COMMON SENSE; Revisited
-
Birth of the Chaordic Age
Book under: September 02, 2009 at 04:10 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedThis book tells the story of VISA, an organization founded on the same fundamental principles of natural law used by the Founders.
-
Majesty of God's Law
Book under: September 02, 2009 at 04:09 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedAn in-depth examination of the historical and philosophical sources of knowledge that were most influential on the Founders.
-
The Creature from Jekyll Island
Book under: September 02, 2009 at 04:07 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedA comprehensive history of the creation of the Federal Reserve and its impact on society.
-
Healing Our World
Book under: September 02, 2009 at 03:39 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedThis is a great book for understanding why government programs don't work and how freedom does work. It is a comprehensive, well written and a convincing argument for freedom-based solutions to virtually every problem.
-
The Revolution: A Manifesto
Book under: September 02, 2009 at 03:35 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedCongressman Ron Paul's latest book covers how to achieve economic freedom, civil liberties, and personal responsibility, and what role the government is supposed to play in people's lives
-
The Destiny of Freedom
Book under: September 02, 2009 at 03:28 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedA great description of what freedom is and how it was lost. This is a manual for understanding freedom and a game plan for winning it back.
-
America: Freedom to Fascism
Video under: September 01, 2009 at 02:07 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedA great documentary by Aaron Russo. Bulk purchases at $1.50 each. Order at www.FreedomToFascism.com.
-
America: Freedom to Fascism
September 01, 2009 at 02:03 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedE-video under:Aaron Russo's America: Freedom to Fascism Documentary. An excellent film about the Income Tax and Central Banking cartel.
-
Where do we go from here?
July 24, 2009 at 09:41 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedPost under:“If you don’t know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else.”
Laurence J. Peter
US educator & writer (1919 – 1988)Where are we going? What is the destiny of America? Who is responsible to save our nation?
It seems apparent that at this time in our history we are struggling to know where we should be going. Given the constant cries for a “bailout” for every form of financial crisis it seems that Americans have resigned themselves to government solutions to our problems. Many are now admitting that our financial crises have been contributed to (if not caused outright) by the government’s unnatural involvement in this economy. Despite this we do not seem to have the courage, or foresight, to address our problems in any other way but through greater government debt, guarantees, etc. Certainly, the endless piling on of debt onto the backs of the American people cannot continue indefinitely.
Is this the direction we really want to go in, or is there any alternative?
To answer this question, I am reminded of Benjamin Franklin. Mr. Franklin has been called “the quintessential American” of his time. He was self-educated and after studying printing in his brother’s newspaper shop he went off on his own to Philadelphia, where he started his own printing company. As reported at The Franklin Institute website:
His most famous publications were a newspaper called The Pennsylvania Gazette and his annual Poor Richard’s Almanack. He had many new ideas for publishing and he is known for printing cartoons, illustrated news stories, and letters to the editor. He believed in the power of the press, using his printing press as a way to bring the news to all people. He used cartoons and pictures so that everyone could understand the news, even people who had not learned to read.
Mr. Franklin was instrumental in bringing street lighting to Philadelphia. Ben also helped to set up the first postal system in Philadelphia. In order to make Philadelphia a safer city, he started the Union Fire Company in 1736. A few years later, in 1752, he set up America’s first fire insurance company. He even organized a Night Watch and Militia to help keep peace and safety in Philadelphia. While in Paris, Ben proposed the idea of Daylight Savings Time.
In 1731, Ben founded America’s first circulating library so that people could borrow books to read even though they might not have been able to afford to buy books to read. He discovered the conductivity of heat by color and established the first volunteer fire-fighting union (in the world!) and fire insurance company in Philadelphia.
In an incredible history of his life, The Real Benjamin Franklin, the essence of Mr. Franklin is revealed. I found it very interesting how creative he and his associates were. For example, he (and his “master-mind” team) had the idea of laying bricks on one city block of Philadelphia. At that time, no city blocks were paved in the entire city. Despite naysayers, they went at it and successfully paved one of the city blocks. As a result, the citizens of Philadelphia became inspired and paved the entire downtown area. Mr. Franklin also devised the first lottery system in order to raise funds for the building of a church in Philadelphia.
He was instrumental in the implementation of a new money system for the colonies, including the printing of a new form of money, so the colonies would not be dependent on British notes.
