When our founders wove our Republic together 245 years ago and then perfected it further in 1787 with our Constitution, they incorporated some important ideas. One was the notion of a common American identity formed around a grand new concept of self-governance where the people were sovereign, and the leaders were servants. Another was the right to possess private property, which would be an individual right, not one for the state to determine. But more fundamental than either of these quite revolutionary ideas was the concept of the rule of law. No longer would we be ruled by men. Now we would be ruled by laws, promulgated by representatives that the people would empower to make those laws, statutes the people would then consent to obey.
This is really an important idea that, frankly, is not well understood by people, both in and out of government. Our founders understood, as well as those that influenced their thinking like enlightenment writer John Locke, that all power resides in the people. Furthermore, that the people dispense that power to a government they form to bring order to society through a constitution that establishes the parameters for the rule of law.
However, when that same government corrupts the rule of law, the people have a natural right to withdraw that power from those who govern and reestablish a new government that follows the rules. That is precisely what our founders did in the revolution against Great Britain. Indeed, that idea enlivened Thomas Jefferson who declared “Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem” translated, “I prefer the tumult of liberty to the quiet of servitude.” In a letter to James Madison on January 30th, 1787, Jefferson offers this context.
“Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem. Even this evil [tumult] is productive of good [liberty]. It prevents the degeneracy of government, and nourishes a general attention to the public affairs. I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical.”
|In other words, dear patriots of the current age, a little revolution is a good thing.
In recent years, we have seen our nation tossed about by political differences, many of which are rooted in what columnist Pat Buchanan coined “the culture wars.” Some of those issues centered on what was happening in post-modern America to undermine traditional family values. But that has widened among people who have now embraced not only the deprivation of fundamental rights like free speech and the right to keep and bear arms, but calls for statute law to be wholly ignored.
On our southern border with Mexico, a crisis is brewing that did not exist a mere 60 days ago. Since then, the current U.S administration has clearly signaled its desire to relax immigration laws that would prevent illegal aliens from crashing our borders. Now we are inundated with people seeking a new life in America. Seeking a better life is a good thing. Doing it illegally is not. That’s why we have laws.
But those laws are being ignored by those currently in power, who have tied the hands of law enforcement to arrest and deport those who enter our country illegally. Moreover, since the current administration has issued its version of “olly olly oxen free,” our immigration officials are flooded with thousands of people trying to enter the U.S. illegally. So bad is the situation that the Attorneys General of Arizona and Montana filed a joint lawsuit this week alleging that the Biden administration has violated immigration and administrative law by suspending the deportation of any undocumented immigrant effective January 20th, 2021. Put another way, the Attorneys General are suing the President to do his job according to current law. Imagine that.
Immigration law has been put into a condition of salutary neglect, the willful ignoring of the law by those charged to enforce it. In other words, the people we have empowered to enforce the law—the people we elected—are now working to undermine that law because they prefer that it not be the law. Complicated? No. Rather simple. We are a nation of the rule of law, not the rule of man. And if you do not like that law, then change it within the legislative structure that we have agreed to in our Constitution, not by executive fiat, which is precisely what we see today.
In many ways, our leaders are transforming America from a nation that honors the rule of law to one that elevates “the rule of lax.” If you disapprove of a law, not a problem, relax its enforcement and all will be fine.
Our leaders today risk much in doing so. Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem. A Jeffersonian storm is brewing.
PS: Speaking of storms, the 30th anniversary of “Desert Storm,” the First Gulf War, is upon us. Now is a good time to read my book Desert Redleg: Artillery Warfare in the First Gulf War! And when you go to Shop on my website, you can order one directly from me, autographed and personalized as you desire. So order yours today!
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