.

It is the idea that society is hampered, not strengthened, by stifling the freedom, creativity, and innovation of individuals. It is the idea that a society is not to place the common good over the rights of individuals. It is the idea that individuals have the freedom to even make mistakes. It is the idea that personal freedom is an innate and divinely-given right which laws are not to hamper in the interest of the common good--with the only exception of when one person's actions hamper the rights of another. It means that an individual has the right to privacy and the ownership of private property. It means that one has the right to bear arms to defend one's property and one's rights against all enemies. It means that government confiscation of private property and private business is to be stifled, and that what a person owns is not to be distributed among those who have done nothing to earn it. It means, as it did to James Madison, the primary writer of the Constitution, that "equal division of property" is to be considered "a wicked project." It means that government is not to hamper the free market in the interest of an arbitrary sense of fairness, and that the government is to remain separate from private business. It means that ownership "by the people" means private business and not government takeover by corrupt politicians.

When a law is passed "for your own good," and not to protect the rights of another, it is recognizably unconstitutional, because it indicates government intrusion into one's personal decision making which does not affect others. The passage of such a law means that the activities of an individual, or of consenting adults in a group, are to be monitored by "big brother" rather than respected as the privacy of individuals, guaranteed to us by the Fourth Amendment.

We support the government envisioned by the founders, described in detail in the Federalist Papers, and put into practice through the adoption of the Constitution. We hold that American citizens have not merely the right but the duty to oppose any legislation which infringes upon our constitutional rights.