Addressing other needs of his time he invented the lightning rod, through which he discovered electricity. He also invented the Franklin stove, which was a more efficient way to produce heat from wood (for which he refused a patent, as he stated it should be for the good of the people).
His other inventions include: bifocals, the glass harmonica, the library chair, swim fins, the long reach device, the catheter, and Daylight Savings Time.
So what can “Good old Ben” teach us today? To whom did Mr. Franklin look for the solutions of the problems of his day? He obviously took direct, personal responsibility for his environment and was not afraid to engage in the process of : “ask and ye shall receive.”Given what he created and cognized, he clearly had opened himself up to receive alternative answers to the dilemmas he and his countrymen faced.It’s amazing how we take so many of today’s institutions for granted, such as the library, volunteer fire departments, insurance, etc. We often fail to understand that it was committed individuals, such as Benjamin Franklin, who looked problems in their face and asked “how can I help to solve this problem?” instead of: “government, solve this for us, please!”
As we see more and more of the failure of governments surface in the future, let us remember the greatness, the faithfulness and the true righteousness of men like Benjamin Franklin. Let us imbue into our soul their spirit of self-empowerment, and self-reliance. Let us have the courage to take back our sovereignty and our divine right of self government.
I have no doubt that we can save our nation, and end up where we want to go, if only we can remember who we really are.
-
The Role of "The People" in Protecting Inalienable Rights
July 24, 2009 at 08:18 pm by COMMON SENSE; RevisitedPost under:It is interesting to know that many of the attendees at the Constitutional Convention held in 1787 were OPPOSED to including a Bill of Rights in the Constitution. Why would this be so? The chief concern was that if a written bill of rights were included, the people would, over time, think that these rights were the ONLY rights they had. They were wise enough to know that the people would not understand how vast this body of “inalienable” rights was, and would therefore allow the government (especially the federal government) to dictate, and invade, the sacred domain of self-government that was to remain with the people. As a result, the Bill of Rights was not included in the original Constitution, but was later introduced by James Madison in 1789 to the First United States Congress as a series of amendments to the Constitution.
The Bill of Rights, which are now defined as the first ten amendments to the Constitution, are understood to protect such rights as freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion. Also included (among others) are the freedom of assembly, the right to keep and bear arms, and protections against unreasonable search and seizure. It is critical to understand that this in no way limits the extent of the rights of “the people.” What has been generally lost is an understanding of the purpose and meaning to the 9th Amendment which states:
“The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
Obviously, the founders were referring to these other “unspoken and unwritten” rights which the people possessed, even if the Bill of Rights did not explicitly detail those rights.
In addition, “the people” (that is us) have lost an understanding of our role in the governing process. An understanding of the purpose and intent of the 10th Amendment is also critical to understand the “vision” of the founders. The 10th amendment states:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Therefore, there has existed, and still exists, a vast realm of rights (also referred to as “natural rights”) that we, the people, possess that are not defined by the Constitution or its amendments. In order to gain an understanding of these rights, let me ask a few questions about only one of the important areas of our lives, our physical health.
Despite no specific mention in the Constitution or its amendments, do humans have an individual right to choose their form of medicine or medical treatments? Do we have an individual right to choose “alternative” forms of medicine (such as Native American medicine, ancient Chinese medicine, or ancient Ayurvedic medicine, as examples? On the other hand, can we be forced to only accept what our government states is “legal” medical treatment according to current governmental regulations? Does the Federal government have any constitutional authority to even speak on the subject?
A study of the history of “acceptable” medicine in this country reveals that “chiropractic” treatments were for many decades “illegal,” as government authorities (dominated by the American Medical Association) had not yet deemed it “safe.” Some of the greatest breakthroughs in medical history were not “legal” according to existing governmental authorities. This reality is even more evident today as new breakthroughs in alternative medicine are being discovered every day. Does it make sense to allow a government bureaucracy (which is obviously subject to control by special interest groups) to make such an important decision for YOU, as your choice of medical treatment? Or is this potential life or death decision part of “the peoples” inalienable rights to make choices for themselves, without having to resort to “permission” from some government authority?
Hopefully, this discussion will help to clarify how we, the people, must not allow governments to invade those sacred realms of personal decisions and responsibilities, collectively referred to as our “inalienable rights.” In upcoming newsletters I will continue to uncover how the Founders were attempting to give us our freedom, if only we would accept it.
