In 1776, Thomas Jefferson wrote some of the most famous words in American history. In 1949, George Orwell wrote the novel 1984, warning of a dystopian future. The question I have is: Will the future of the United States of America be the Spirit of 1776 or the Spirit of 1984?
Spirit of 1776
With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence this year, there was some interest in the words Thomas Jefferson immortalized in that document. In my opinion, there should have been much more interest, especially on the second paragraph.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Declaration of Independence
The idea that all men were created equal may have seemed self-evident to those 18th century men, even if they didn’t live up to their rhetoric. That our rights do not come from government but from God was definitely something new. Also that among those rights, Jefferson listed:
- Life, your ability to live.
- Liberty, your ability live that life as you see fit.
- Pursuit of Happiness, your ability to seek what makes you happy as opposed to what makes others happy.
These basic and fundamental rights were not only recognized as existing, but as superseding the powers of government.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,
Declaration of Independence
Government’s job is not to protect you. It’s not there to provide for you. It’s not created to support the “social contract.” Government’s purpose is to secure your rights so that you can go out and protect and provide for yourself and fulfill your moral duty to your fellow man.
When governments do not fulfill their duty to secure your rights, We the People have the power to fix it.
That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
Declaration of Independence
We the People have the right, in fact the duty, to alter or abolish any government that does not secure our rights. We the People form government, and therefore, are its master.
I call this idea, the Spirit of 1776
Spirit of 1984
George Orwell wrote the novel 1984 in 1949 as a warning to the people. Sadly, it appears many view this dystopian novel more as an instruction manual. I say that because the very themes that Orwell tried to warn us about seem part of everyday life.
Totalitarianism
The Novel 1984 takes place in a totalitarian regime known as Oceania. Life is controlled by the Party, and the Party will accept no challenges to its power. Today peoples’ devotion to political party has led to the very despotism that George Washington warned us about.
The alternate domination of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge, natural to party dissension, which in different ages and countries has perpetrated the most horrid enormities, is itself a frightful despotism.
Washington’s Farewell Address 1796
Behavior we normally would not allow in our elected leaders is swept under the rug to insure the party holds the seat. Every couple of years we’re told to “choose the lesser of two evils,” not because one party’s candidate is better, but to prevent the opposing party from winning office. Today we see yet another example of foreign policy being controlled by the fear of high gasoline prices leading to losing seats in a mid-term election. While the power of political parties is its own frightful despotism, there is something much worse going on in this country.
It seems that We the People keep looking to Washington, D.C. to fix every problem we have, even if the federal government is prohibited from doing so. The Tenth Amendment clearly 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.
U.S. Constitution, Amendment X
Yet everything from transportation to energy, education to agriculture, and food to drugs is being regulated out of D.C., even though the Constitution prohibits it. Millions of people work in hundreds of federal departments and agencies that, according to Alexander Hamilton and the Supreme Court of the United States, do not legally exist.
There is no position which depends on clearer principles, than that every act of a delegated authority, contrary to the tenor of the commission under which it is exercised, is void. No legislative act, therefore, contrary to the Constitution, can be valid. To deny this, would be to affirm, that the deputy is greater than his principal; that the servant is above his master; that the representatives of the people are superior to the people themselves; that men acting by virtue of powers, may do not only what their powers do not authorize, but what they forbid.
Federalist Papers #78 – Alexander Hamilton
These agencies promulgate tens of thousands of pages of regulation, claiming the power of law, in direct contradiction to the supreme law of the land. Meanwhile, the states generally stand by and watch as their legitimate powers are usurped by Uncle Sam. Why? Because of the bribe money offered by our corrupt uncle. Our republic of republics is quickly collapsing into a totalitarian dystopia controlled more and more by a single person, the President of the United States, in direct violation of the supreme law of the land.
Surveillance
Benjamin Franklin once said:
They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.
Benjamin Franklin
When it comes to surveillance, I’m sure most people think Flock cameras. There’s a lot more to it than that. Sure, Flock Safety and other Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are watching us whenever we drive, but that’s just the beginning. Everything from security cameras inside and outside of the places where we do business, even those fancy doorbell cameras that announce your package delivery, are watching everything that happens. And when government actors want access, they generally get it.
Let’s not forget that everything you purchase, either online or with one of those loyalty cards, is surveilled. Everything you watch, whether on cable, satellite, or streaming, is logged and recorded. Every email you send or receive, every document you create online, and every search you make is stored for someone to research. Yes, most of this data is collected by private companies, but all the federal government has to do is ask, and those companies hand over all the information they have on you without a second thought about your privacy.
