Against All Enemies; R. Bearce

dent Adams said, its effectiveness lies in how well we observe its pro visions. Tragically, too many Americans today have abandoned the faith of the Founding Fathers. Our Consti tution has been trampled upon by government officials, members of the mass media, educators, other pub lic-opinion molders, as well as the average citizen. Consider for a moment how some Americans (particularly those serv ing in Congress) have manipulated the ((general welfare" clause of the Constitution. The ((general welfare" is mentioned in the preamble and in Article I, Section 8. The preamble reads: ((WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common 599 600 THE FREEMAN October defense, promote the general Wel fare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Pos terity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Article I, Section 8 of the Consti tution mentions the ((general wel fare" in this way: ((The Congress shall have the Power to lay and col lect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Ex cises' to pay the Debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States ... " The preamble clearly defines the two major functions of government: (1) ensuring justice, personal free dom, and a free society where indi viduals are protected from domestic lawbreakers and criminals, (2) pro tecting the people of the United States from foreign aggressors. No Special Privileges When the Founding Fathers said that ((WE THE PEOPLE" estab lished the Constitution to Upromote the general Welfare," they did not mean the federal government would have the power to aid education, build roads, and subsidize business. Likewise, Article I, Section 8 did not give Congress the right to use tax money for whatever social and eco nomic programs Congress might think would be good for the ((general welfare."

James Madison stated that the ((general welfare" clause was not a freeway for Congress Uto exercise every power which may be alleged to be necessary for the common de fense or general welfare." If by the ((general welfare," the Founding Fa thers had meant any and all social, economic, or educational programs Congress wanted to create, there would have been no reason to list specific powers of Congress such as establishing courts and maintain ing the armed forces. Those powers would simply have been included in one all-encompassing phrase, to ((promote the general welfare." Writing about the ((general wel fare" clause in 1791, Thomas Jeffer son saw the danger of misinterpret ing the Constitution. The danger in the hands of Senators and Congress men was ((that of instituting a Con gress with power to do whatever would be for the good of the United States; and, as they would be the sole judges of the good or evil, it would be also a power to do what ever evil they please."

The Founding Fathers said in the preamble that one. reason for estab lishing the Constitution was to ((promote the general welfare." What they meant was that the Constitu tion and powers granted to the fed eral government were not to favor special interest groups or particular classes of people. There were to be no privileged individuals or groups in society. Neither minorities nor the majority was to be favored.

1980 AGAINST ALL ENEMIES 601 Rather, the Constitution would pro mote the ~(general welfare" by en suring a free society where free, self responsible individuals-rich and poor, bankers and shopkeepers, em ployers and employees, farmers and blacksmiths-would enjoy ((life, lib erty, and the pursuit of happiness," rights expressed in the Declaration of Independence. Quoting the Tenth Amendment, Jefferson wrote: ~1 consider the foundation of the Constitution as laid on this ground: That (all powers not delegated to the United States, by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States or to the people.' To take a single step beyond the boundaries thus specially drawn around the powers of Congress is to take posses sion of a boundless field of power, no longer susceptible of any definition." A Monstrous Bureaucracy Jefferson was correct in fearing that Congress could ((take posses sion of a boundless field of power,"

but he was wrong in saying that such unlimited power could not be defined. It can indeed be defined by simply looking at the federal gov ernment of the United States today. There we see a ((boundless field of power" in both little and big mat ters. Unlike public officials during Jef ferson's time, our modern-day legis lators have a very loose interpretation of the Constitution. The result is that government has snowballed into a monstrous bureaucracy. Con sider the power given to Congress by the Constitution in Article I, Sec tion 8, clause 8: ((To promote the Progress of Science .and useful Arts ... " Does that mean Congress has the right to use our tax dollars to fi nance agencies like the National Science Foundation and the Na tional Foundation on the Arts and Humanities? Definitely not! The complete clause reads: ((To promote the Progress of Science and useful arts, by securing for limited Times to A uthors and In ventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries"

