Why it Matters When the Government Violates our Constitution

If you’re anything like me, you are extremely troubled by the fact that the federal government almost completely disregards our Constitution. But when you talk with your friends and family about it, a lot of them aren’t terribly concerned. They just can’t see why the government violating our Constitution matters to them personally.

Most of the people I talk to have never lived outside the United States, so living in a relatively safe and peaceful country is all they’ve ever known. It’s hard for them to imagine anything else. Because of that, when I try to explain to them the dangers that an out of control government poses to regular people their immediate reaction is to shug their shoulders and say, “Yeah… but that could never happen here.”

But as I explained this weekend on TheBlaze Radio’s Chris Salcedo Show, we have to change that mindset:

There are governments all over the world that do horrific things to the people in their countries. And remember, all men are created equal. So if the people in those other countries are fundamentally the same as you and me, why can’t it happen here?

Obviously, it doesn't happen here because our principles and the mechanisms in our Constitution have kept our government from from getting out of control. Since the Founding of this country, principles like limiting the power of the federal government, separation of powers, and the rule of law have acted as a giant barrier that have protected us from our government becoming oppressive. But in recent decades, those principles have been carelessly tossed into the trash bin.

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All three of these critical principles that our nation was founded on have been completely destroyed. We have allowed the federal government to grab the power to regulate virtually every aspect of our daily lives, we have a president who routinely violates the separation of powers, and our laws mean whatever is most convenient for our politicians at any given time. So now that we have thrown away our principles, what is it exactly that’s preventing those horrible things we see around the world from happening here? What is it that makes us different from the people in other countries? The answer: absolutely nothing.

There is no longer any reason to believe that it “could never happen here.”

It truly is ironic, the principles in our Constitution that many Americans feel we can disregard because our government would never do anything bad to us, are the exact same principles that have been so effective at preventing the government from doing something bad to us.

Make no mistake about it, the atrocities that we see other governments inflict on the people in their countries could absolutely happen here. Fortunately for us, we’ve had a brilliantly designed Constitution to protect us from the government. We would be very wise to do everything we can to protect it.

Chad Kent is an author and speaker with a unique style that makes the Constitution simple and fun. Listen to Chad every Saturday during The Chris Salcedo Show on TheBlaze Radio and visit his web site at www.ChadKentSpeaks.com.

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