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LOOK BEHIND THE
CURTAIN I believe a meaningful analogy can be drawn from two scenes in the fictional movie, "The Wizard of Oz", and the very real drama we live with today, on the eve of yet another "Independence Day". The first scene in the movie that I would draw your attention to involves Dorothy, with her friends in tow, and their initial audience before the mighty and mysterious wizard, in the land called Oz. Their understanding of who he is can only be based upon what they have heard of him and what they see when they meet him. Their ignorance of his real nature, hidden by a curtain, is further clouded by the wizard’s own desire to keep them in the dark. To enhance the beguiling effect upon them, and to inflate their impression of his importance and superiority, he employs an array of explosive sights and sounds to accompany his blustering and pomposity. Bowing down in fear and submission, Dorothy and the others feel compelled to blindly follow whatever dictates come down to them from on high. This whole scene appears somewhat analogous to me as it relates to our modern 4th of July celebrations, in that, most people either treat the holiday as another mindless excuse to "party" and entertain themselves by means of pyrotechnical displays, or by assuming that they are celebrating an uninterrupted, unchanged, continuum of the nation and government that declared their independence from England in 1776. I hate to break it to some of you folks, but that particular nation, along with a great many of the principles it embraced, no longer exists. Oh, it may still use the same name and flag design, and it may claim to be one and the same, but that is simply not the case. Let me explain. The nation that came into existence in July of 1776 and later adopted the Constitution of 1787 as a compact for their governance, was a true Constitutional Republic, in that, it embraced the concept of limited and decentralized government. It was established under a specific set of principles that were understood and accepted by the various State governments for their mutual benefit. It delegated (granted) to the common, or national government, only those enumerated powers specified in the Constitution. All those not expressly granted, or clearly prohibited to the States, were reserved powers left to the States. It is important for the reader to understand that the allegiance we owed as free citizens, then and now, was not to the "government" per se, nor to the flag they created. Our allegiance as citizens in this Republic was owed to the Constitution alone. As soon as the government violated the terms of that compact between the States our allegiance to it ended. The same would be true of our State Constitutions, so long as they are truly the work of the people of the individual States and are not influenced by outside dictates, which is, unfortunately the reality today. From the President on down, those in government take an oath to support and defend the Constitution, but it is increasingly obvious to those that have actually read and studied the document, that most usually fail to act in accordance with it. If anyone wondered at how our government was intended to operate, they should begin with "The Federalist Papers ", written for public consumption by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. The series of essays that they produced, explained and defended the work of the 55 delegates at the Constitutional Convention. It has long been recognized as the most authoritative source for understanding the Constitution. Even the Supreme Court declared, "The opinion of the Federalist has always been considered as of great authority. It is a complete commentary on our constitution; and is appealed to by all parties in the questions to which that instrument has given birth. Its intrinsic merit entitles it to this high rank; and the part two of its authors performed in framing the constitution, put it very much in their power to explain the views with which it was formed." Alexander Hamilton, the foremost advocate of political centrism, in Federalist #32 explicitly states, "an entire consolidation of the States into one complete national sovereignty would imply an entire subordination of the parts (states), But as the plan of the convention aims only at a partial union or consolidation, the State governments would clearly retain all the rights of sovereignty which they before had, and which were not, by that act, exclusively delegated to the United States." Madison and Hamilton used the term "compound republic" in Federalist #51 to describe the true nature of the government being established. In Federalist #43 Madison offers words we would do well to ponder today when he says, "the safety and happiness of society are the objects at which all political institutions must be sacrificed." Thus, the safety and happiness of society takes precedence over the established government we happen to live under. I have used this column on a number of occasions to advance the principle of State’s rights and local autonomy. This principle was not invented out of thin air by rabid secessionists during the 1860’s, but was considered a cornerstone in the creation of the United States under the Constitution. In 1825, Pennsylvania judge, William Rawle wrote "A View of the Constitution". So widely accepted was this book, that it was used in the study of the Constitution at the military academy at West Point in the early days of the Republic. It is yet another authoritative testament to how the Constitution was intended to work, and that when read, will lift the scales that blind our eyes to the truth about what has happened to the system of government we were meant to inherit. In completing the analogy I began, I would point to the scene in our movie where Dorothy once again comes before "the great and powerful Wizard of Oz". It is here that her comprehension of who and what the Wizard of Oz was, changed in an instant once the curtain had been pulled away from what in reality had been nothing more than a sham and a "humbug". So too, when we pull the curtain from our minds eye by taking the time to read, reflect, and learn from those in the past, whose words mock the claims of those in power today who pretend to rule according to the same principles the founders held most dear. Don’t take my word for it friends, do the reading yourself. As for me, I will fly 2 flags at my home this July 4th. They will be in honor, remembrance, and celebration of the 2 nations that sought to live by the clear meaning of the original compact and who recognized that a strict adherence to a system of divided powers was the only way to prevent the eventual reestablishment of tyranny that so threatens us today. These 2 nations no longer exist except in the minds and hearts of some of their people. Both of these Constitutional Republics died violently at Appomattox Courthouse, in our own beloved Virginia, in the spring of 1865. Their demise ushered in our present imposter, posing as a legitimate heir of the same Constitution, yet all but ignoring it whenever it suits the interests of those who think themselves wiser than its creators. The first flag I will fly will be the famed Betsy Ross Flag. I fly it in memory of the Republic of Sovereign States that came into existence on July 4th, 1776. It is also known as the first "rebel" flag. In addition, I will fly the 3rd National flag of the Confederate States of America that was created in 1861, out of, and for the preservation of, the real Constitutional Republic that millions of people mistakenly believe still exists. Like the fictional Dorothy in Oz, I pray that those who sincerely care about preserving their liberty and independence will look behind the very real curtain that blinds them today, that they might see a liberty they have never known and that men like Patrick Henry were willing to die for. When the scales are lifted we can see the way we must go if we would restore what has been lost. I leave you with two final quotes from which we might draw inspiration. The first comes from the great Boston patriot Samuel Adams who remarked, "If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom … go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels nor arms. May your chains set lightly upon you and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen." Finally, in a warning that, at least to me, speaks directly to the cause of our current social-political turmoil, I give you the Biblical wisdom of Hosea 4:6 which states, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge." As always, I welcome comments at Wayne D. Carlson
is a Virginian & a Health and Physical Education Teacher (20 years).
He is married to the former Debbie Lindsey of Galax, Virginia &
they have two teenage daughters, Lindsey and Katie. A member of Community Christian
Church, on the Board of Directors of the Confederate Society of America
& Sec'y/Treasurer of the Patrick Henry Chapter/Virginia League of the South.
He is a weekly columnist for The Southwest Times newspaper under the byline "Simply
Southern", holds a Masters degree in History from Radford University, Radford,
Virginia and is a member of the Fincastle Rifles, Sons of Confederate Veterans in Roanoke/Salem, Virginia. |