(emphasis added). That's what the Founding Fathers meant by encouraging science and the arts. An appropriate Copyright Office was set up. Article I, Section 8, clause 8 is just one example of how the Constitution protects indi vidual freedom and assures the in dividual the right to enjoy the fruits of his own labor, energy, and abilities. Our present-day legislators, how ever, have ignored the Constitution as they pass legislation to help sci ence and the arts. We now have the federally funded National Science Foundation, National Endowment for, the Arts, and National Endow ment for the Humanities. How do 602 THE FREEMAN October these federal programs spend our tax monies? Well, it has been re ported that $130,000 from the Na tional Science Foundation was used to study the evolution of the cricket. Another $46,000 was evidently spent by the National Endowment for the Arts to finance a film documentary on the history of the toilet. On the other hand, we are informed that for only $2,500 the National Endow ment for the Humanities was able to finance a study on why tennis players are rude on tennis courts. A real bargain!

Undoubtedly, federal programs like the National Science Founda tion have had some worthy results, but the benefits received are not the issue for discussion or debate. The problem is that such federal pro grams are unconstitutional. Rather than depending upon free individu als to encourage science and the arts through voluntary contributions to private foundations, Congress is taking money from some citizens and giving it to whomever it judges to be needy of federal handouts. Congress Assumes Powers Beyond Intent of Founders Congress is continually usurping its constitutional power, spending more of our tax dollars, and other wise assuming obligations the Founding Fathers never meant it to undertake. For example, our gener ous government offers us such helpful publications asAnd Now a Word About Your Shampoo, Keeping Thur Pet Healthy, and Imaginative Ways With Bathrooms. The really nice thing about these publications is that they are ttfree."

No~, it might be heartening to some people to know that our gov ernment wishes to advise us on how to plan or remodel our bathrooms, but are we to believe that federal funding for such publications is pro vided for in the Constitution? The Constitution is being twisted and manhandled as our legislators toil in Congress to do what we can and should do for ourselves. One prominent Senator proudly lists in his legislative newsletter laws and proposals he has worked for in our behalf. These include a National Technology Act federal subsidies for mass transit a child abuse act ... aid for bilingual education a legal Services Corporation an Arthritis Act ... a Drug Utilization Improvement Act ... subsidies for solar energy . . . monies for public service jobs, and so forth and so on. The Senator's constituenc)', as well as all American citizens, should re call Jefferson's advice: tt ... Still one thing more, fellow citizens-a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one an other, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of 1980 AGAINST ALL ENEMIES 603 labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government."

Yet, our federal government today rumbles on, disavowing the Consti tution and taking from our ((mouth of labor the bread it has earned" through taxation. Government grows bigger and more comprehen sive as federal funds are spent for cooperative farm extension work ... urban mass transit ... child-nu trition programs ... public housing ... elementary and secondary edu cation . . . air and water pollution control ... rural-housing grants . minority business development . public broadcasting ... adolescent health services and pregnancy prevention boating safety assistance new-community assistance grants ... urban renewal, and so forth and so on. A Free Economy America's past progress in achiev ing material prosperity in a climate of freedom and human dignity did not come as a result of government intervention into social/economic matters. Our nation has prospered because we were true to the Consti tution. The Founding Fathers be lieved that the role of government was to provide a political framework that would permit individuals to work together in voluntary cooper ation, pursuing their own destinies.

Individual initiative and personal responsibility-not government social and economic intervention were the basis for stability and growth. The critical question for us is how many of the federal government's departments, boards, projects, and agencies are constitutional. We should remember that elected and appointed public servants are sworn to support and defend the Constitu tion of the United States. Consider what the Constitution has to say about private property, and then think about how government has abused its authorit~ The Fourth Amendment states: ((The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ... " The· Fifth Amendment assures us that we will not ((be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ... " The Fourteenth Amendment states that citizens will not be de pri ved of ((life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ... "

Few government officials, if any, will deny that private property is a basic principle or right enjoyed by Americans. Yet, these same public officials support laws that have the effect of infringing upon our liberty and property. Without the right to dispose of our property as we best see fit, the right to private property is mean604 THE FREEMAN October ingless. Our property includes ev erything from our homes or the business we might own to our earn ings at whatever job or profession we have. Our pay checks are just as much a matter of private property as are our homes, automobiles, and TV sets. Government deprives us of liberty and property to the extent that it (1) tries to manage our eco nomic lives for us; (2) prevents us from reaping the rewards of hard work and enjoying the fruits of our own propert~ Through unnecessary government regulations as well as excessive taxation we are not in full control of our propert~ Private Property Protected James Madison, known as the Fa ther of the Constitution, understood that government interference threatens freedom and private prop erty: ttThat is not a just government, nor is property secure under it, where arbitrary restrictions, ex emptions, and monopolies deny to part of its citizens that free use of their faculties, and free choice of their occupations, which not only constitute their property in the gen eral sense of the word; but are the means of acquiring property so called."