There’s even more behind the scenes. When you make a large deposit or withdrawal at your bank, they are required by law to report it to the federal government. In fact, if they see anything they think might be suspicious, they’re supposed to report it to the feds. The same with your credit cards, or any financial institution you do business with.
In other words, the American people are already living in a surveillance state; most just don’t realize it yet.
Manipulation of Truth
There has always been a love/hate relationship between politics and the truth. When something is true and beneficial for their campaign, politicians will shout it from the rafters. However, when something is inconvenient and true, it gets labeled as misinformation, disinformation, or just plain fake news. President Biden actually tried to create his own Ministry of Truth, just like in the novel 1984, called the Disinformation Governance Board. The stated purpose of this board was to protect national security by disseminating guidance to DHS agencies on combating misinformation, malinformation, and disinformation that threatens the security of the homeland.” In other words, how to suppress information the government didn’t like. This came about in large part to counter reports of malfeasance in the 2020 presidential election and the safety of the so-called COVID-19 vaccines. It was almost exactly like the Ministry of Truth in 1984, which altered historical records to fit The Party’s needs.
However, it’s not just government actors who are rewriting what is true. Remember the George Floyd, Black Lives Matter, and ANTIFA riots? We kept hearing people spin them as “mostly peaceful,” while cars and buildings burned in the background. Let’s not forget the 1619 Project, a blatant attempt to rewrite our history, focusing on slavery while ignoring the inconvenient fact that the United States was the first nation to outlaw the slave trade.
Between “facts” created by Artificial Intelligence, government actors defining what is true or newsworthy, and the rewriting of our history, the manipulation of truth has become as much a part of the American experience as it was in the novel. 1984.
Reeducation
One of the core themes of the novel 1984 was the reeducation the protagonist, Winston Smith, went through. If you think about reeducation, you probably picture camps where dissidents are sent to learn to follow the party line. The type of thing we expect to see in the Soviet Union or Communist China. However, the United States has gone through its own reeducation in a much more subtle way.
Back in the 1980s the term “Political Correctness” became very popular. It’s history is much darker.
The term first appeared in Marxist-Leninist vocabulary following the Russian Revolution of 1917. At that time it was used to describe adherence to the policies and principles of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (that is, the party line).
political correctness – Britannica
That’s right, all of that craziness about “political correctness” was nothing more than a Marxist attempt to reeducate the American people to adhere to the principles and policies of the Communist Party. And it worked. How often do you hear someone claim there’s something they can’t really say? That’s because they’ve been reeducated into self-censorship. It’s not really that different than someone else telling you can’t say that or you can’t use that word. The only difference is that other person has gotten you to do the censorship for them.
We’ve been reeducated into believing we’re all going to die in a few years, even after previous predictions prove false. That healthcare, education, and even a “living wage” is a right. Meaning you are owed it whether you work for it or not. More recently, there are people all over the world that are trying to reeducate us that men can become women and girls can become boys because of how they feel. There’s not a lick of science or proof behind that, but they’ve take political correctness to such a level that people actually believe they cannot contradict them.
Conclusion
The question I have for the American people is, which spirit will guide us through the 21st century? Will it be the spirit of 1776, or the spirit of 1984? Will it be liberty or totalitarianism? Truth based in facts or politics?
The spirit of 1984 has been in force for decades. With all of the talk about the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, can we awaken the coals of the sacred fire of liberty in this nation? As Thomas Jefferson wrote:
But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
Declaration of Independence
We don’t need a revolution, at least not yet. We can throw off the corrupt parts of government with a simple act. Simple does not mean easy, but John Jay showed us the method of living the spirit of 1776 when he wrote:
Every member of the State ought diligently to read and to study the constitution of his country, and teach the rising generation to be free. By knowing their rights, they will sooner perceive when they are violated, and be the better prepared to defend and assert them.
John Jay, First Chief Justice of the United States
The difference between the spirits of 1776 vs 1984 is the difference between liberty and enslavement. Do you live at liberty? Do you live your life as you see fit, without unnecessary external interference? Then you’re living the spirit of 1776. If you need to ask permission to live your life though, if you need others to provide for you, and if others regulate your life, then you an enslaved to them and the spirit of 1984.
Let us read George Orwell’s 1984 as the warning it was meant to be. And let us read the quote by John Jay as the instructions needed to live free. The beauty of the spirit of 1776 is not that your life suddenly becomes perfect. Rather it makes the struggles and hardships of living free in a world designed by tyrants worth it.
