The 21st Century and We the People

This paper is a viewpoint on the proposed policies of The Jacksonian Party.

Today is a day that may see the Summer of Our Discontent come true. A proposal has been put forth by the President that has not been well thought out and, by trying to keep to a *safe* course, actually charts the Nation into Troubled Waters. My personal viewpoint is available here, with much intemperance on my part. As in all cases, whenever something as seen as going awry an attempt must be made not only to place blame but to offer something *better*. And so I hope to bring disparate themes together by showing what it is this Nation could become if the proposals put forth by The Jacksonian Party were implemented.

First and foremost, The Jacksonian Party recognizes that the full and entire responsibility of this Nation does not rest upon the Government, but upon the People. I have written on that here. The Federal Government is one means to achieve the ends set out by the Constitution, but, as in all other cases, the responsibility and actual achievement of these things rests with We the People. And so the political system has sliced and diced the People into various groups and set them at each other's throats so that the Voice of We the People can no longer be heard, and thus let Us lose track of those responsibilities which are Ours to have and hold.

Demonstrating that some classes of people have been denied rights is one thing. Setting aside rights and privileges for *any* group of We the People based on any biological or sociological background is quite another. The Constitution makes no distinction on such after the Civil War and neither should the Federal Government in how it implements policy and gives out goods from the National Treasury. By trying to divide the populace based on this color or that one, or based on this background or that one, or to pander to any individual Group, be they organized or unorganized no longer lets those running for high office address the People as a whole.

The Jacksonian Party recognizes the natural rights of man to follow the premise of the Declaration of Independence, but adheres to the codification of how those rights are to be used set in the Constitution. Indeed, all people have these rights, but they are only recognized here in full, while other Nations do not do so. That said, to *gain* that protection requires the equal protection and due process of Law, as is clearly stated in the Constitution. Those that do not adhere to the Law to seek entry deny this basis of understanding and denigrate due process in so doing. To give such equal protection and due process is to grant that the Constitution is *not* a document requiring same, which is clearly not the case.

Thusly, illegal aliens repudiate the very laws that they seek sanctuary under and, if that is granted, the structure of that law is weakened.

For this new Century this Nation is beset by many ills foreign and domestic. The United States seems to get this regularly, and every few generations requires yet another look at We the People and how We run Our Nation.

Lets take look at a checklist:
- New technologies opening up vistas never before conceived,
- Attacks upon the Nation from those overseas that do not respect Our Nation and a city badly hurt,
- Strife and unrest along the Southern border,
- A new networked system of communication that allowed the free flow of ideas quickly,
- Muslims taking up arms against the Laws of Nations and killing non-believers,
- US Forces sent to put an end to such lawlessness,
- Strange forms of political thought that manifest themselves with unforeseen results,
- Internal forces that would threaten the integrity of all Nations while being dispersed across them.

Today? No, this is the 19th Century where:
- Industrialization changed the very landscape of production and how we approached it,
- The War of 1812 in which Washington burned,
- The border disputes and War with Mexico,
- The telegraph allowing news and messages to travel at untold speeds,
- The Barbary Pirates and the Marines sent to give them pause,
- Objectivity and the move to include scientific factual thought in politics,
- And Anarchists bringing terror with them as they struck against World Leaders.

Also the Rise of the Empires and the predominance of the Nation State with Colonies flourished to bring a dawning of what many foresaw as a Golden Age, but which ended in World War I. Today, after the end of the Cold War we now witness the *reverse* trend from that of building Nation States up to those that seek to diminish them and, finally end them. For today the list now reads:
- Promising new technologies in the biological, information and nano areas,
- The Twin Towers falling and New York City coated with the ash and dust of them,
- Illegal aliens flooding across the border and disrupting the Nation,
- The first flowering of the Internet to give freedom of speech to All,
- Wars against Afghanistan and Iraq to start de-linking terrorists from State support,
- Transnationalism seeking to change the diminish the liberties of individuals and give them to groups,
- Terrorists and Progressivists taking up the Transnational concept to attack the fundamentals of Nation States to self-govern.

As the United States was first formed, it did not have the wherewithal of a modern State and the founders recognized that some means and methods for attacking difficult problems could not be done by the Nation directly. At that time it was Nation States and Piracy threatening the young Nation, and the capability to respond was handed over to Congress to draft means and methods to curb or end such things. The threat to shipping was distributed and none could easily say if or where or when commerce would be attacked, and its sources were many-fold: European Nations looking for easy prey or not respecting the new Nation, Pirates of many stripes looking to personal gain by capturing ships and cargo, and a system of places where such things were not strictly enforced as being disallowed.