Madison, Roger Sherman, and other men who wrote our Constitu tion achieved a wise, firm balance between personal liberty and government power.The Constitution has proven itself to be a stable but flexi ble document. Our problem today is that we have allowed flexibility to be interpreted as a blank check for government to do whatever it wishes. This is seen in the misinterpreta tion of the ttgeneral welfare" clause and the so-called ttelastic clause" of Article I, Section 8 which says Con gress shall have the power: ttTo make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Pow ers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Govern ment of the United States, or in any Department or Office thereof." Our government officials contin ually distort the meaning of the Constitution's ttelastic clause." In doing so, they have stepped beyond the boundaries of limited, constitu tional government. If he were alive today, James Madison would tell us that many government laws and programs might be useful, but they are certainly not ttnecessary and proper" according to the Constitu tion. He would remind us that no law is constitutional unless it is ttnecessary and proper" to carry out specifically enumerated powers given to the executive, legislative, or judi cial branches of government by the Consti tution.

The duty of the federal judiciary the Supreme Court and lower fed eral courts-is to determine whether 1980 AGAINST ALL ENEMIES 605 laws are constitutional and whether they have been broken. Just as both the executive and legislative branches of government have shown their contempt for the Constitution, so the judiciary has failed to carry out its legitimate responsibilities. Instead of rightfully interpreting the Constitution as a bulwark defend ing individual freedom against gov ernment oppression, many judges in our federal courts reject the Consti tution and interpret it to agree with what they believe to be politically, economically, morally, or socially correct. Meanwhile, Congress flouts the Constitution by not only making laws but also interpreting them and enforcing them-responsibilities of the judicial and executive arms of government. Countless agencies, commissions, departments, and boards set up by Congress issue bur densome, unconstitutional guide lines, regulations, and laws. What would the Founding Fathers think of this federal bureaucracy? They would recall what the Declaration of Independence had to say about government and the King of Eng land.

~~The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of re peated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the estab lishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States .. . He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people, and eat out their sub stance." Freedom Threatened The patriots of the War for Inde pendence fought to preserve free dom against a ~(multitude of New Offices" and ~~swarms of Officers." Later, the people of the United States adopted a Constitution designed to limit government authority and protect individual liberty. That free dom is threatened today, not so much from foreign aggression as from many of our own citizens who do not want to live by the principles of the Constitution. Senators, members of the House of Representatives, and other gov ernment officeholders have sworn that they will support and defend the Constitution ~~against all ene mies, foreign and domestic." Our public officials have also sworn to ~~bear true faith and allegiance" to the Constitution.

Are they living up to their oath of office? Are other citizens, ~~WE THE PEOPLE of the United States," bearing ~~true faith and allegiance" to the Constitution? i (Editor's note: ~1\.gainst All Ene mies" will be concluded in the next issue of The Freeman.) Samuel Smiles SELF-IMPROVEMENT To DO JUSTICE, a man must think well not only of himself, but of the duties which he owes to others! He must not aim too low, but regard man as created CCa little lower than the angels." Let him think of his high destiny-of the eternal inter ests in which he has a part-of the great scheme of nature and provi dence-of the intellect with which he has been endowed-of the power of loving conferred upon him-of the home on earth provided for him; and he will cease to think meanly of himself. The poorest human being is the centre of two eternities, the Cre ator overshadowing all. Hence, let every man respect him self-his body, his mind, his charac ter. Self-respect, originating in self606 love, instigates the first step of im provement. It stimulates a man to rise, to look upward, to develop his intelligence, to improve his condi tion. Self-respect is the root of most of the virtues-of cleanliness, chas tity, reverence, honesty, sobriety. To think meanly of one's self is to sink sometimes to descend a precipice at the bottom of which is infamy.