The Constitution of The United States and related documents were written to benefit the people of this country. The rights of foreigners are not addressed and are peripheral to the rights of U.S. citizens. Words used in these documents such as "We the people of the United States .." "the right of the people.." and " the right of citizens of the United States.." support that point. The Constitution addresses how the government is structured and how it performs. The "Bill of Rights" and other amendments address rights of the people.
Article IV, section 4 says with clarity that the government "shall guarantee every state in the Union a Republican Form of Government..". The founders knew, with good reason, that they preferred a form of government where the people elect representatives to federal, state, and local offices, to do the people's business. Ours is a republican form of government.
The selection of honorable, knowledgeable, and trustworthy representatives is critical to the survival of our form of government. These qualities help define fidelity a word not used in the Constitution, but is described in the closing sentence of the Declaration of Independence: "with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor."
The signatories to this document knew what they were up against and knew that only fidelity to the cause would succeed. President Dwight D. Eisenhower said it best: "We must be ready to dare all for our country. For history does not entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid."
The Fifth Amendment protects us against self-incrimination, among other things. It provides a right of the people; there is no mention of "guests" of the country, illegal or otherwise, who come here for the purpose of damaging the country. Yet an interpretation of Fifth Amendment rights has somehow been extrapolated through the prism of "progressive values" and assigns this same right to those whose acts are meant to harm us.
The Fifth Amendment begins: "No person shall be held to answer for a capital crime, or otherwise infamous crime, unless ...". The amendment refers to "We the people" and not the people of another country.
A Supreme Court decision in the Miranda case said that people must be made aware of their right not to self-incriminate. Arresting officers must read them these rights. When terrorists are "Mirandized" they are being given the same rights that American citizens have. Terrorists clearly should be treated as enemy combatants.
Any citizen of this country who is suspected of committing acts of terrorism is at risk of voiding their citizenship because by doing so they change their allegiance to another entity. The act of treason has severe consequences. Foreign agents who commit acts of terrorism must be treated as war criminals. The "long war" on terrorism will become even longer if we fail to provide for realistic handling of suspects and punishment for convicted terrorists.
Weaknesses in our legal system are known to our terrorist enemies and they are prepared to exploit them when caught. Means of legal interrogation must be clearly defined and used effectively.
It is interesting that congressional Democratic leaders during the Bush administration were bent on declaring the Iraq War lost. Ideological surrender and a shoddy attempt to thwart relations with a Mideast ally were tactics that delayed implementation of a successful "surge" strategy in Iraq and cost lives of civilians and military personnel. Yet these same progressives are appalled that a "little water" should go up the nose of an enemy combatant.
This double standard belies either ignorance or arrogant disdain for the good of our nation.
Fidelity of the founding fathers (and mothers) and subsequent leaders and heroes who have risked it all in defense of freedom should be our guiding principle for this treacherous time. Those who believe the Constitution is obsolete or not applicable for the needs of the current generation should answer the question: What set of guiding principles (if any) should a government (if any) use to ensure a healthy, free society if this is the goal? If so, it is impossible to imagine the exclusion of the freedoms enumerated in our founding documents.
We should not be so awestruck by the wisdom of the Constitution as to believe it is immutable. Interpretation of it must reflect contemporary needs. The founding fathers also included language about treason but could not have imagined in their wildest dreams the variety of treasonous acts available today. Our laws must take these changes into account.
Reynolds lives in Pleasant View.
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