Was the Northwest Ordinance also replaced by the Constitution, as the Article of Confederation was? Was the Declaration of Independence replaced as the Rules on naturalization of a Person in,-a person born in-,or coming to-a person naturalized-in the United States?
So was the passing of the Enabling Act of 1802 a message from Thomas Jefferson that the Northwest Ordinance was replaced by the Constitution for the United States?
So Article 6 of the Constitution for the United States reads-“All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States under this Constitution, as under the Confederation.” So can we use the Northwest Ordinance to understand the Constitution?
In Section 1 of the Enabling Act of 1802 reads: ‘and the said State, when formed, shall be admitted into the Union.’ Thus, through Congressional approval of this Act, the newly formed State , called Ohio, was automatically admitted into the Union once its residents established its government. By contrast, the Northwest Ordinance includes a conditional clause: ‘Provided, the constitution and government so to be formed, shall be republican, and in conformity to the principles contained in these articles. The process of New State, a State that already have a Constitution, as Puerto Rico does, is follow by Article 4 Section 3 Clause 1.
So did the Enabling Act of 1802 just Admend the Northwest Ordinance or replace it? And if Congress have the privilege under the Constitution to write the Rules and Regulations for the Territory of the United States, the Northwest Territories, under Article 4 Section 3 Clause 2 did this Clause replace the Northwest Ordinance and gave Congress to created the Compromise Acts of 1820 and 1850? And by acknowledging the Puerto Rico as Citizens of the United States you already allow the people into the Union.
So by comparing the Constitution for the United States and the Northwest Ordinance you can see that the 13th Amendment in the Constitution is the exact wording from Article 6 of the Northwest Ordinance, was that just for the slaves in Ohio?. And the 14th Amendment- “subject to the jurisdiction thereof” which can be read as Article 4 in the Northwest Ordinance-“subject to the Articles of Confederation” was that just for the Slaves?
So is the constitution for the United States for the Citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside to form States in their territory? We the people of the United States in order to Form a More perfect union, as Members of the State Legislature of our Free and Independent States? Then how can foreign Nationals receive rights from this constitution for the United States only?
So in the Northwest Ordinance there is a District call a State and One District for the United States in each of the States, then why do you believe we have multiple Federal districts in each of the States and Not Article 1 Section 8 Clause 17 is applied to each State? Which the people of the United States are Forming a Republican Government and the Government of the United States of America?
So why can’t I be a official elector of my State , instead of a official driver within my state? Then you guys are not paying attention. Noted in the Ohio Constitution of 1803. Then in order to be a Citizens of the State you have to give a oath to the State Constitution as in the New York Constitution of 1777 and now the Ohio Constitution of 1803.
And was the Northwest Ordinance established before the the adoption of the Constitution by the people of the United States through their Congress before The Constitution was ratified? So why can’t I use it to understand the Constitution? And did Congress need to review the Ohio Constitution when the Citizens of the United States already were in the Union who were forming the State call Ohio? The Citizens of the United States own the Land once Congress sold it to them.
So did Congress of 1953 approved the constitution of 1803 and if so then that means they approved who the electors are in Section 4 of this Constitution, and not by the resolutions of the Supreme Court telling us we’re just voters. Which would corresponds with Article 1 Section 2 of the Constitution for the United States of America. The migration of a persons coming into a State is still in control of the State, or we the people of the United States as Citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.
Just following the Facts of Law, as Madison said to do. Again was the passing of the Enabling Act of 1802 a lesson on how the Constitution works within the Territories of the United States, including the District of Columbia?
The Enabling Act of 1802 Section 1 “That the inhabitants of the eastern division of the territory northwest of the river Ohio, be, and they are hereby,authorized to form for themselves a constitution and State government, and to assume such name as they shall deem proper, and the said State, when formed, shall be admitted into the Union upon the same footing with the original States in all respects whatever.”
The Northwest Ordinance was legislation, not an interstate compact like the Articles of Confederation, so no it was not replaced by the Constitution. Similarly, the Declaration of Independence was just that, a declaration not law, it did not establish rules for naturalization, and therefore nothing to be replaced.
The Enabling Act of 1802, like all enabling acts, was nothing more than the legal process for Congress, as authorized by Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution, to enable a state to enter the union. The only thing it has to do with the Northwest Ordinance is the fact it involved the territory.
The only thing Article VI has in relation to the Northwest Ordinance is the validity of any debt incurred by the Confederation in enacting it.