Posted by
peripheral on Saturday, May 30, 2009 6:29:01 AM
From My Perspective - - -
The genius of the Founding Fathers was to establish a nation and
government that would be as free as possible from Corruption and
Corrupting Influences. On May 24th, 2009, syndicated columnist George
Will wrote concerning, “END RUN ON FREE SPEECH.”
His opening paragraphs state: “For several decades, most of the
ingenuity that liberal academics have invested in First Amendment
analysis has aimed to justify limiting the core activity that the
amendment was written to protect — political speech. These analyses
treat free speech as not an inherent good but as a merely instrumental
good, something justified by serving other ends — therefore something
to be balanced against, and abridged to advance, other goods. The good
for which Zephyr Teachout would regulate speech is combating
corruption, which, as she understands it, encompasses most of
contemporary politics. A visiting law professor at Duke, writing in the
Cornell Law Review ("The Anti-Corruption Principle"), she makes an
astonishingly far-reaching argument for emancipating government from
First Amendment restrictions on its powers to regulate political speech
— speech about the government's composition and conduct.”
Will goes on to note, “Teachout's capacious definition of corruption
includes even an unseemly "attitude" of citizens as well as
officeholders "toward public service." She says that the Framers
thought limiting corruption was their "primary task." Therefore the
"anti-corruption principle" should have "as much weight" as the First
Amendment, giving Congress considerable "leeway" to regulate the
political "process," which is mostly speech….The word "corruption" or
some permutation of it occurs 58 times in the 85 essays that are the FEDERALIST PAPERS.
James Madison wrote not only many of the papers but also this:
"Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech." He saw no
conflict between that proscription and efforts to minimize corruption.
He and other Framers considered corruption a vice requiring constant
vigilance precisely because it is inextricably entwined with a virtue,
America's vast scope — constitutionally protected scope — for
self-interested behavior, including political speech.” Meanwhile, the
following news item appeared in the San Diego News on May 25th, 2009: “COUPLE: COUNTY TRYING TO STOP HOME BIBLE STUDIES.”
The article states: ”…A local pastor and his wife claim they were
interrogated by a San Diego County official, who then threatened them
with escalating fines if they continued to hold Bible studies in their
home…The county employee notified the couple that the small Bible
study, with an average of 15 people attending, was in violation of
County regulations…a few days later the couple received a written
warning that listed "unlawful use of land" and told them to "stop
religious assembly or apply for a major use permit" -- a process that
could cost tens of thousands of dollars…”
Is the US Constitution being abridged and altered today? Is the Freedom
of Speech and Right to Assemble being violated? If so, wherein is the
feared “corruption” taking place – in the citizenry or the government?
Corruption is defined as: “The act of corrupting or of impairing
integrity, virtue, or moral principle…the loss of purity or integrity;
The act of changing, or of being changed, for the worse; departure from
what is pure, simple, or correct…” In II PETER 2:12-19,
“…these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be
caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are
ignorant…They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their
deceptions...They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in
greed…Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray…For them the gloom
of utter darkness has been reserved. For, speaking loud boasts of
folly, they entice…those who are barely escaping from those who live in
error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of
corruption…” Are we observing “corruption” unfolding to a greater
degree than ever before as Government over-reaches into businesses and
lives? Are we witnessing the transition from free enterprise into
socialism? Is REVELATION 13:16-17
emerging as a reality: “it causes all, both small and great, both rich
and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the
forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark…the
name of the beast or the number of its name.”? Freedom from secular
tyranny and/or spiritual enslavement is a right that should not be
easily revoked or removed from any individual. Think about these things
with me.