For Your Consideration: N.C. State Constitution III

Wednesday, 14 October 2009

By Charlie Allo “Sec. 2. Sovereignty of the people. All political power is vested in and derived from the people; all government of right originates from the people, is founded upon their will only, and is instituted solely for the good of the whole.” One should exercise care when reading and interpreting our constitutional documents, it is easy to take segments of these documents out of context; this caution is being presented at this point to suggest that the interpretation given may be incorrect. It is also important that in evaluating the documents that govern our lives that this evaluation is guided from the highest, or founding document right down to our city ordinances. One approach for diagnosing these documents would be to extract the basic principals laid out in our founding documents. Developing a paradigm for the spirit of our founding documents may present a valuable tool in establishing the validity of laws that are presented to us by our legislators. Section 2 of the State’s Constitution clearly states that the power to govern rests with the people and that governance must be “for the good of the whole.” It would be easy to take this section out of context and create conditions that were not intended by our Founding Fathers. Some segments of our population suggest that whatever the masses want they should receive because that is “for the good of the whole.” The problem with this position is that it is ignoring the rights of the individual’s “God given rights.” It cannot be expressed strongly enough that our Founding Fathers were adamant on the point of the individual’s God given rights. They were opposed to any infringements on these rights. There were also concerns over the growth of government and its misuse of power. It must be remembered that our Founders were firm on their position to avoid the trap that all previous nations had fallen into, the centralization of power in a leader or ruling group. They were intent on placing the power with the individual, as long as the individual did not infringe on the God given rights of another individual. There are some among us that would take away the individual’s rights for the good of the whole; they hold the position that the Constitution should reflect the will of the people at any given time and that our Constitution should be flexible. This view is placing our Nation in the very position that our Founders were attempting to avoid. We cannot go down the road that is being expressed by many of our representatives. Our government has used stealth techniques over past generations to undermine the basic principals that made our Constitution unique; all individuals that wish to maintain their individual rights must oppose this trend. It would behoove us to review all of the legislation that has been passed over the years, keeping in mind Section 1 and 2 of our State’s Constitution. One might find that our legislators have subverted our rights, giving them and their friends more power at the individual’s expense. One would likely find that a major portion of the legislation that exists should be on the books; this statement would apply to all levels of government. Caution, you are close to losing your rights as an individual. What is needed in our Constitution is an amendment that would allow individuals to question any transgression to our Constitution that is not be cost prohibitive. It should also require that those reviewing the alleged infraction had a clear understanding of the basic principles of these documents. It would appear that many of the judges appointed or elected to our courts do not have this qualification, in light of their passed ruling. Our legislators spend much of their time trying to pass legislation to correct legislation on the books; it might be more advantageous to determine if that legislation even belongs on the books

 

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