To attack these threats and assist in times of War, the Congress gave Warrants for the capture of goods that had been unlawfully taken by those that attacked the new Nation. Privateering had legal justification and was given means to act effectively by Congress so that the Nation's commerce could be secured and its forces augmented by those willing to take up fighting with just recompense. This, of course, requires a Congress that will allow the might of its Citizens to come forth and stand into those places where Military and standard Intelligence cannot: deeply into the commercial realm to root out and stop trafficking with Our enemies.

Such a thing has not been done for over a century, but the times have reversed to the point where a distributed Citizenry in its course of affairs, here and abroad, would serve much better to stop this trafficking than any Military force. Because the threat is pervasive and pestilent, and seemingly relatively easy to profit from, many do it and thusly empower Our enemies and, indeed, those that would tear down the very Nation State system on this planet to reach their own ends. To do this Congress needs to stop *fearing* We the People and start SERVING US.

That is what they are elected TO DO.

The Jacksonian Party, secondly, recognizes the responsibilities of the Citizenry and all of their rights so as to choose their own way within the confines of the Constitution. That means that individuals may speak out against those Laws of the Land they disagree with, and accept due punishment in violation of such laws. In times of War and unrest some of these rights have been curbed, but never totally wiped out and their curbing is only with the consent of the People. Thus, within all of that, We the People through Our chosen representatives do put forth laws and means to do things lawfully within the scope and bounds given to Us.

One of the best and hardest rights is that of Amendment II, to keep and bear arms. It is not only a right to have a military, but to lawfully allow the Citizenry to decide on how to keep and use such things outside of the purview of the Federal Government. Perhaps the banning of importation and sale of automatic weapons is a necessary ill, as it keeps the ability of individuals to do large amounts of harm on a wholesale basis with firearms in check. But it is a minor curb when one sees the continuum of lethality available to an individual Citizen: Self-Defense courses, Martial Arts, Ancient Arms and Armor, Historical Arms, and, of course, Firearms from Ancient to Modern save those that have a high rounds per minute output and others clearly meant for military and not civilian use. We the People allow that last distinction so that the escalation of firepower and intimidation has a check upon it for the greater common defense and domestic tranquility which are Our responsibilities and come *before* Amendment II.

Within that scope, then, We the People may choose how and how not to use and dedicate Our arms within Our lives. Couple this with the musings given on what a pro-active use of that right as I have given previously, so as to enact the Right of each State to Exist as an independent entity and arm itself as it sees fit in times of invasion or Danger, leads to a new existence for this Nation in its parts. A single State asserting with its Citizens that the Amendment II rights of the Citizenry will be used with the Article I right of the State to protect itself when Federal aid is not timely, and a new class of law emerges: armed rights combined with State survival gives lawless use of arms as an offense *against* the State's right to exist lawfully.

This dynamic changes the flow of power within the United States to each State that positively asserts its right to exist. No longer is the State at the whim and whimsy of a National Guard that has limited service time, nor at the mercy of awaiting Federal help in times of Danger or invasion. What this does is shift the power of States survival DIRECTLY to its lawfully armed Citizens. Yes, the Citizens who are the sole holders of Amendment II become the enactors of this new area and create it as they see fit, so long as it does not create a standing army or military force. An armed Citizen *alone* seeing invasion or breakdown of Civil order is enjoined and empowered to stop such or gain help enough to do so. The individual has that power via this method and means, although still accountable to every OTHER armed Citizen and the State for their actions. A due process of law would allow such which is the State's portion of this so that there may be regularity and accountability.

This is wholly and fully outside the reach and scope of the Federal Government to have *any* say. To attempt to stop a State doing such would be to directly and completely break the Constitution open at Article I. And any attempt to stop armed Citizenry from owning and using *any* arms is a direct breaking of Amendment II. Cognizant, armed Citizens given full backing and authority by the State to protect it from invasion, danger and unlawful use of Arms would be completely and fully empowered to assert these powers.

Thus ANY crossing of the State by Foreign Powers or their Nationals that do not have leave of the Federal Government to be in the Union is considered to be a direct attack upon that State wherever and whenever the State sees such. It is equivalent to an invasion and Declaration of War upon that State's right to exist independently within the security of the Nation. And since this is a Federal Republic, an attack upon one State is an attack upon ALL.

