Categories
Quick Analysis

Undoing Individual Rights

What has happened to the ideals that inspired America’s founders to sign the Declaration of Independence, 247 years ago today?

What is behind the bizarre actions of government officials who punish innocents who merely seek to defend themselves against criminals? Why does the Biden Administration discourage families who act responsibly to save up to buy a home? Why are homeless veterans behind illegal immigrants in getting shelter? These are not unrelated moves.

Barack Obama promised to fundamentally transform America, but it is during the Biden Administration that the goal has been realized.

The political, philosophical, and financial underpinnings of the nation, so brilliantly expressed in the Constitution and a capitalist economic system have always centered on the rights of the individual. That contrasts sharply with the beliefs of the current White House, which views individuals as mere cogs in the machinery of society.

In a series of abhorrent moves, the Manhattan district attorney has done all in his power to let hardened, violent, repeat offenders return to the streets as quickly as possible, and to prosecute those, like the hero marine who intervened to stop a crazed recidivist from harming yet again, who protect themselves or other innocents. As crime rages in cities where left-wing policies reign, that example repeats itself again and again, from good Samaritans like that marine, to shop owners and their employees protecting their businesses, to people just walking down the street and assaulted by criminals leftists set free. The message is clear, and intentional: citizens don’ t have the basic right of self-defense.

The attempt to impose a fee on house purchasers with good credit and redistribute the funds to those chosen by federal policy repeats that concept in a different form. It does not matter that you did all the right things and made all the right choices. You do not deserve the fruits of your labor. Big Brother government decides who gets the goods. Your choices and actions are irrelevant, because you do not have individual rights.

Even those who sacrificed to protect the nation do not get favored by left-run government.  Homeless veterans are, in some cases, given less priority in getting shelter than illegal immigrants. In upstate New York, reports several sources, homeless veterans have been evicted from temporary shelters to make room for illegals.

There is also a clear and specific purpose to the White House’s policy of opening the border to all, and to the practice of blatantly lying to the electorate about the reality of that self-imposed crisis.  Bringing in a vast number of people who have no affinity to the American tradition of individual rights, and who someday will be eligible to vote, is an important step in the achievement of the “fundamental transformation” of America.

Over the past several decades, a less intentional, but significantly harmful policy to degrade individual rights has arisen. The framework of the Constitution is that citizens elect representatives who enact laws. If the electorate disapproves of those laws, they have the option of voting those representatives out of office at the next election. But that is no longer how the process works. Much of the day-to-day operation of government has been turned over to a faceless and unaccountable bureaucracy that could care less what you think because you cannot vote them out.  In fact, even elected representatives who object have become powerless, as many of these agency employees are protected against dismissal by various devices. Equally troubling is the judicial policy of granting “deference” to those agencies. This concept of “judicial deference” stacks the deck in court against those opposing the application of an agency regulation.

Once again, you do not count.

All of these realities are combining to eliminate the very central concepts of what the U.S. is supposed to about. The concept of a citizenry with individual rights is being rapidly consigned to the dustbin of history.