For those looking for an answer to the illegal alien problem: if you are armed and not afraid to join Your right with that of the State You live in to exist, then YOU can be a frontline in finally ending this plague. For everywhere the armed Citizen goes in such a state, the Law goes fully with them as does the responsibility to uphold that Law and be held accountable to it. By taking up Arms you exercise the right to do so, but by having only backing for the individual, it becomes a limited right in scope and influence. By joining it with a broader scoped right, that individual's right is transformed into one that is quite powerful, although still and absolutely limited by due process of Law.

As Citizens We may be in every corner of this Nation and see what needs be seen and can, with the help of Our States, keep the Union whole. For we are enjoined to do that in the Preamble. And if you fear such a power upon others, then perhaps You should learn an art of Arms and join those that have done so to help Protect this Nation.

Third, and finally, is getting representation back to a representative level in the House. By enacting a simple amendment to the Constitution denying the House of Representatives to set its own size and, instead, permanently pegging it to the largest size possible, We the People can end this Zero Party State of the Nation. A House of nearly 10,000 Representatives can no longer make *safe* districts nor sinecure seats by drawing lines on a map every 10 years. Pure demographics will shift even small regions quickly, thus ensuring no concentration of power to leaders of mere political parties. The House would actually have to act as a Representative body for We the People, and not a smoke filled room for cutting deals and ensuring pork going out to their districts.

The sheer scale of such an enterprise gives one pause, but with electronic means of messaging, posting information and feeding back into it, it is perfectly feasible to run such a thing. Indeed, not only feasible, but it would be a benefit to the Nation as it would keep Representatives at HOME where they may listen to We the People and be held accountable on a daily basis. And as they would have ZERO staff, each member would be addressable DIRECTLY by their constituents. No more junkets and flying off to far off lands at the taxpayer's expense. No more hiding out in offices and sending staffers to flack the Citizens. In a district of 30,000 people EVERY SINGLE VOTE COUNTS.

An additional benefit would be having multiple members to oversee nearly every Agency and their departments within the Government. Direct Congressional contact and oversight becomes a reality, doing away with much in the way of Congressional Hearings to hear what is going on in the far reaches of the Government. Instead individual members would post their updates so that every other member could be informed of what was going on.

A House of this size might sweep every lawyer off the street for a term or two, but when it is apparent that power is so widely distributed across the House itself, the ability of lawyers to use this as a stepping stone TO anywhere is gone. Lobbyists would have to lobby individuals in their districts and to get anywhere near a majority would be well nigh impossible as attempts at graft and corruption will be limited. With many eyes and hands comes many watchdogs to keep each other in check. And a few hundred votes change in a district would be enough to boot out someone who had any *hint* of corruption about them.

As the 21st Century dawns we are drawn into an era of problems besetting this Nation. As in the 19th, the unfolding of these problems for good and ill are not readily apparent until things start to move. However, we are left with centuries of legacy, now, which is very much an anchor to a recent past that is forever gone. As a 'HyperPower' the United States is powerless to address distributed threats by groups of individuals that adhere to no Nation. And internally the Nation is corroded by the Transnationalist conception that Nations need be done away with so that Groups may rule.

The power of the Nation State reaches hard limits at the small scale. While it is possible to run a police state, corruption, graft, incompetence and, soon, revolution will bring it down. Even with modern technology, those Nations attempting to reign in their people are finding the People have more knowledge and power than the Government does. Fortunately the United States is *based* upon the ideal that its People ARE its power. And that is given voice via many means, only one of which is the Federal Government. We the People can *change* the balance of power which became so heavily weighted to National Government due to the changes in the World.

But the World continues to change as does the threats to the Nation. No longer is the Federal Government supreme in all things and, in actuality, barely able to come to decisions in its current state of affairs. The power to change that rests in We the People.

The Jacksonian Party stands for the responsibilities of individuals to carry out the common necessities that we *must* do to remain a free people and adhere to the compact between Us known as the Constitution. Indeed, to NOT do so is to declare the end of this Nation that gives Us protection so that each of Us may freely exercise Our rights.

Critics may claim that We are not ready or able or capable or learned enough to do these things. In that they are wrong. We the People may have problems, but when it comes to changing the state of affairs so that We may lead full and free lives, there is NOTHING that shall stand in the way of doing just that. There are problems in any time of change, and things done poorly and inefficiently and so on. But the path we are on as a Nation leads directly to efficient FAILURE.

A National Failure.

The Failure of a Nation to remain a Nation.

If We the People keep passing the buck and expecting someone else to do this for Us, then We shall Fail.

We the People can Fail this Nation.

And Ourselves.